Bistrița Valley 1965

Dumitru Ghiatza made this painting of the Bistrița Valley with oil on canvas, and what strikes me first is the way he fearlessly piles on the paint, each stroke a kind of independent decision. It feels like he’s not just representing a landscape, but building one, bit by bit. Look closely, and you’ll notice how the texture isn’t just smooth and blended. It's chunky, alive. Especially around the trees in the foreground – you can almost feel the weight of the paint mimicking the density of the foliage. And that little white house with the pink roof? It’s like a tiny beacon amidst all that earthy green and brown, a focal point but also a little bit absurd, like a thought that pops into your head unexpectedly. Ghiatza reminds me a little of Van Gogh, not in style, but in the way he’s so clearly in love with the act of painting itself. There's no attempt to hide the process here, and that's the beauty of it.