Aquatic Animals 1978

Ding Yanyong made this monochromatic painting of Aquatic Animals with ink on paper. Look at the way he's used the brush – it's all about spontaneity, like a jazz solo. The ink creates a world of textures, from the delicate lines of the reeds to the dense, almost velvety darkness of the crab. Notice the concentration of marks where the frogs gather: each dot and dash seems to capture their frenetic energy. The whole composition reminds me of Cy Twombly's scribbled surfaces, but with a zen-like focus. Ding's work shares that quality of immediacy, suggesting art as a living, breathing process rather than a static object. What do you think?