Alex Manea 

TEXT:

 

     Within my painting practice, the notion of the “study” functions not as a preparatory step to be discarded or surpassed, but as a critical site of investigation. Each work in this series originates on a 20 × 20 cm canvas, a deliberately restricted format that imposes both physical and conceptual constraints. This scale allows for an intensified engagement with structure, gesture, and decision-making, distilling the act of painting to its most essential components.

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     Traditionally, studies are understood as subordinate to finished works, existing primarily as tools for experimentation or rehearsal. This series challenges that hierarchy. While many of these paintings serve as points of departure for larger compositions, they are conceived and executed as complete works in their own right. Each piece is resolved within its own limits, embracing the tension between intuition and refinement.

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     The reduced format encourages a heightened concentration of intent. Compositional choices are compressed, and every intervention becomes visible and consequential. In this sense, the studies operate as records of thought in motion, capturing moments of uncertainty, discovery, and resolution. Rather than presenting a polished conclusion, they foreground process, revealing the underlying logic and vulnerabilities of artistic decision-making.

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     Importantly, not all studies are destined for expansion. Some remain permanently contained within their original dimensions, resisting translation into larger formats. This resistance underscores a key premise of the series: scale does not determine significance. Meaning, intensity, and conceptual clarity are not dependent on size, but on the precision of engagement between artist, material, and idea.

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     The series also reflects a broader position on uniqueness and authorship. Each study is a singular object, produced without replication or editioning. This insistence on singularity reinforces the notion that even the most intimate or experimental gestures carry the same ontological weight as more monumental works. The paintings function as autonomous entities, not fragments or derivatives.

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     Studies ultimately offers insight into the internal architecture of the practice itself. By exposing the mechanisms of exploration and refinement, the series invites viewers to encounter painting not as a fixed outcome, but as an evolving process of inquiry. In doing so, it reframes the study as a space of conceptual rigor and artistic legitimacy, where the foundations of larger works are not merely tested, but fully realized.