sand 2018

Chaokun Wang's "sand" seems to be all about letting the world speak for itself. The picture is split right down the middle, like a Rothko, or maybe a super pared-down Barnett Newman. The sand itself has a warmth that kind of pulls you in, but it’s the sky that really gets me. It’s like Wang just found the perfect blue and then let it do its thing, fading from deep to pale. The horizon line is so simple, but it’s also where everything happens. It reminds me of Agnes Martin and her grids – finding the sublime in the simplest forms. This picture isn’t trying to tell you a story; it’s inviting you to just be, to feel the space, the light. And maybe, just maybe, to find a little bit of peace in the middle of nowhere.