Incoming Tide 

Editor: We’re looking at “Incoming Tide” by Albert Julius Olsson. It’s an oil painting, but its misty quality almost makes it look like a watercolor. It's very still, even with the waves, but I can almost hear the sound of the water in my head. What draws your eye? Curator: The orange orb of the sun, certainly, catching the wave crests in reflected light like visual echoes, although it may as well be a harvest moon depending on our associations and backgrounds. Think of similar uses of circular imagery in spiritual traditions – halos, mandalas. What might the artist be trying to suggest about the ocean and its relationship to something larger? Editor: That's interesting! The circular shape almost seems to separate the sky from the sea. Like two different realms coexisting. So, you're saying that it's more than just a sun? Curator: Yes, precisely. The sun itself is a loaded symbol. Cultures worldwide imbue it with ideas of life, death, and renewal. Paired with the rhythmic and cyclical nature of the ocean – the incoming tide – we begin to see themes of continuity, of forces much larger than ourselves in play. Consider how the colors add to this effect. Editor: The limited palette adds to the dreamy mood. I do wonder if the sun here might be hinting towards some kind of personal, emotional connection, not just cosmic. Curator: Exactly. That emotional resonance, that sense of the sublime, comes from the successful weaving together of these layers of symbolism. This visual vocabulary triggers deeply ingrained cultural and psychological associations that the artist plays upon. Do you see other repeated shapes? Editor: The curves of the waves mirroring the roundness of the sun…It’s all so connected. I hadn't thought of it that way before. Thanks for your perspective. Curator: My pleasure. Noticing such visual and thematic echoes helps us truly unlock a work’s meaning, beyond the purely representational.