Tunde Darvay Paintings

This 37 x 37 x 2 2.5 acrylic on wood painting by Romanian artist, Tunde Darvay, features a male figure surrounded by animals in a nighttime scene that includes both interior and exterior spaces. Blues, greens and ochres figure prominently in composition of the work. "This piece is painted on the wood frame of an old mirror. I got it from a friend of mine from Norman when I was already living in Colorado. From the moment I saw it, I knew it would be a challenge painting on it. As I was looking through the frame, I felt like I was looking back at a past I had to figure out and actively compose and recreate. At that time I was reading a lot about Greek mythology, and I was captivated by the figure of Diogenes, who chose to live in a barrel as a way of rejecting social norms and civilization. I think there is a bit of Diogenes in each and every one of us as we are trying to figure out the world around us." - Tunde Darvay Artist Statement: Influenced by the unique rural landscapes of Transylvania, the place where I was born and have spent most of my life, my paintings emphasize the shadow-line between the organic and the inorganic. My aesthetic worldview is profoundly mythical: it depicts a world in which color breathes life into inanimate things in order to conjure up playful, suggestive associations along a broad spectrum of themes and forms. Houses have smiling or grinning doors, cheerful, winking, or teary windows, depending on their moody personalities. Chimneys protrude as if they were limbs. Trees hold hands and dance together, witnessed by the curious glance of birds, cats, and fish from behind the...