The series of drawings by Adelina Cacio entitled “Unfinished Business” represents a graphic exploration of personal sensations and experiences which find their metaphorical echoes in what the artist calls “physical events that are perceptible starting from the cosmic level up to the quantum one”.

The refinement and minimalism with which the illustrator brings these configurations to life ennobles a series of cerebral processes with which she operates in the analysis of her surrounding reality, which she filters through the prism of ideological landmarks made up a priori. Although the conceptual justification that Adelina Cacio wishes to strongly underline in the perception of her drawings starts from a rational approach of the world – i.e. that the surrounding phenomena are, in the realm of our consciousness, subject to and determined by religious beliefs and scientific arguments –, her graphic vision is outlined as being extremely warm, dynamic and gestural, belonging to the forms that she imagines.

Colour becomes a sensorial support in a world that is minimal and encrypted from the works of the artist, as the dynamism and richness of the lines seduce the eye in an almost visceral manner. The sensitivity with which the elements are carefully positioned and visually described attracts the beholder into a universe of an abstract character which coagulates the starting points towards new configurations, towards new worlds. It is a congealed universe, always open towards interpretation and towards pinning new meanings to it. That is why it is “unfinished”, as the end is left open for us, for all.

The great white surface becomes a support in the composition in which the plastic elements are brought to life, in which they connect and even “breathe” within a visual dialogue of great refinement. The dot, the line and the smudge harmonize within an intimate, personal graphic symphony which configures forms and phenomena belonging to the microcosm and macrocosm alike.

Adelina Cacio is a keen observer of reality and of its perception, juggling with the matter itself, as well as with the concept of its existence in the Universe as a formula that is spectacular from a visual point-of-view and also enigmatic in the revelation of meanings.

The minimalism with which she operates becomes syncretic, outlining a world that is simultaneously graphic, pictorial, sculptural and even musical. The perceptive gates that she opens up within the beholder are entirely assumed from a rational and even scientific perspective of the Universe, leaving the receiver to “warm them up” by means of his/her personal approach and unique interiority.

PhD candidate Ada Muntean

Visual Kontakt curator

…or the aesthetics of analytical theories. There is a cognitive chain which is generated and constantly redefined by the entire realm of our experiences and judgements. This complex and entirely amorphous structure has probably the same point of origin as conscience does. The two are not one and the same, rather the latter determines the former and therefore acts like a product of it. Generally speaking, this abstract apparatus works like a metaphysical helix which gathers all the data that composes the self and establishes the way in which we perceive our own particular version of reality.

I consider this helix, its particles and the bonds between them to be extremely relevant, because the decantation of all knowledge mechanisms occurs at that metaconscious level. This is why it is always, for its entire length, under the microscope of my research and synthetic capacities. Thus, my main interest becomes one of documenting, describing and, finally, visualizing this formless organ by schematically depicting as many mental processes as possible.

The specific section presented in this series captures a time when it seemed that all experiences and sensations can be related, in a metaphorical sense, to observable physical events, ranging from the cosmic to the quantic. These images use the pretext of representing the singularity, the wormholes, the supernovas, the photon pattern resulted from the double slit experiment, etc. as symbols for different conclusions that I have reached by carefully observing this cognitive chain. Alongside these representations, there are also some noticeable minimal marks that are hinting, as accurately as possible, to certain equations that in turn create and comprise the bonds between the particles of this same chain.

The conviction that stands behind all this is the fact that we are all made to perceive that things are suited for a logical and coherent system that functions according to our own ideological points of reference. We justify everything by this system, from our religious beliefs to our scientific and sociocultural certainties. If we encounter something that doesn’t fit in within these parameters, then that thing won’t receive meaning and, therefore, we will not be able to perceive it as it is. In which case, we will not know how to carry on except if we produce a meaning, a purpose and a place for it in the reality that we acknowledge to be valid. If we don’t succeed in doing so, then that particular thing will become virtually undetectable on the surface of our cognitive area. This is where the need to question all meaning that we have accumulated along the way begins to preoccupy me. And, maybe even more relevantly so, the quality of the lack of meaning and the very possibility of it being a fundamental aspect of reality.

Adelina Cacio