Pnina Afik Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW If I find the outcome satisfactory, I declare the work complete. If not, I start all over again. I feel that I am a strict critic of my own work, for better and for worse. You usually paint large canvas, that provide the viewers with such an immersive visual experience: how do the dimensions of your canvas affect your workflow? Pnina Afik: I find the large scale canvas powerful and of a strong impact both on myself as working on it and on the experience of the viewer who stands in front of it. I decide in advance whether my canvas will be large, then I choose the color pallet and the adequate brushes. In the process of work I use wide hand and body gestures, in order to cover the entire space of the canvas. I also use a ladder, so I can reach the top of the canvas. No doubt that some of my work will be more appropriate on large scale canvas and others on smaller ones. In general, when walking through an art exhibition, I will find it difficult to ignore large artworks, and I find myself being attracted first to them. I believe that the artist's choice of using a large or small canvas is reliant upon his temper. I find my paintings clearly constructive, consisting of clear borders of colors and shapes, probably deriving from the need of order in my life. I feel uncomfortable with chaos, I like to know where I stand with different matters in life, and if something goes wrong, I do everything that is in my power to straighten things up. In short, I feel that I strive to live in peace with my surroundings. The images you choose have an on going theme of architecture, colour and composition and seem
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition to reflect a sense of connection with your surroundings: how does your everyday life's experience fuel your creative process? Pnina Afik: The compositions in my paintings are usually of a structural sense. The shapes and the color spots have clear boundaries and limits. My personal life is characterized with the need for proper order and explicitly. I need to know where I stand in different matters; I like things to be clear rather than ambiguous. From the Veil of Light series From the Veil of Light series
Pnina Afik Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW If things go wrong I do everything that is in my power to improve, to rehabilitate and to make them right again. So now, as this question stimulates my mind, I find the affinity between my work and my personal life. I thank you for this insight. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, in some of my paintings I search for options of placing the figure within the limits of the restricting canvas. New York City based artist Lydia Dona once stated that in order to make art today one has to reevaluate the conceptual language behind the mechanism of art making itself: do you create your works gesturally, instinctively? Or do you methodically transpose geometric schemes? Pnina Afik: For many years I have been occupied with the issue of man within limits and frameworks (social, political, family etc.) Questions I have been asking myself have leaded me to paint people within a restricting frame work within the restricting size of a canvas/wood panel, sometimes on top of it, in other times on the side. After numerous years of painting this subject, I felt that the figures in my paintings should be freed from From the Veil of Light series
From the Veil of Light series
Pnina Afik Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW the inner frame, and so I started the series of "Little People". This series shows tiny figures walking on a floating surface, an imaginary landscape, maybe even surrealistic. In the process of work I try to find the adequate place for the figures in this unusual landscape, sometimes on the top, in some cases at the bottom of the canvas, in the middle, on the side, as every chosen location derives a different meaning for the scene. I agree with Lydia Dona stating that in order to make art today one has to reevaluate the conceptual language behind the mechanism of art making itself. Yes, I create my art gesturally, instinctively, but after doing so I reevaluate the outcome, and make changes if necessary. Searching for new media, I sometimes use a combination of acrylic and stiff cloth covering a part of the wood panel. I then cut parts of the cloth and reveal the painted figures within. The outcome looks somewhat like a window or a curtain exposing a covered scene. You are an established artist and over the years your artworks have been showcased in several occasions, including your recent participation to the International Art Biennale at the Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona. French artist Edgar Degas, once said that “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see": how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience? Is audience engagement a critical consideration for you, and is there a particular way of engagement that you seek to encourage? Pnina Afik: As my audience seeks for my commentary on my work, I am reluctant on providing my interpretation. Instead, by asking them relevant questions I lead them to find their own.
