Goa L'Odeur Coleur 

Curator: This is “Goa L’Odeur Coleur,” a vibrant piece by Julio Resende, rendered with watercolor and gouache. The artist utilizes both mediums in a drawing. Editor: It’s dreamy and a little unsettling. That saturated pink base clashes intriguingly with the teal and sketchy greens behind the figures. There’s something forlorn about the composition as a whole, even though it has such bright colors. Curator: Interesting, and the pink you describe seems to me less a deliberate contrast and more indicative of the artist’s hands-on approach. Note how Resende handles watercolor and gouache. The immediacy suggests he’s less concerned with traditional art boundaries than with capturing the moment. Editor: Absolutely. I can also see the cultural echoes, particularly how the human figure interacts with the reclining animal. There's an ancient feel, almost like a classical frieze, but definitely stylized. Perhaps a symbolic rest? Curator: I think your comment opens avenues for understanding the consumption habits. A pastoral landscape, yet not quite… how did these materials reach him, and what was his economic and social status that would permit such free and energetic use? Editor: Those are intriguing angles. The animal figure certainly dominates the image. Historically, cows symbolize nourishment, maternal love and fertility, a representation of nature in all her bounty. And that saturated pink… does it amplify or undermine those primal associations? Curator: You make an interesting case. Considering, then, how the pink foundation seems so detached and the teal background also. It makes me wonder if that reinforces his intent by juxtaposing those images from everyday lived environments? What might seem familiar made foreign or estranged. Editor: Exactly! These symbols could convey any intention—celebration, despair, or a myriad of emotional depths between. Curator: Perhaps, we may both consider then the conditions which have facilitated these considerations for the patron to consider beyond his labor in his world of commodified materiality. Editor: Yes, the image sparks multiple ways of thinking about symbolism.