Page 245 - Four Art Projects by Petru Russu: Catalogue 2024

Petru Russu © |The Decameron, The 6th Day, The 2nd Novell 1985 aquatinta aquaforte 21x29 cm. | 8½x11½ in.

Enrico Crispolti, the Italian Art Critic and Professor of the Academy of Arts in Rome,
wrote in the Italian exhibition catalogue for Petru Russu: “In this work, Petru appears
to express a visionary form of Expressionism, which is both stirring and passionate.
His painting conveys a symbolic, dreamlike reality that can even take on an alarming
intensity. It is a profound exploration of the psyche, an intense declaration of
anguish. Russu’s painting is populated by figures that dramatically recall the truth of
archetypes, in contrast to the mundane nature of daily life.
The characters in Russu’s fantasy come to life in a transformative dimension.
They intermingle in wondrous places, unhindered by rationality, save for the requisite
of their story’s plot. The tale that Russu has woven is an interplay of potential
correlations with the text. His figurative stories are not explanatory; they are merely
linked to the text for a captivating, fantastic inspiration that the artist continually
refreshes. The text serves as a preamble to motivate his own narrative, his own
imaginative universe of symbols, archetypes, and mysteries. Regarding the works of
Petru Russu, Dan Haulica discussed a “double dimension of technological mechanics
and organic unity.” In his visionary world, Russu appears to be referring to these two
dimensions as rivaling archetypes in the fabric of our reality. Excerpt.