I often hear very interesting responses, differing one from each other. My audience is completely free to consider and see in my work whatever matches their personality, background, thoughts and feelings. It makes me very happy to hear various evaluations from my viewers. We have really appreciated the multifaceted nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Pnina. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Pnina Afik: First I appreciate and thank you for the opportunity to express my thoughts, and for exposing my work. I intend to continue with the series "Little People" until I feel it had been utilized to the fullest, while searching for different media, both on canvas and otherwise. I am intrigued with my new research using cloths on wood panels and feel I should continue and see where it takes me. I would also like to expand my experience in creating three dimensional art displays. My aim is to have one more solo exhibition, but this time introducing paintings, mixed media artworks and also 3 dimensional displays. In short, spending time in my studio is an ongoing challenging search for various art languages, various media and dimensions. The sky is the limit… An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Barbara Scott, curator [email protected] scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition
From the Little People series
Hello Fanni and welcome to LandEscape. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production we would like to invite our readers to visit https://www.fannisomogyi.com in order to get a wide idea about your multifaceted artistic production, and we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your multifaceted background. You have a solid formal training and you hold a BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture, that you recently received from The Maryland Institute College of Art, in Baltimore: how did those formative years influence your Themes that often occur in my work are networking systems, modes of connection and acts of remembering. I investigate how humans and technology have developed a symbiotic relationship, which results in the constant presence of smart devices in one’s life, by drawing comparisons to similar relationships in nature. One of these systems that I reference continuously is the fungal-tree-root network. Processes such as metal and digital fabrication, and image projections are integral to my work. These include welding, aluminum casting and image manipulation. Trees have an intricate communication system and a symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizae (root fungi) that allows them to transport nutrients and information among themselves. On my sculptures the sprue systems are designed to be left intact and are inspired by these natural networks. They also often cradle the form or become the form itself. The process of making is crucial in itself since it also represents a system. The singular objects I build also reference networks and its embedded connection paradox. The sense of ubiquity that is developed through Internet interactions is empowering, but also misleading and one can observe some similarity between this network and fungal systems. Intangible Realities, in particular, was also inspired by the idea of dreaming and sleeping, which I compare to being online and drifting elsewhere while being stationary. The small size makes the work symbolic becoming a metaphor for a node in the network. The sprue system kept within the aluminum casts, also an integral part of its fabrication, alludes to the underlying, often hidden networks. The embedded organic and inorganic networks present within the nuanced techno-human relationship continues to motivate my art. An interview by Ralph Landau, curator and Katherine Williams, curator [email protected] Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW LandEscape meets Fanni Somogyi
Emerging Within Time
evolution as an artist and help you to develop your attitude to experiment? Moreover, how does your cultural substratum due to your Hungarian roots direct the direction of your current artistic research? Attending the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) has affected my art making since I was able to widely experiment and try out a variety of materials, styles and techniques before settling for aluminum casting and metal fabrication. I began my artist practice by creating figurative works, which morphed into geometric semifunctional constructions to an evocative abstraction and occasional figurative work that I create now. I was able to learn wood working from Ken Martin, and although I have navigated toward utilizing steel most recently what he taught me about forms and design are still prevalent in my work. Craftsmanship has always been important for my work because I believe that things have to be made well. I was also able to learn a great number of fabrication and finishing techniques about metal, due to the many resources and talented faculty at the school. My Hungarian roots affect my work to the extent that a lot of my initial work was about space and connection over distances. Moving away from my friends and family affected what I was thinking about, and what I researched. I explored ideas of connection through the internet and memory of a place when one is gone. That’s where my experimentation with image manipulation and projection come in. These ideas in particular led me to find my interest of the symbiotic relationship between humans and technology. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of LandEscape and that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article has at once captured our attention of your insightful exploration of the symbiotic relationship between humans and technology is the way it invites the viewers to reconsider the everchanging nature of the tension between our inner Self and the outside world. When walking our readers through your usual setup and process, would you tell us how do you consider the relationship between Technology and Art? Process is something that I really enjoy and consider as an important element of my work. I usually begin with an initial idea or inspiration, which leads to multiple concept sketches, and further research about the particular idea. Experimentation with materials follows and then I begin making. Changes are made based on materials and how the in-progress sculpture feels in space. For my latest collection of work process is really crucial because the foundry is a system in itself and my experimentation with it was also conceptual. Systems are present in both technology and nature, and I’m drawn to Fanni Somogyi Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
