Symbols of Memory 2010

Curator: Looking at this piece, "Symbols of Memory" by Romul Nutiu from 2010, immediately I'm struck by the dance of greys and the deliberate application of the acrylic paint on canvas. It screams controlled chaos. Editor: Controlled is an interesting word. To me, it feels more like excavating, uncovering something… I get a sense of peering through layers of time. Curator: That’s astute. Given Nutiu’s background, it's important to recognize this work sits within the wider context of abstract expressionism. We can see how process takes precedence. The brushstrokes, the texture… these aren’t accidental; they’re decisions manifesting as marks, material decisions that lead toward making "memories" manifest as an object. Editor: Object… right. I'm lost again, sorry, let's get back to those marks. Is it fair to suggest he’s scraping away at something? Building up and tearing down all in one go, like memory itself… always fragmenting? The colour feels subdued overall – that grey almost devours everything, punctuated, thank goodness, by sparks of yellow, red, blue and black. Curator: Agreed. The colouration provides a valuable element that enhances the texturality and therefore provides further substance that draws your gaze in various directions which adds to the layers of the abstraction. Considering his choices, specifically using acrylics rather than oils, shifts the emphasis. The quick drying time lends itself to immediate mark-making, allowing Nutiu to react spontaneously with material choices and surface alterations and therefore he has provided the materiality to provide all the emotional qualities your talking about. Editor: It’s odd. Usually with abstract works, I search for something recognizable – and failing to find it, I might retreat! But this – this invites speculation, the possibility of deciphering something… perhaps it truly is like riffling through somebody’s old photographs. Curator: Exactly! It speaks volumes about our contemporary consumption habits – the layers almost echo the rapid accumulation of data, an endless stream to which we are all, arguably, becoming victims. Nutiu turns this anxiety on its head by freezing the flow, solidifying a single instance, granting tangible weight and value to the act of recollecting itself. Editor: It's thought-provoking. In the end, maybe memory *is* simply the sum total of what’s left behind on the surface. Curator: Leaving us to consider, in turn, what traces *we* will eventually leave for others to see.