American policy in the 21st Century (2015)

Why does the architecture of the U.S. foreign policy system matter? Because just as “Personnel is policy” (an aphorism dusted off during American presidential transition periods), it is as true, on a macro level, that “Organization is policy.” Foreign policy officials influence decision-making through their biases, preoccupations, and unique background and experience. At the same time, the structure of foreign policy decision-making predisposes certain outputs, forestalls others, empowers certain viewpoints, creates blind spots, and determines the level of efficiency and effectiveness of America’s engagement with the world.

"I’ve made no secret of my critique of the US organizational and operational strengths and weaknesses. Its tangled chains of authority filled with too many personalities is a recipe for disaster. The country is partially paralyzed by a system of policy formulation that somehow manages to be both timidly cautious and aggressively adversarial." – George Vîrtosu.

Radiating with energy, Vîrtosu’s work brims with kinetic gesture and confidence. Seeing the role of artist as observer, his art is direct and less confrontational, laced with emotion and history. His artistic career, in fact, synthesises a new form of populism in an ideal form.

Being born in USSR in 1968, Vîrtosu grew up witnessing a Soviet Union traumatised by wars and mischief. In a country beset by inequality and discrimination, he matured with an ignited urge to stand against all forms of injustice. His ardent belief in the power of art to vivify and transform the public space and the relationships it creates is evidence to his focus on changing his surrounding world for the better. Formulating his own artistic alphabet with which he could communicate through painting, Vîrtosu’s characters and shapes narrate his body of work in an autonomous manner, separated from a need to embed cues for the trained eye. A world opening up for everyone is his first strata in composing a painting, whereas the semiotic puzzle remains as an optional pleasure for the adventurers who search for meaning. This new language allowed him to speak to the masses, defying language barriers and uniting communities by means of empathy or compassion ignited by art – in other words, a universal system of communication.

The piece incorporates one of the main symbols in Vîrtosu’s artistic language: the figure with double facets. For Vîrtosu, this figure symbolises the human as a target, a victim of injustice and the double standards we may encounter during our life. The centrepiece reflects upon two figures, the one facing right reminds us of a fish, while the second, facing right, depicts the figure of a bird.

Sharp, contrasting colours define the two Monster-like figures in the centre. Idiosyncratic of Vîrtosu’s style, the work is “activated” by sharp forms of the silhouette. We are intrigued with the shapes the artist chose as his symbols to create the message. There is within all forms a basic structure, an indication of the entire object that becomes a symbol. Vîrtosu’s artistic language is all-encompassing connecting with the origins of art, contributing to the art historical canon. His art radiates with as much energy as the global politics today.