Spring 

Curator: Here we have "Spring" by Huang Yongyu, rendered with delicate watercolor techniques. I am drawn immediately to the texture of the paper and the washes that bleed together across the surface. Editor: It evokes such a calming yet hopeful feeling for me; there is something very delicate, almost fleeting, about it, like spring itself. How do you read it, structurally? Curator: Well, look at the masterful control of color: primarily blues and purples which allow an expert handling of light that creates dimensionality with minimal tonal variation. Note the tension in the upper right corner as well where color density reaches its zenith. Editor: True. That corner also emphasizes the tension that can occur during the diaspora. Huang Yongyu painted this in response to social issues during his return to painting during a very repressive time in China. It seems that in embracing floral life cycles, he makes comment on larger more social change cycles. Curator: I see your point. But focusing on materiality we can discuss at length Yongyu’s impressionistic take on watercolor as the colors blend freely without firm contouring. I can explore his use of negative space here as well, what he chose to omit. It allows our minds to perceive form in ways a representational rendering would not. Editor: These are helpful insights. I look again and now understand this seemingly carefree watercolour in its historical moment and see something truly poignant and enduring being communicated across those delicate blooms. Curator: And in seeing it both structurally and contextually, we see a more nuanced portrait of the artist's genius on the one hand and our interpretation within specific cultural codes and sociopolitical frameworks on the other.