橙色美人蕉 2019

Wang Xinfu made 橙色美人蕉 or 'Orange Canna' with what looks like pure exuberance. The paint is so thick it’s practically sculptural. It's hard to tell if it's flowers or foliage, everything’s just sort of mushed together, a happy accident. The color palette is earthy, but not in a quiet way. There are greens and browns, yellows and whites all swirled into one impasto explosion. Look at the mark-making; each stroke is so physical, so determined. You can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the surface, wrestling with the paint, letting the medium lead the way. It reminds me of some of Joan Mitchell’s later works where she piles it on, less concerned with representation than with the act of painting itself. Art, like life, isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about embracing the questions.