48. Messenger

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48. Messenger

Felix Aftene

1972, Vaslui

Estimate:

EUR 7.000 - 12.000

Sold

EUR 9.000

References

Catalogue "Felix Aftene", Performantica Publishing House, Iași, 2010.

acrylic on canvas, 90 x 100 cm, signed bottom centred, in green, "Felix Aftene"

In his work, Felix Aftene proposes a neoclassical approach of the mythological creatures, which he transposes with mastery in the contemporary. He works with wide surfaces, lavishly organises, in a brightly coloured palette. His characters are archetypal beings depicted from the late antiquity. The idealistic way of representing the human body loses its usual characteristics and acquires a clearly symbolic charge. The oneiric universe of antique myths and folkloric traditions is transposed in the harmonious relationship between the seraphic figures and animal and plant incarnations. The reverie-inducing mannerism is enhanced by the metaphysical representation of the specificity of human beings. Felix Aftene's characters levitation reminds of the surrealist flight of Marc Chagall's protagonists. The symbolic receptivity of human being is transposed in a hybrid world dedicated to allegoric characters. The artist adheres to the theories proposed by existentialists and transforms them in art. He transcribes his dreams from his memory on the paper and later on the canvas. The recurring blue in his works refers to the Voroneț blue and also to the geographical setting of his childhood. Placed in a timeless space, the landscapes proposed by the artist fall into this category by illustrating some natural elements. trees, hills, grass or celestial bodies. Felix Aftene realises portraits of travellers of ephemerality and always places himself looking for new ways to illustrate lines and shapes. The characters strongly connected to music and theatre. The flute song, recurrent in his works, proposes a magical, transcendental musicality and subtly sums up aspects of nature and rural life. The ecstatic theatricality of the compositions is translated into harmonious rhythms of chromaticism and compositional organization. Aftene's "Heralds", exemplified in an extensive series rich in meaning, reveal the complexity of the human being and the archetypal symbols most representative of the artist.

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