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 are symbolic. Wood, with its organic texture and permanence, grounds the work in a materiality that contrasts sharply with the ephemerality of much contemporary art. The book form, meanwhile, evokes notions of knowledge, storytelling, and the archive—each piece functioning as a chapter in both art history and my personal engagement with it. Through this medium, I explore the tensions between the tactile and the intellectual, the personal and the collective, the enduring and the fleeting.

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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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     This series is both a personal homage and a public offering—a reflection on the interconnectedness of artistic endeavor. By presenting these reinterpreted masterworks, I invite viewers to consider the resonance of influence, the act of reinterpretation, and the ways in which art, like the books that preserve knowledge, serves as an enduring vessel of meaning across time.