Held 2020

Editor: Today we're looking at Owen Gent’s “Held,” a 2020 watercolor. The figure, rendered in shades of teal and fading into deep red, looks like it's arching, reaching or perhaps falling... What strikes me is the interplay between the solidity of the form and the softness of the watercolor. How do you read this composition? Curator: Intriguing observation. From a formalist perspective, note how Gent manipulates color and form to generate a sense of dynamic tension. The grounding shadow opposes the figure's upward curve, initiating a dialogue about balance. How does the materiality, the watercolor itself, contribute to this interplay? Editor: Well, the watercolor gives it that slightly ethereal quality, a kind of weightlessness that contrasts with the powerful pose. Curator: Precisely. The artist employs the inherent fluidity of watercolor to destabilize our perception. It challenges our sense of the figure's corporeal weight. Is the redness, concentrated around its supporting leg and the periphery, an element which enhances the sense of tension, perhaps even vulnerability? Editor: Yes, I see what you mean. It's as though the weight and the reaching strain it. Curator: This piece isn't merely representational; the formal elements actively convey sensation. Editor: I’m struck by how much I missed focusing just on what it seems to *mean* and overlooking the materials at play. It has completely changed how I appreciate this. Curator: Yes, prioritizing visual language unlocks a fuller understanding, allowing a more robust discourse with the piece. The conversation between form, color and medium supersedes initial, impulsive readings.