The Flight of Angels 2005

Ion Pantilie made 'The Flight of Angels' with washes of coral pink and strokes of crimson red that seem to dissolve into the white of the paper. I can almost imagine him working on this, allowing the paint to glide and blend, searching for the balance between control and chance. There's something so vulnerable about watercolor – the way it stains and bleeds, leaving traces of the artist’s hand and intention. I wonder if Pantilie started with the idea of angels or if they emerged through the act of painting itself. The way the colors merge and separate reminds me of Helen Frankenthaler’s soak-stain technique. Look at the way the red gathers in certain areas, creating these almost halo-like forms. Maybe it's about the feeling of transcendence, of being lifted beyond the everyday. Artists are always talking to each other across time, borrowing, stealing, and transforming ideas, and the way they work becomes an inspiration for us all. Painting remains such an open form, where meanings shift and change.