Landscape c. 1988

Curator: Here we have Elena Prentice's "Landscape," a watercolor work currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums, measuring 12 by 18 centimeters. Editor: It’s beautifully understated. The monochrome palette creates such a tranquil, almost melancholic mood. Curator: The artist’s process is quite intriguing. The washes of color seem almost accidental, yet they define the rows of fields and suggest a horizon line. The materiality of the watercolor on paper is quite emphasized. Editor: I agree; the blurring of the lines is crucial to its effectiveness. It evokes a sense of boundlessness and the sublime, wouldn't you say? Curator: Perhaps. Or maybe it speaks to the industrialization of agriculture—the repetitive furrows suggesting the mechanization of labor? Editor: Interesting. It seems we both found ways of seeing the same painting in our own way. Curator: Indeed, perhaps that's what makes it compelling.