A very personal style (artistic approach by Cosmina)
My painting style was built little by little by my personal life experience. Born in Europe and raised in France, I began oil painting at eight. Since then, I have always used oil paintings on linen canvases to create my works. This medium has been the most used by European painters for many centuries. I think it is the most durable and nicest to work with.
I studied and graduated in Japanese language and culture. I have also studied the Language of Chinese painting and practiced Japanese calligraphy. This is why I like to structure my compositions on the duality symbolized by the empty and the full (the yin and the yang) - the light and dark. I spend a lot of time on each of my paintings trying to find this balance of harmony, to emphasize the spiritual expression of the painting, and to create colors that will drive the spectator to meditation.
In my paintings, I deliberately reduced the graphics to their simplest expression: point and line. I chose this graphic approach after reading Wassily Kandinsky’s and Paul Klee’s writings. These “shapes-colors” are direct indications whose unique purpose is to reach those who look at them and trigger an expression of their feelings. The absence of any object suggestion (still life of a human figure) strengthens the idea that there is no need for words, that something does not need to be described but felt.
I chose the approach of “action painting” created by Jackson Pollock. These unexpected and unpredictable spots, thrown randomly on the canvas, are a way to free the emotions deeply buried in us. It also expresses the complexity of human thinking and the unpredictability of human reactions.
Painting in this way led me to create an approach that I called “controlled serendipitous painting,” thus allowing me to work spontaneously on a canvas.
I like working on a painting until I am satisfied that these unexpected and unpredictable paint marks, thrown at random (but with some control), are harmonious. At that particular moment, I stopped working, considering that the painting was finished, when I reached a point where I felt nothing needed to be added. Working on a painting on the floor, as did the Amerindians on the sand, turning around it, gives me the feeling of participating actively in the construction of the work and entering physically and mentally into the pictorial universe. I like to feel overwhelmed by colors; I like this journey “in” the painting. This is what I expect from the spectator in front of my works: to make his mind go blank and immerse himself into the colored universe to awaken his senses..
My work is essentially based on the relationship established between the spectator and the painting. I am not interested in the relational power between the “shapes – colors” and the pictorial space but more in the emotional experience they trigger in the spectator.
Since 2006, every year, I have chosen a wide abstract idea to give a common thread to my paintings and build my collections. I then develop this idea through ten or twelve paintings, varying colors and compositions.
Untitled – Ref. US 01 - oil on canvas - 91 x 183 cm (36x72in)
This painting is part of the “Mysteries of the Wind” collection or “the Wind and the symphony of the Earth.”
The wind is an invisible but powerful element that awakens sounds and animates the universe.
The orchestra conductor makes nature sing and composes a celestial melody that one must learn to listen to. It also makes leaves, plants, and aerial dance. The choreographer gives rhythm to the un-hoped dance of the universe.
The wind is also the breath or the blow that animates the mind and the creative drive.
It is the puff that brings peace necessary for creation and meditation.
It is also the wind that induces anger and disturbs the minds. The wind or the breath invites into a journey in the inner self.
This is the “Mystery of the wind.”
In this painting, titled US01, the powerful contrast of colors provokes a psychological drama favorable to meditation and the quest for new emotions. The evocation of the wind, this infinite vitality of the universe, requires from the spectator a cosmic meaning for the mystery of the invisible energies that animate the space. The two opposite movements of the colored spots throw the spectator not the outside but inside. They incite to plunge into the deepest of the inner self and invite to the search for the expression of emotions deeply buried inside. The idea is not to turn on ourselves to do an introspection. It is about making oneself available to search and know what is beyond human knowledge.
Graphic minimalism suggests humility; one must get rid of what is unnecessary to let oneself dive into our emotions and enjoy our meditative power.
The subtle modulation of the colored spots dematerializes the surfaces, allowing the passage of this invisible and light entity: the puff of the wind.
The impression of unsharpness et blurred colors prevent the shapes from stiffening and suggest the idea of dematerialization. It is the wind, mysterious and invisible, that animates the universe. It is the breath of meditative energy.
Cosmina Explains her Collection
“The External Facets of the Inner Self”
The “Inner Self” is what you really are.
“The External Facets of the Inner Self” are the aspects you want to show in society.
A chameleon changes the color of its skin to blend into its environment. This is its way to survive. To play a role, an actor changes his personality according to the character he wants to portray. An actor is paid to play this role.
A human adopts different traits and behaviors in public life according to the roles he assumes. In his private life, he is a husband, a father, and a lover. Professionally, a man can be a politician, a butcher, or a worker. To survive socially, he must show different aspects of his personality. Those changes have become so natural that nobody pays attention to them anymore.
The newest collection, “The External Facets of the Inner Self,” is about when somebody changes their behaviors according to different situations. In my paintings, to translate the duality between the Inner Self and the external facets visually, I have generally chosen to depict two various entities. Very colorful directions, as seen in US 21 and
US 22 indicates the change of status. In some paintings, such as US 30 or US 33, a very strong movement shows this transformation when the “Inner Self” takes on an external appearance according to the role it must play in society.
Untitled US32- 2016 - Oil on canvas - 48 x 72 in
Collection "The External Facets of the Inner Self"
As a collection, “The External Facets of the Inner Self” stands independent of “From the Appearance to the Quintessence” 2012-2013. “From the Appearance to the Quintessence” is concerned with the idea of “a nut without the shell,” or how to get rid of what you don’t need, such as appearances, in order to find who you really are on the inside.
The aim of “The External Facets of the Inner Self” is to show the external facets of the Inner Self: the shell adopted in order to socially survive.