Venus 1980

Walasse Ting made this painting, Venus, with acrylic on canvas. It's full of joyful and bright colours. I can almost feel Ting splashing the paint onto the canvas! Imagine him standing there, surrounded by pots of pink, green, and blue, maybe with some music playing, totally in the zone. The yellow of the reclining nude is so intense, it almost vibrates against the blues and greens in the background. The whole thing feels like a celebration, a big, juicy party of color and form. He's known for this kind of playful take on the figure. Think of Matisse, but with a bit more punk rock energy. What a cool way to make something so alive! It reminds me that painting is a form of embodied expression, and that there are so many ways of seeing and thinking about the world.