Man Practicing Tai Chi, Beijing, China 1948

Henri Cartier-Bresson made this gelatin silver print called *Man Practicing Tai Chi, Beijing, China*. The figure stands in an open field, maybe a park, with gnarled trees in the background. His hands are raised, palms out, almost as if he’s feeling the air, or pushing it gently. It makes me think about the times I’ve started a painting with a clear idea, and then the painting takes over, leading me in unexpected directions. I wonder what Cartier-Bresson was thinking at that moment? He could have been contemplating the relationship between stillness and movement, capturing a fleeting moment of balance and harmony. Tai Chi is all about finding that equilibrium, and Cartier-Bresson seems to have found it too, in his own way. Like painting, the practice of Tai Chi is a form of embodied expression. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty and it allows for multiple interpretations and meanings. Like the practice of painting, it's an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring creativity.