Alex Voinea: Color In Flow
May 26 – June 1, 2024
Opening: Sunday, May 26, 2:00 – 4:00 PM
Artplex Gallery proudly presents Color In Flow featuring the vibrant abstract paintings of Alex Voinea, whose work reflects a life shaped by resilience and fervor, stemming from his experiences in the Romanian revolution. Voinea’s meticulous approach to his craft results in dynamic compositions that transcend traditional boundaries, inviting viewers into a universe where color reigns supreme and motion is palpable. With a bold palette and fearless experimentation, Voinea’s paintings pulsate with life, drawing audiences into a rich tapestry of organic shapes and rhythmic patterns. Now, at 50 years old and residing outside Barcelona, Spain, Voinea’s work continues to captivate audiences worldwide, reflecting his enduring passion and inquisitive spirit. Join us at Alex Voinea’s solo exhibition to experience the visceral power of this unique artist’s abstract masterpieces.
Alex Voinea’s brilliant abstract paintings reflect a life marked by resourcefulness and passion. While just a teenager, Voinea took part in the Romanian revolution that toppled the Ceausescu Communist dictatorial regime. It was a place and time that he has described as being oppressive and dark. During those few turbulent days, Voinea recalls, above all — more than the clashes and shootings — the emotions he experienced. Voinea speaks of experiencing an extraordinarily vivid acuteness of his senses; even the most insignificant of which seemed to take on larger dimensions, everything he saw and felt was out of proportion; his state of alertness multiplied the perception of his senses. And that state of alertness is what is activated when Voinea begins a painting session and confronts the canvas with colors, mediums and brushes, ready for action, action which, due to the characteristics of the materials, must be quick, accurate and without hesitation.
“I am interested in the physics of materials and the purity of pigments in their various states and how they respond to the different circumstances and situations that I create.”
Alex’s work can be viewed as a study of contrasts, the interplay of control and precision versus serendipity that evolves and mutates into a free expression of emotion splashed on the canvas in brilliant displays of color and form. Voinea’s precision requires a total involvement of the senses, absolute concentration and maximum attention — attention needed to overcome the various conditions that can arise in the work and that need to be dealt with in the moment. Each session is a tour-de-force for the artist, a concentration of energy which, by channeling it in the execution of the work, is reflected and captured on the canvas.
“With my work I try to convey the feeling of being immersed in a universe where color is the protagonist. Colors and material flow giving the sensation of zero gravity and are transformed by an imaginary vibration that causes them to move and dance.”
Fading backgrounds create depth and perspective in his abstract work, but with an almost hyperrealist definition in which Alex transmits a vibrancy of motion and fluidity to his painting; bursts of color that result in happy accidents where proportionality and constraint give way to the actual experience of freedom created by the artist and experienced by the viewer. Drippings, brushstrokes, splashes and various effects, done with a surprising assuredness of execution, without a trace of hesitation, interlace and coexist on a same surface, creating a rich universe; organic, rhythmic and alive. In his use of color, Voinea is equally bold, using a range of colors both pure and bright, some fluorescent, but always well-harmonized.
“What interests me is to create and freeze in a moment in time a vibrant universe with a big bang of colors.”
The evolution of Voinea’s artistic vision was born in the chaos of the Romanian Revolution which forced him, at just 19 years of age, to leave his home country and find his way in an unfamiliar and challenging world — entirely on his own. First in Italy, and eventually in Spain, Voinea learned and manipulated pigments and forms; first in decorative painting and eventually, inevitably, fine arts painting.
Now at 50 years old, although many miles and years from his early days in Romania, Voinea continues to express his passionate and inquisitive character in his colorful abstract paintings, adventurous works that push the bounds of creativity with experimentation, brilliant colors and striking forms. Voinea’s oeuvre, in summary, is visceral, striking and powerful, living and organic.
Alex Voinea lives and works outside of Barcelona. His paintings have been exhibited and admired throughout Europe and the United States, including in Brussels, Paris, Milan, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg, New York, Los Angeles and Miami, among others.
Since the opening of Artplex Gallery in 2018, the gallery continues to be one of the world’s leading art galleries specializing in high-quality, original contemporary art representing a broad spectrum of major international artists. Right at home in West Hollywood and within immediate proximity to its sister gallery Artspace Warehouse, Artplex Gallery is an expansive modern space that specializes in international urban, pop, graffiti, figurative, and abstract art catering to the visual impact.
