Today, tomorrow and yesterday 2010

Curator: The muted palette gives it such a sense of quietude. It feels almost like a memory fading. Editor: Well said. What you’re describing works perfectly with the title Jorge Castillo gave this piece: "Today, tomorrow and yesterday," created in 2010. It's a mixed-media work on paper. There’s an ethereality about the subject as it blends together, suggesting that all three temporal states could exist simultaneously. Curator: The vase becomes almost ghostly with its lack of precise lines; the delicate foliage is presented in a state of slow decay, evoking a nostalgic tone, wouldn’t you say? Editor: Definitely. It recalls Vanitas traditions—themes related to memento mori or vanitas, exploring the brevity of life and inevitability of death and transformation. I read a lot into how the flowers are fading, how they mirror cycles of cultural regeneration, loss, and rediscovery. This isn't merely botanical representation; it feels symbolically rich, almost like it transcends itself by capturing our complex and deeply felt connection to existence. Curator: I love how you read that— particularly in relation to cultural symbolism! When examining the forms, I also think it interesting to examine how watercolor offers a lack of control, causing it to flow, mix and intermingle to develop unpredictable qualities in terms of surface and coloration. It allows, perhaps unintentionally, an interesting sense of flow within a still and stable composition. It almost transcends stillness in that regard. Editor: And despite the title referencing time's passage, I keep being drawn to how Castillo creates a static and meditative scene. In other words, temporality becomes subordinate to the image, as opposed to the inverse. Curator: Yes, it allows for moments of pause. The artist presents cycles and temporal states and permits an elongated duration where time ceases, but is felt more internally and psychologically. Editor: It seems that through its technique and style, this painting evokes a kind of timeless echo of mortality and memory. Curator: Absolutely. It’s beautiful and profoundly suggestive in that way, really.