how the former can mimic the latter. Technology also informs art and can enhance an experience or at least significantly change it. Technology inspires my art in the sense that I’m interested in how communication devices and the Internet can alter how we relate and connect to one another. To a large extent it amplifies human reach and we can connect with people over vast distances, but it is also teaches younger generations to be satisfied with a simulation. Rather than talking face to face they accept talking over screens. This also lends itself to what you have mentioned about the tension between inner Self and the outside world. The communication devices both serve as a barrier and a doorway between us and the rest of the world. Because we have come to depend on our smartphone in particular so much we have a symbiotic relationship. Since technology mimics nature it doesn’t feel too far from us as humans, but we have to be aware of its negative side effects. Overall, technology can be a source of inspiration for art, but it can also be a tool or material to be used in art. I tend to reference it my work rather than to directly use it. With their unique visual identity, your artworks, and in particular Emerging Within Time, challenge the viewers' perceptual parameters: we daresay that your artistic practice seems to aim to look inside of what appear to be seen, scape Special Edition CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
Fanni Somogyi Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Intangible Realities
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Intangible Realities
rather than its surface, providing the spectatorship with freedom to realize their own perception. Austrian Art historian Ernst Gombrich once remarked the importance of providing a space for the viewers to project onto, so that they can actively participate in the creation of the illusion: how important is for you to trigger the viewers' imagination in order to address them to elaborate personal interpretations? In particular, how open would you like your works to be understood? Without an audience there is no artwork. I create work for both myself because I love making, but also more importantly for the viewer. I want the individuals who see my work to feel something or I want their imagination to be triggered. I completely agree with Gombrich’s views. It is particularly important for me that the viewer has the ability to project onto the work. There are certain ideas that are important for me and that need to come across, but I do also think that the viewer opens a new dynamic aspect of the work by bringing their own views and experiences to the work. The work is also more than what appears on the surface. The ceramic shell hides the aluminum and the cicadas are hiding on the sprue system. Like the cicada is hidden underground for most of its life chewing on tree roots, there is a deeper importance that is initially hidden in the work. One must observe the sculpture, the materials Fanni Somogyi Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
Intangible Realities
to realize and appreciate the importance of the process and the system it represents. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, Intangible Realities was also inspired by the idea of dreaming and sleeping, which you compare to being online and drifting elsewhere while being stationary: how important is for you to create artwork rich of allegorical qualities? And how do you consider the role of metaphors playing within your artistic research? Yes, Intangible Realities was also inspired by the idea of dreaming. Both that activity and being online can let your mind rest in some sense by creating an alternate reality and sustaining one with a different story or activity. The great thing about networks both organic and inorganic ones is that it lets one drift and travel, and specifically with smart phones a screen can teleport you elsewhere while you are sitting on your couch or in a coffee shop. The allegorical qualities in my work are really important. I enjoy drawing comparison and creating similar situations since it allows people different entry points and ways to experience the work. One of the things I practice is evocative abstraction. My sculptures allude to certain organic and inorganic elements and the metaphors created help them understand my research and ideas behind it. That being said I also enjoy when viewers make their own comparison or bring their own experiences to the work as we have discussed in a previous question. Although my research on networks and the effects of technology are crucial for me in developing the work, metaphors allow people to understand it in different terms and give them a unique experience. One of the reasons I’m drawn to allegories and metaphors is because I also write poetry. There I often use symbols of nature and different literary elements to paint vivid images in my readers minds. Much of your work is inspired by experimentation with such a wide range of materials including metal and digital fabrication, and processes as welding, aluminum casting and image manipulation. We’d love to ask you about the qualities of the materials that you include — or that you plan to include — in your artworks: contemporary practice has forged a new concept of art making involving such a wide and once unthinkable variety of materials and objects. In particular, photographer and sculptor Zoe Leonard once stated, "the objects that we leave behind hold the marks and the sign of our use: like archeological findings, they reveal so much about us": are you interested in the use found objects, too? Fanni Somogyi Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
Emerging Within Time
I’m very drawn to Leonard’s quote, especially the part about archeological findings since some of my recent work with the silica ceramic shell have a quality of an archeological site. As I was taking the female head out of the ceramic shell in Intangible Realities, it felt like I was rediscovering something or like something was being birthed. I decided to leave some of the ceramic shell on it because it showed the layering quality of the shell and the interaction of that material and the aluminum are both crucial in the foundry system and for my own conceptual research. One of the qualities of the ceramic shell is that when it is fired and broken it resembles tree rings alluding to time and process. Emerging Within Time also has a similar quality. That work was based on a found object a deceased cicada that I found one afternoon while I was walking home. I have previously used found objects to be casted, like a hand-held phone for an experimentation, but I think the only found material that I prefer using are photographs, which are also rich in meaning and history. Sometimes they are Fanni Somogyi Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Emerging Within Time Emerging Within Time
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition stand ins for memory and they capture a moment in a certain event. They are provocative materials that can be used in a wide variety of different ways. I enjoy collecting old objects and being inspired by them, but they do not end up in my sculptures. For my art I focus on material experimentation. The methods that I use with my metal casted objects are non-traditional and in some sense I’m sure they bother some people because I’m not following through with the process completely. Traditionally, one is supposed to cut of the sprue-systems however, I keep them on and I elevate their status by making them the focus of the work. Meanwhile I also show the process and life of both the materials and the system itself. We like the way your artworks, as the interesting Sprue Systems Static Flow of Info-nutrients, convey such a stimulating combination between reminders to elements belonging to reality and such a captivating abstract feeling: how would you consider the relationship between abstraction and figurative in your practice? In particular, how does representation and a tendency towards abstraction find their balance in your work? Both abstraction and figurative elements are crucial in my work and I play with them to varying levels in my pieces. A lot of my work is evocatively abstract, meaning that it evokes certain images to people. I want to make sure that my audience has an entry point and they can have an experience. Some abstract works can be confusing to people who aren’t too familiar with art, so including elements more grounded in reality can help to understand a particular concept. Science fiction is one of my many inspirations, and that genre both in writing and film has varying elements of the real and varying elements of fantasy and abstraction. The mixing of known and unknown can be a very exciting process because it forges new relationship between materials and concepts. With the abstract elements I also enjoy including figurative bits like the head. I feel that some people are more comfortable with a work of art when there is a definitively recognizable element. With Sprue Systems: Static Flow of Info-nutrients, that is crucial because it is a stand in for humans and sort of like an archetype. The fact that she is sleeping is also important as you have highlighted with one of your previous questions. The head however is severed and not attached to a body, so it can also be seen as a representation of the mind or a node within the network. The balance between representation and abstraction depends on the particular work and how much information I want to give to the viewer.
Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Special Edition
Fanni Somogyi Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Manipulation in visual arts is not new, but digital technology and especially the online realm have extended the range of expressive possibilities. How do you consider the role of digital technology playing within your artistic practice? I’m inspired by digital technology and I continue to research because I find our interaction with it fascinating. Smartphones are becoming the next body part in some sense because they are so ingrained in our daily life and our ability to reach out and connect with people. A lot of people feel “naked” or like their missing something when their phone is out of battery or when they leave it at home. Sherry Turkle in Alone Together – Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other argues that society “went from seeing simulation as better than nothing to simply better, as offering companions that could meet one’s exact emotional requirements” (2011). Socializing can be stressful and by choosing simulations you have the ability to leave, disappear or stop responding anytime. I’m particularly fascinated by the Oculus Go with which if you are tired of exploring the desert or tired of being at a concert, you can turn off their device and return to your comfortable home. With communications technology too, you can pick and choose who and what you feel like interacting with. The technology that I have used in the past are projectors and image editing software, but I hope to extend and incorporate VR, such as the Oculus Go into my work in the
