Alienation 1992

Wu Guanzhong made this painting, Alienation, with ink and color on paper. I love how these broad strokes of black ink command the surface. They feel so resolute and strong. I imagine him, brush in hand, stepping back and forth, deciding where to place the next line, the composition shifting with each stroke. Can you see the dots of joyful yellow and green? They peek through the black. I wonder if, in making this painting, Guanzhong felt a bit alienated himself. Is it lonely being an artist? The word alienation makes me think of disconnection, and the bold black marks, like barriers, set apart from one another. It's a dialogue between East and West, tradition and modernity. What would the painting look like with different colors? Guanzhong, like other painters, is in conversation across time. This piece inspires my own art-making, a reminder that painting is a form of embodied expression that embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.