Breathtaking. The shadow of Mark Rothko resurrected. The canvases of young painter Alina Schiau whisper it in half-words — and even more clearly, for those who know how to look. Elongated, stretched into wide, highly colored bands, deployed in their raw state, the latest works of this Romanian-born artist raise many questions.
Why this so astutely harmonious mixture of ingredients? To create a unity of reading that is both harsh and bewildering.
Rothko belonged to that absolute quest for the perfect tone. That is why he went so far — even to suicide — to quench his "thirst for beauty" in a universe of silence and unity. He was, as in the "contemplative" chapel of the De Menil Foundation in Houston, the great author of his own colored and univocal score.
Alina Schiau (pronounced Skiaou) achieves this differently: by multiplying her manner-matter, alone, like a woman possessed, finally freed from the Ceaușescu era.
Lucie Braconnier (Partage Gallery, Sofitel-Lyon) has — once again — made the right bet.
Bernard Gouttenoire, Art Critic 2025