Love in Afternoon 1974

Curator: Walasse Ting's "Love in Afternoon," painted in 1974 using acrylic on canvas. Quite striking, isn't it? Editor: It's joyously chaotic! The colours explode, and yet it has a calm, languid feel. Like a beautiful mess after a wonderful picnic. The splashes give it such immediacy. Curator: I see what you mean. It does invite an interesting duality. Ting was quite invested in the Fauvist movement, where he embraced distorted forms, wild brushstrokes, and vibrant colors to depict human figures and animals with expressive freedom. His figures, almost flattened, carry echoes of the great odalisques. Editor: Right, it is a modern odalisque! And what do you think about the almost childlike execution in its style? There’s something really raw and playful about how the forms are rendered, wouldn’t you say? Those simple daubs of colour become roses... almost magical! What a master. Curator: It reflects, too, Ting's integration of his Chinese heritage with Western styles. There's an apparent freedom of brushstroke here that directly relates to traditional Chinese ink painting, wouldn't you agree? That accounts for its immediacy, despite the classical subject. Editor: Oh absolutely, and perhaps why the female form seems so joyful! It's the joy of embracing, but also re-imagining. The artist is allowing new symbols of femininity to come forward. Not just in subject, but in treatment. Curator: It certainly challenges the male gaze inherent to many nude studies across history. Editor: Right, this afternoon seems solely for the woman's pleasure! The roses are a potent image for sure. Here, I see more direct markers to that feeling of, almost defiant joy... that sense of freedom that this figure expresses in body and colour! Curator: So, a meeting of cultures and art histories to embody an idea? I see what you mean. All those aspects truly converge in an uplifting piece. Editor: Absolutely. I’m happy I got to spend my afternoon reflecting on Walasse Ting's "Love in Afternoon." What a ride!