Exploring colour as both subject and catalyst across medium to large-scale works, Ionita morphs fleeting, ordinary moments into immersive visual experiences, using vivid palettes and energetic brushstrokes to translate lived experience into paint. Rather than illustrating specific scenes, Ionita’s paintings are driven by sensation and nostalgia. Exaggerated hues, layered underpainting, and dynamic mark-making create compositions that feel active and unsettled, echoing the shifting nature of life and its perception. As the artist explains, “Rather than depicting these sources directly, I approach them intuitively, allowing colour and gesture to guide the composition.” The resulting works hold tension between control and spontaneity, where each mark responds to those before it, generating what Ionita describes as “a feedback loop in which the painting continuously responds to itself.” This sense of responsiveness gives the paintings their vitality. Colour is pushed beyond realism to heighten emotional resonance, while expressive brushstrokes record the artist’s physical and psychological presence in the moment of making. Organic and inorganic forms coexist across the surfaces, reflecting the intersections between natural environments, personal histories, and constructed spaces. The paintings do not aim to fix meaning, instead, they invite viewers to engage with colour as a felt experience; one that mirrors the intensity, busyness, and richness of everyday life.

Within the larger exhibition, a focused body of work, comprised of four small paintings and one large-scale painting, draws directly from family photographs and the bold colour palettes of 1990’s clothing. These works deepen Ionita’s connection to colour by grounding it in personal reference material while maintaining a sense of shared nostalgia. Original reference photos are displayed alongside the paintings, offering viewers insight into the source material without positioning the works as literal translations.

Here, colour becomes a bridge between memory and emotion. As Ionita notes, her work references “memories, lived experiences, and the often-overlooked mundanity of everyday life,” allowing personal history to be felt rather than illustrated. These paintings highlight how colour, filtered through memory, can carry emotional weight, transforming familiar images into energetic, present-tense experiences.

Together, the works in Life in Colour underscore Ionita’s commitment to painting as a responsive, embodied process. Through exaggerated colour, expressive gesture, and intuitive composition, the exhibition invites viewers to consider how moments both ordinary and personal can be sites of energy, vibrancy, and lived sensation.