Illusory Flowage 1996

Editor: Neil Welliver’s “Illusory Flowage,” painted in 1996 with acrylic on panel, strikes me as so peaceful, almost meditative. The water's reflections create a really interesting visual push-and-pull. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a complex layering of symbolic representation. The reflection itself, is of course a symbol of mirroring and the subconscious. Water has always signified purity, renewal, the flow of time. But look closely at how Welliver renders the trees, solid and stoic and contrasting with ephemeral nature of the reflection. Consider how the uprightness of the trees is undermined. Do you see the visual tension Welliver has created between the grounded, material world and its insubstantial echo? Editor: That’s fascinating! The idea of the trees being stoic, yet visually disrupted, really changes how I see it. Curator: And what do trees usually symbolize? The forest has ancient connections to myths, legends, and the exploration of the human psyche. What do you think the overlapping between the natural world above and mirrored version tells us about what it meant for him to be painting this “en plein air”? Editor: Maybe a desire to understand nature by getting to know it and its own symbolism or reflection of itself. Almost like getting to know another side to himself through nature? Curator: Exactly. The cultural memory ingrained within us connects nature, introspection and the unconscious; Welliver’s “Illusory Flowage” activates this. Editor: I never considered the forest's deeper symbolism. This gives me a totally different perspective on the painting. Curator: Indeed. Hopefully this fresh perspective helps you think of visual material as layered meanings and cross-cultural and individual interpretations. Editor: Absolutely. This has been really insightful; I will look at art and all reflections differently now.