SERBAN SAVU – OVERVIEW
2012-09-17Overview explores the daily realities of life in Romania after the end of Cold War and opens a window into the lives of present-day Romanians. Savu draws with ease from classical European pictorial traditions – his works show a remarkable sense of observation matched by a subtle handling of color and geometrically rigorous
composition. In some of Savuʼs painting there is a willful tightness to the realism, while in others a delicious touch of early impressionism.
The scenes, the people and activities look familiar and strange in the same time, thus demonstrating the anonymity of an
existence perpetually at the brink in the vast sociopolitical machine. Often, the favorite Savu scenes are set outdoors. In response to the false grandeur of the former Communist era, Savu paints buildings and industrial structures, which often represent imposing vestiges of that time, then he pursues to decorate their surroundings
with quiet grassy landscapes, thus colliding the pastoral with the industrial. Another favorite theme in Savuʼs paintings is the solitary figure, usually a worker who dominates his or her setting. The mood and purpose are consistent and there is a sense of alienation that transgresses every image.
Exhibition runs through to October 20th, 2012
Mihai Nicodim Gallery
3143 South La Cienega Blvd
Unit B
Los Angeles
CA
90016S
