Tension is at the root of every work by Dumitru Gorzo, and his new paintings on view at Slag Gallery are no exception. Each one is a manifestation of diametrically opposing forces, whether it is dynamism versus solidity, surrealism versus realism, or even outsider versus high art. This tension is apparent in the play between Gorzo’s figuration and abstraction. Both brush and oil stick deliver color, line, and composition with seeming geometric austerity: Sharp corners and edges become faces, but these faces vacillate between pure abstraction and a multitude of emotional expression. Like a jazz improvisation, each new work in this exhibition offers a variation on a theme, and it does so in a gestural lexicon that transcends categorization. The movement radiating from these canvases may, for some, evoke traces of De Kooning, Kippenberger, and even Picasso, all of whom, like Gorzo, found their own path to their art, yet Gorzo thrives amidst the tension between opposing centers of artistic practice and therefore defies the taxonomy of the art world.

Generative System

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