68. Steeple at Văratic [1995]

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68. Steeple at Văratic [1995]

Horia Bernea

1938, Bucureşti - 2000, Paris

Estimate:

EUR 5.000 - 8.000

Sold

EUR 6.500

References

"Horia Bernea", The National Museum of Art of Romania. Contemporary Art Department, Bucharest, 1997. The monography "Horia Bernea", Noi media print Publishing House, 2008. "Școala de la Poiana Mărului" ("The Poiana Mărului School"), Brașov Art Museum Publishing House, 2013.

oil on canvas, 61.5 x 61.5 cm, 61,5 Ã 61,5 cm, signed and dated bottom right, in black, "Bernea, 1995"

Horia Bernea focused particularly on shapes with a marked axiality, leading to a reproduction of themes such as the steeple or the column in his paintings. He was also preoccupied with the sacredness of the pictorial gesture, therefore he would introduce ecclesiastical motifs into his creation; however, he also aimed at sacralising the usual motifs. The most important challenge for him consisted of joining together symbols which are, apparently, impossible to combine. He embarked on a series of journeys for artistic purposes: he painted in Poiana Mărului, in Tescani, in Văratec, or in France. He completed a series of writings (in the form of notebooks/journals), in a deeply philosophical way, revealing his own vision on the world and art. These writings sum up the way in which his entire work can be interpreted. His brush strokes are incisive metaphors, reaching the depths of the canvas. However, one can find the "essential uncertainty" as well as mystery - an element of knowledge - which Bernea used so many times in order to express the natural seamlessness in his canvases. His work transcends appearance, having a spiritual character and raising conscience-related issues. Through painting, the artist revealed the essential uncertainties of daily life. He approached the series dedicated to nature with mathematical skill. His creation is affiliated both to the New Realism and to Conceptual Expressionism. Integrated into the nature full of leaves and flowers, Bernea's bright columns remarkably support the galleries of the monasteries in which the artist paints. The series dedicated to the columns is rich in colours and patterns, and each work dedicated to the motif acquires meaning through its unique nature. At times simplified, at other times full of apparently complex patterns and colour spots, the columns always remain the focal point, impregnated with a celestial luminosity. An essence of verticality, the column appears as a means of abstraction, as a meeting point between the abstract and the figurative, and, perhaps what is most important - the series helps the artist accomplish his ascetic life. (D.C.)

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