The criterion for understanding an art exhibition is to understand a single painting

When faced with a plethora of art exhibitions, it would be better to try establishing an aesthetic coordinate system by focusing on a single painting from the local to the overall, instead of getting anxious about not understanding them.

Aesthetics begins with the gaze on details. Observing a painting from a local perspective can be divided into three dimensions: Firstly, understand the picture itself, such as the character layout in Manet’s “Luncheon on the Grass”, the breathing sensation of colors in Zao Wou-Ki’s abstract paintings; Secondly, pay attention to the combination of the frame and the work, such as the use of gilding frames in classical oil paintings to enhance the narrative sense, and the preference for minimalist black frames in contemporary works to highlight purity; Finally, notice the correspondence between the wall color and the work, such as the use of dark gray walls in the Louvre to contrast with the mysteriousness of “Mona Lisa”, and the use of soft beige in Yoshitomo Nara’s exhibition to highlight the innocence of the brushstrokes.

This observation and combination can also be applied to home spaces. Starting with choosing a main visual artwork, customize the colors of curtains and carpets according to the main color tone of the painting, use the material of the frame to echo the style of furniture, and in addition to the conventional rules for choosing frames, even calligraphy and works on paper can also be considered with frames of different European styles. Choosing walls and floors with low saturation can make the painting the visual focus, and then form color echoes through green plants, lighting, and objects.

The value of visiting an exhibition does not lie in understanding everything, but in cultivating the ability to “insight”. When you can extend from the brushstrokes of a painting to the color scheme of the space, and from the proportion of the frame to the size of the furniture, aesthetics can be restructured from vision to space. Artworks will then have practical value.