(born Bucharest 22 February 1938 – died London 16 June 2004)

PAUL NEAGU – HEART OF A TORNADO

Paul Neagu came to London in 1969 at the invitation of Richard Demarco. At that time he had worked on the construction of dams in the Danube, and studied painting at the Nicolae Grigorescu Institute in Bucharest.

In London he started his career by lecturing at Chelsea School of Art and Hornsey College of Art, and many of the young sculptors he taught subsequently achieved international recognition. Since gaining British citizenship in 1977 he has been widely recognised, not only for his input in British sculpture, but also as the author of a series of drawings, paintings and performances. In 1992 he obtained Romanian citizenship, and became a citizen of both Britain and Romania.

His inspirations are said to come partly from works of Cubism, Marcel Duchamp, Brancusi, but his major influences can also be said to be the metaphysics of geometry, mythology, and eschatology. Focusing on his interest in the concept of movement, exploiting his background as a technician and engineer in his creations, he also explores themes of modern philosophy, using metaphor rather than logic as a tool.

Aristotle defined motion as the testimony of the soul’s presence, while Newton described cosmic origins, and Paul Neagu conveys these ideas with sculpture made of heavy stable metal or wooden elements. The contradiction between the material and the ideas creates tension, which brings us to the core or origins of the cosmos, but in Neagu’s work this is not a dialectical opposition. Instead it points to a pluralistic method of expressing concepts which cannot be made literal in any way. The precarious harmony and self-sufficiency of his works uniquely calls to mind a state of any universe, a precious moment of solidity in the midst of chaotic movement, a powerful tornado trapped in a composition of a devotional geometry.

Since 2001 Paul Neagu has suffered from the consequences of a stroke. He is unable to express himself in speech or writing; however his mental capacity is unchanged. He has also sustained his creative activity and never stopped producing drawings, paintings and sculptures. This dysphasia makes his creation even more meaningful. The absence of the spoken word intensifies the concept of unspoken values which can be expressed only with metaphor or iconography. (© Agnieszka Grabowicz 2003)