Untitled (from the Amerim series) 1997

Vasile Dobrian's "Untitled" is a print of simple gestures in a palette of earthy colours: ochre, dark brown, and bright green. I imagine Dobrian starting with the square of flat ochre, working away until it filled the top section of the paper, the ink slightly mottled, a testament to the pressure and movement of his hand. Did he ponder over what to do next? Was the striped section planned? Or did it emerge in the act of making? The brown and green stripes are like a neatly tilled field viewed from above, the ochre a sky or land mass hovering above. I like the contrast between the block of flat colour and the movement created by the regular stripes. It is very satisfying; in this simple image, the artist has created an uncanny sense of balance and harmony. I can imagine Dobrian looking at early American art—naive, but also bold and vibrant. Artists always inspire one another, across time and place.