Scene de rue 1998

Aurel Cojan made this painting called Scene de rue with a brush full of sandy, peachy colours. It feels like he built it up through a process of constant looking and touching. I can imagine Cojan building up the image tentatively, laying down marks and then wiping them away with a cloth, re-considering what’s there with each new gesture. Sometimes, the paint looks like it's been dragged across the surface, and in other places, it pools into these intense, dark red stains. It’s like he's using painting to investigate the world, and also, maybe to let the world investigate him. You know, painting becomes this space where he’s in dialogue with the things around him, and with other artists who have tried to do the same. He’s working through something, asking questions about what it means to see and feel and be present in the world. Artists are always borrowing and building on each other's work, it's a beautiful conversation across time.