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition future. These new technologies have the potential to create even more immersive installations, and also continue the stimulating discussion about our relationship with technology. New York City based artist Lydia Dona once stated that in order to make art today one has to reevaluate the conceptual language behind the mechanism of art making itself: do you create your works gesturally, instinctively? Or do you methodically transpose geometric schemes? In particular, how do you consider the relation between the nature of the concepts that you explore in your artistic research and the physical aspect of your daily practice as an artist? I certainly have an intuitive process, which happens through my experimentation with the materials. Some of it happens organically by testing the limits of the sprue systems and the ceramic shell, or the particular steel that I’m bending, but other aspects of the project are developed very methodically. There are certain physical limits in the foundry method, which I have to follow since I want aluminum to fill my full ceramic shell, but I can still gesturally play with the form. Since my research is important and some concepts have to come across my work those I aim to plan out exactly, like drawing comparison between technology and nature. For that comparison in particular I employ more geometrical elements and I tend to focus on the use of steel. Although through my daily practice some minor changes are made depending on the composition. Overall, it is a balance of experimentation and methodical development. Through both of these elements, craftsmanship is important since I believe that sculptures have to be well made. Over the years your artworks have been exhibited in several occasions, including your recent solo Functional Geometries, at Pinkard Gallery at Maryland Institute College of Art: how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience? By the way, as the move of Art from traditional gallery spaces, to street and especially to online platforms as Instagram increases, how would in your opinion change the relationship with a globalised audience? My relationship with my audience is important. I hope that I can give them a meaningful experience and concepts to think about. Functional Geometries was an exhibition of some previous work mostly in wood and metal where I created semi-functional objects. These works were important in developing my current practice and I hope to bring back some sort of interactivity into my new work. The street is an important somewhat new gallery. It holds a lot of potential because it can take the art to the public and it can make their daily life
Fanni Somogyi Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW more exciting or jolt them out of a rhythm. I have done some public work and I hope to continue doing that. It is more difficult to experience a sculpture or installation through Instagram. That being said, I think it is important that that platform exists because I can share process images with my audience, which in some sense demystifies the art making. It also makes art more available even if it isn’t the full experience and I have found a lot of great artists that I admire through the platform. I think in the future more and more works of art will have an existence online, but they will create a different experience. One of the great things of the Internet is accessibility to information and knowledge. One of the things I hope to do as I incorporate more tech into my artwork is make my research accessible to my viewers, so if they are interested they learn more about my thought process and different concepts I research. I currently collect a lot of information into a google doc, which I also use as a brainstorming platform and I’m in the process of creating a legible layout for this often-hidden work that I have done. We have really appreciated the multifaceted nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Fanni. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? I just recently finished a public sculpture at the Franconia Sculpture called “tree tentacle feeling in space: can you hear them talking?” it is a 9’ x 11’ 14’ steel sculpture that explores the relationship of tree and fungal systems, while drawing a comparison to technological systems. It is located in the park’s prairie near a small forest and some echinacea flowers. It was inspired by previous research and site where so much interaction is happening between different plant and fungi species. While I was at this residency I also realized that I need to incorporate more natural elements into my work. I’m interested in either using or growing mushrooms or plants in some form, although I want to make sure that what I’m doing is ethical and that I’m not harming any plant or fungi with my work. I also hope to either show or present these works outside. Another theme that I think is becoming relevant and of interest to me is the relationship between humans and nature specifically, I hope to dwell on this topic more in depth as environmental concerns are becoming increasingly essential to discuss. An interview by Ralph Landau, curator and Katherine Williams, curator [email protected]
Hello Elena and welcome to LandEscape. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production and we would like to invite our readers to visit https://www.saatchiart.com/elenabuftea in order to get a wide idea about your mulifaceted artistic production, and we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your multifaceted background. You have a solid formal training and you graduate from the Bucharest University: how did those formative years influence your evolution as an artist? Moreover, how does your cultural substratum address the Graduated from Bucharest university, I have a rich artistic activity. I worked first ex-libris and illustration. I won many international contests organised in bacaulibrary, braila library, cluj library and in poland.1991-ex-libris contest PANAIT ISTRATI.2009-member to ARTREWIEV.COM. Participation to ARTE LAGUNA PRIZE.2010 member to DESIGN 21-participation toUNESCO poster competition. 2010A NEW SYMBOL FOR EUROPE-HAGUE6 projects admis in contest,unesco poster competition-respect our differences;2011A SYMBOLIC ACCESSORY FOR JAPAN EARTHQUAKE-project;we are with you; member in PROJEKT30; 2012PERSONAL EXHIBITION IN MOINESTI BACAU, I was selected in first30 in the new york art magasine PROJEKT 30 IN MAY AND JULY, I was finalist in ali ribelli contest 'revolt' in italy, I register to prize ARTE LAGUNA2013 An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected] Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW LandEscape meets Elena Buftea
WOULD YOU LIKE THAT HERE WE INCLUDE A PHOTO OF YOU?
