Seeds
Small-format paintings, 15×15 cm, oil and acrylic on canvas — the testing ground for texture, color and an abstract expressive language.
Alongside the large-scale works, 150×150 cm, I have always kept close at hand a format ten times smaller — 15×15 cm. A reduced surface concentrates color and texture differently than an ample one; it demands another kind of attention.
The series takes its name from this relationship of proportion and function. A seed is not a small version of the tree — it is the matter from which the tree becomes possible. Likewise, these 15×15 works are not sketches or reduced variants of the large format. They are the base unit from which what will later grow at 150×150 is tested and, sometimes, born: a texture, a chromatic pairing, a gestural direction that only later finds its full scale.
The series began in the same territory as the large works — the post-industrial landscape — but quickly moved toward an abstract, expressive language. Since then, "seeds" has become the space where I test textures, chromatic pairings, a freer lyricism, without the pressure of the large format. The works remain unified, though each one started from a different technical or plastic question.
Most are oil and acrylic on canvas, 15×15 cm. So far, the series numbers over 70 works, of which only a selection is published here. In 2026, the series moved beyond the studio through the SEEDS painting installation at Cantacuzino Palace, built around twelve works. The series itself remains ongoing.
SEEDS — Cantacuzino Palace, 2026
In August–September 2026, twelve paintings from the ongoing SEEDS series were presented as a painting installation in the courtyard of Cantacuzino Palace, part of the George Enescu National Museum in Bucharest. Removed from the conventional position on the wall and brought down to ground level, the works were dispersed through the space like seeds, altering the relationship between painting, architecture and viewer.
- 22 August – 8 September 2026
- George Enescu National Museum
- Cantacuzino Palace, Bucharest
- 12 paintings, 15 × 15 cm
Selected works from the SEEDS series are available through Dică & Niculescu Atelier.
Selected press & media
- Observator CulturalSEEDS. Pictura ca formă de germinareMădălina Mirea
An art review by Mădălina Mirea of SEEDS and Adrian Dică’s installation at Cantacuzino Palace.
- LibertateaAdrian Dică, artistul român care a expus la Academia Regală de Arte din LondraDenis Grigorescu
An interview about Adrian Dică’s artistic development, painting as a form of thinking, international exhibitions and his relationship with the art market.
- Alpha ArtReview / Alpha & AlphaSEEDS — Painting Beyond the Wall: Memory, Materiality and Spatial GestureAlpha ArtReview Editorial Team
An analysis of the SEEDS series and the Cantacuzino Palace installation, focusing on materiality, memory and the relationship between painting, space and the viewer.
- HotNews800 de euro, o bancă și un mit. Cum se formează prețul pe piața picturiiDan Popa
An article about how painting prices are formed, drawing on Adrian Dică’s sales experiences and professional development.
- HotNewsINTERVIU – Adrian Dică expune la Palatul Cantacuzino artă construită prin acumulare, accident și revenire asupra suprafețeiCuratorial.ro, republished by HotNews
A republication of the Curatorial.ro interview about Adrian Dică’s painting practice and the SEEDS installation.
- Curatorial — Interview with Adrian Dică
- Radio România Cultural — Atelier: Adrian Dică
- Curatorial — SEEDS at Cantacuzino Palace
- George Enescu National Museum — SEEDS: Painting Leaving the Wall
- TVR Cultural — Jurnal Cultural: Adrian Dică / SEEDS
Author essays
Adrian Dică is a painter and visual artist who writes essays on painting, artistic authorship, and the relationship between artwork, space, and viewer. His writing grows out of studio experience and develops the reflections that accompany his artistic practice.
- LiterNetAm nevoie de o cazmaAdrian Dică
An essay by Adrian Dică about SEEDS, painting as a form of thinking and the changing relationship with the viewer when works are placed at ground level.
- LiterNetBifați că nu sunteți robotAdrian Dică
An essay by Adrian Dică about artistic authorship, artificial intelligence, testimony to the creative act and responsibility for the work.