Bonsai 2015

Editor: Here we have Mariojosé Ángeles’s “Bonsai,” an acrylic painting created in 2015. The colors are really striking and intense! I am particularly drawn to how the forms blend into each other. How do you interpret this work? Curator: The title "Bonsai," which means "planted in a container", implies restriction and growth simultaneously. Look at how the colours, reminiscent of Fauvism, create distinct emotional spheres. Do you see how the yellow form suggests sunlight and vitality, perhaps a life force struggling upwards? Editor: Yes, it’s like a figure reaching, maybe straining. And then there's the red and orange area—is that meant to represent internal turmoil, perhaps? Curator: Precisely. Red is culturally linked with passion, but also with danger. Perhaps the artist is portraying inner conflicts in relation to an imposed constraint, like societal expectations. The blue surrounding it, could we see that as limitless freedom always surrounding the subject? Editor: That makes sense! The bonsai analogy becomes clearer – pruned and shaped from the outside, but vibrant and turbulent within. Are there other symbols that stand out to you? Curator: Note how the artist doesn't give us clear contours. This ambiguity speaks to the bonsai’s constant state of becoming, of being shaped. Perhaps even reflecting how identity itself is perpetually negotiated. Editor: I didn’t think about it that way. So, the painting is about more than just a plant. Curator: The artist used a visual vocabulary deeply embedded in human experience; the 'bonsai' becomes a powerful metaphor. What will you carry with you after looking at this piece? Editor: How the blending of colors and the Fauvist style emphasizes emotion, the struggles between who you are and who you want to be. Thank you!