Kites Seen Again 2003

Wu Guanzhong made this painting, Kites Seen Again, probably sometime in the late 20th century with oil on canvas. Look at how Guanzhong builds up the tree trunk with these bold, broken marks, almost like he's wrestling with the paint, each stroke a decision, a little battle, to find the form within the chaos. And there's such a tactile quality to it, isn't there? You can almost feel the impasto, those thick daubs of paint creating a surface that's alive and breathing, which is something I aspire to in my own work. I mean, see how the blacks and whites of the birch bark bleed into the grey background, and then these tiny kites are zinging out from behind, like these little jolts of color. For me, that little red kite, bobbing up near the top, it's like a metaphor for art itself, like a tiny spark of hope taking flight against the odds. It reminds me a bit of Joan Miró, who knew a thing or two about turning simple gestures into something transcendent. Art, you know, it's not about answers, it's about keeping the questions in play.