Untitled 2020

Curator: Standing before us is an intriguing watercolor, "Untitled," created in 2020 by Mariojosé Ángeles. Its swirling forms and muted colors create a fascinating visual experience. What’s your first take on this, Editor? Editor: Immediately, I’m struck by its dreamlike quality, an almost hallucinatory haze of forms emerging from the paper. There’s a figure, seemingly caught in mid-motion, surrounded by ambiguous shapes and colors. It has this overwhelming sense of something emerging and dissipating at once, a fleeting apparition rendered permanent. Curator: Precisely. The artist's mastery of line work truly structures what might otherwise dissolve. Notice how each form, despite the fluidity of watercolor, possesses distinct boundaries that play with foreground and background simultaneously, creating a spatial puzzle for the viewer. Editor: Absolutely. I see a kind of archetypal shadow figure, reminiscent of tricksters or guardian spirits in many mythologies, caught in the transition from the subconscious to the tangible world. It makes me think about themes of transformation, the power of imagination to reshape reality, and, if I follow some dream interpretations, unresolved questions in my life. Curator: I agree, there's an interesting interplay between representation and abstraction. The figuration is implied rather than fully defined, so it remains elusive, allowing for various interpretations depending on the viewer's perceptual framework. We have these structural binaries as well--soft washes meet crisp lines, darker colors sit near pastels; there is complexity throughout its composition. Editor: These contrasting washes and stark black lines speak to a sort of inherent duality. We have light against shadow, form against dissolution, conscious against unconscious. The recurring symbol of the body here hints that this watercolor may well be rooted in introspection, in the archetypal human experiences, rendered anew and personal. Curator: Perhaps. This visual dynamic generates a kind of tension, which enlivens the work and compels a closer look at its intricate balance of elements. A formalist approach to understanding artwork requires us to address such a phenomenon when apparent. Editor: Indeed, reflecting on "Untitled", one finds it remains etched in memory. It stirs, haunts and makes you want to solve it—while also knowing such an act of solving is futile, and ultimately secondary to the beauty of contemplating what is unsolvable. Curator: Ultimately, this composition functions in that space of ambiguity you mention: to not be simply solved, or viewed. There’s a feeling of a process being laid out for our examination. Its real quality is the journey it takes you on—and it's a trip everyone will experience slightly differently.