Zulu woman – unfinished symphony 1941

George Pemba made this watercolor painting of a Zulu woman in 1941, and its open process feels so contemporary to me. I love the way he's fearlessly left the underdrawing exposed. The materials here are so present: you can almost feel the way the water blooms on the page. The paint is thin, washy, and translucent. The geometric patterns on the figure's clothing really pop, and there's a tension between the loose handling of the figure and the relatively precise rendering of these elements. Look at how Pemba's handled the figure's right hand; it's almost diagrammatic, with an economy of line that recalls the work of Marsden Hartley. Pemba's process-based approach reminds me of work by contemporary artists like Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, who similarly embrace the immediacy and transparency of watercolor. It shows the ongoing conversation between artists across generations. There's no need to complete the symphony, just keep it open.