Alex Manea 

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     In Icosology, I delve into the intersection of homage, materiality, and artistic lineage, creating a series of 20 handcrafted wooden books that serve as sculptural canvases. Each book is painted with two reproductions of iconic artworks by a visual artist who has profoundly influenced my creative journey. This series is both a reflection on my artistic path and a meditation on the enduring impact of the masters whose techniques, philosophies, and visual vocabularies have shaped my practice.

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     These works are more than mere reproductions; they are acts of translation and reinterpretation. By reimagining these masterworks within the physical constraints of the wooden book form, I seek to generate a layered dialogue between past and present, artist and influence, tradition and innovation. In this process, I aim not only to honor these canonical figures but to internalize their essence, adapting it to my own artistic language and asserting my place within the larger continuum of creative expression.

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     The wooden books themselves carry a layered symbolic weight. Wood, as a material shaped by time and growth, introduces a sense of continuity and physical presence that stands in quiet opposition to the immaterial speed of much contemporary production. Its tactile resistance reinforces the idea of the artwork as an object meant to be encountered slowly and attentively. The book form further anchors the series in the realm of transmission and preservation, evoking accumulated knowledge, memory, and authorship. Each piece functions not simply as a container of images, but as a constructed site where art history and my own practice intersect, allowing influence to be experienced as something materially held rather than abstractly referenced.

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     At its core, Icosology is about the cyclical nature of inspiration. It is a testament to the ways in which artistic influence transcends time and medium, forming a continuous dialogue across generations. The series poses questions central to the creative process: Who do we carry with us in our pursuits, and how does their legacy shape the stories we tell? How do we honor the weight of artistic inheritance while forging a path that is distinctly our own?

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     Rather than functioning as tribute or quotation, Icosology asserts influence as an active condition of making. The series accepts artistic inheritance not as something to be preserved intact, but as material to be handled, reworked, and carried forward. In this sense, the works position influence as a living structure, one that persists through transformation rather than repetition.