Cornelia Badelita: Reflecție/Repetiție

“The artist has long questioned the essence of originality and wondered if and how it would be possible to grapple with this concept through its copies. Is the original to be found through layering all its copies, one on top of the other? Or is it preserved in what is left in their subtraction? Does it hide where the brushstroke is more spontaneous, smooth and bold – or, on the contrary, does it surface where the painter’s hand has become unstable, shy, in the cautious and tentative attempt to emulate an especially difficult part of the painting? The artist’s questions have taken form in installations. The reproductions, often set one next to the other, are the object of her pictorial manipulation, some hardly noticeable, others vigorous and evident. In some cases, a fragment is repeated with minimal variations until it becomes an abstract element. In others, the object of the artist’s investigation is the specularity of the image. Badelita creates self-reflecting worlds, in which colours and shapes face each other. She generates universes which unfold horizontally or vertically, thus losing their original appearance to take on an unexpected one.”