Women in robe 1988

Walasse Ting made this luscious screenprint, with its bold outlines and flat planes of color. I imagine him layering those colors one by one, like a painter building up a surface, even though it’s a print. I’m thinking about the way Ting fearlessly mixed those hot pinks with those cool blues and greens; it's like he's right there in the room. I can feel his joy, his optimism, and the feeling that, for him, art was a way of celebrating life, pleasure, beauty. I am picturing him drawing with big brushes, trying to get the outline just right and letting the colors bleed into each other. It's like a party on paper! It seems like he wants to share his pleasure with everyone! In the end, painting is just a conversation, right? An artist tosses something out there, and we respond, and somehow, through that exchange, we all feel a little less alone, and a little more connected.