Two Ducks in the Lotus Pond 1988

Huang Yongyu made this painting of two ducks in a lotus pond using ink and color on paper. It’s got these big, swooping, almost cartoonish lotus leaves rendered in washes of deep black ink. Then, BAM, these bright red flowers pop out! I love the contrast between the flatness of the leaves and the way those colors create a 3-D effect, like they're leaping off the surface. Those lotus stems hanging down—they're not quite straight, are they? Each one has its own little wobble, like they’re dancing. See how the ducks are more gestural, kind of like blobs of ink that suggest the form of ducks rather than depicting them realistically? It reminds me of Cy Twombly, who shared this amazing freedom with the line. There’s an embrace of imperfection here, a willingness to let the materials do their thing. It’s like Yongyu is saying, "Here's what I saw, but here's also how I felt," and that feeling is all over the surface.