direction of your current artistic research? Elena Buftea: Graduated from french section of Bucharest University i was passionate about the study of universal litterature and comparative grammar of romance languiges. Then i worked as a french teacher in a locality where at the time a 7000 years old human settlement was discoveredand my students were working on the archeological site. Many ceramic, rock artefacts and animal and human bones was discovered. But the trophy was discovered in a great ceramic vessel a group of 22 ceramic statuettes known in the world as, “ THE COUNCIL OF GODESSES'' with Magna Mater standing of the throne. This was a turning point of me and i started to be interessed by eneolitic, Cucuteni culture, pelasgian civilisation and sacred geometry because thesethousands ceramic vases are decorated with fantastic geometric motif. I painted a solar motif with magnetic flux of quantum energy. So this misterious disappeared scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition
Elena Buftea scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
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civilisation were not primitive. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of LandEscape has at once impressed us for the way your unique exploration of the aesthetics of environment unveils the bond with our surroundings: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, would you tell us how do you usually develop the initial ideas for your artworks? Elena Buftea: My town, MOINESTI, is like a fortress surrounded by mountains and my childhood was full of old stories. The parental house was built on a little hill in front of wich is a larger hill that look like a big bear sleeping. On clear nights I admire from the balcony of my house this symmetry between heaven and Earth. Your artworks are marked out with such sapient combination between rigorous sense of geometry — as in the interesting BIRCH TREE and RAILROAD — and careful choice of tones, that provide your works with a unique aesthetic identity: do you create your works intuitivelly, instinctively? Or do you methodically transpose geometric schemes? Elena Buftea scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
Elena Buftea: I love competitions and i paticipated to national contest for VENICE BIENNALE with projects as:Forma della Terra, EternaL Feminine, World in infrared and now i working for 2022 edition, togheter with my daughter, EVELINA POPILIAN, on a performance project ”LITTLE PRINCE AND STRING THEORY”, a little real Prince coming from asteroid belt through a wormhole just at the biennale. As an artist, you are concerned about the ancestors call but also about the present, and your original style called Tekhne Painting reflects your deep interest in ancient myths and archaic patterns: how Elena Buftea scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
do you consider the role of Tradition within your artistic practice? Elena Buftea: TEKHNE is a Greek old terme that refers to the progress of human being who surpassed the utility of objects and created symbols. Ancien myths and patterns prove that we can be epigones of more advanced civilisations that we consider primitives. ex Egypt pyramides, the etruscan constructions from Cerveni, Italy, the SFINX of Bucegi mountain, older that Egypt one, the magnific monument of the GODESSE in Malta, etc. Your subjects include real places as THE CARPATHIAN CASTLE and COMMERCIAL STREET IN VANCOUVER: how do you select such unique locations and how does your everyday life's experience fuel your artistic research? scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition
Elena Buftea: Sometimes I paint real places but artistic reality is a second game that magnifies the magic of the reality. We have appreciated the vivacious and at the same time thoughtful nuances that marks out your artworks, and that in FLOWERING POMEGRANATES IN GREECE refect unique sense of geometry. How does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in an artwork and in particular, how do you develop your textures in order to achieve such unique results? Elena Buftea: You know, I consider that each country have its own colors, i adore Greece, Canada, Malta, England, France but my country has some amazing contrast: mountains with oil green forests and hills with exorbitant colors in autumn, a bright Danube scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Elena Buftea Land
Delta and a dark Black Sea alwais stormy. We have appreciated the way you combine reminders to reality — as in the interesting ROMANIAN PLAIN and STREET IN MALTA— with such unique dreamlike visual qualities. Scottish visual artist Peter Doig once remarked that even the most realistic works of art are derived more from within the head than from what's out there in front of us: how do you consider the relationship between reality and imagination, playing within your artistic production? Elena Buftea: Mister Peter Doig is right but at this theme I remember too the end of the Jacques Prevert poem;,, Pour faire le portrait d'un oiseau'' where he said that if the painted bird sings it is a good sign and you can take one of the feathers of the bird and sign in a corner on canvas. Our planet is alive and the artist is alive scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition