Artist Duo Paint Dramatic Scenes of Contemporary Life That Discuss Ethics and Spirituality

by Maria Sofou

Artist duo Muntean/Rosenblum use traditional Christian visual tradition and Baroque aspects of seeing to create scenes derived from contemporary life. Set in landscapes familiar to the 21st century, such as nuclear plants and tear-gassed demonstrations, the artists paint as if they were producing a documentary with fragments of our current reality. The dramatic tone that is given to the artwork cultivates a sense of mystique around these scenes, while their main subject is pain and discomfort. All of the paintings are accompanied by captions, making them more captivating. For example “She was beginning to understand that evil is not absolute , and that good is often an occasion more than a condition” is scrawled under the depiction of a young girl sitting on her desk.

“Muntean/Rosenblum use found material from magazines and journals, collective and media images of a consumer oriented youth culture to raise questions of identity and the subject. The contemporary outfits, which promise individuality and self-confidence, form a sharp contrast to the mannered gestures and poses. Characteristic of their drawings and paintings are subtitles in capital letters on a white background. The supposedly deep, philosophical statements are taken from various fragments from magazines and philosophical texts.”

See their work: