暖之二（电脑绘） 2004

Xu Hongming made this digital painting, 暖之二, by drawing on a computer. The grid of squares is a starting point, of course. From there, it’s all about seeing what happens if you push the color in one direction or another. These shades of pink are close, but not identical. So the image seems to move and breathe a little, which is kind of nice, right? I like the fact that it’s called “warmth.” It reminds me a little of Agnes Martin, or maybe even some of those computer-generated images that artists like Vera Molnar were doing in the 60s and 70s. But, ultimately, it's its own thing. Sometimes, the simplest moves can be the most effective.