Love in Fangzhuang 2002

Wu Guanzhong made this painting, Love in Fangzhuang, with breezy strokes and a lovely palette of mostly greens, browns, and blacks, plus a confetti of vibrant colours, wow! I can just imagine Wu at work, making intuitive, active marks, building up the surface as he went along. The paint looks thin, almost watery, like a veil of colour has been drawn across the surface. The gestural marks are so light, capturing a real sense of movement and a feeling of joy, even. Look at the strokes on the willow tree branches, for example. They communicate so much energy with such little effort. Wu has this unique ability to combine abstraction with representation. When I look at the painting, I think of the work of Joan Mitchell. Although I am sure he has a style all of his own, there is something about the freedom and fluidity that really sings to me. We painters are all in conversation with each other. And that is how we move forward, always borrowing, always responding. Painting is, for me, a form of expression that embraces uncertainty, allowing for a multitude of interpretations.