「Look at the Picture and Talk about the Painting」Red Blooms at the Beginning of the Year, Art Enriches the Soul

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the sun shines red, and the year is red all the way through. Red is not only a symbol of festive joy during the Spring Festival but also a carrier of vitality and the complexity of human nature. This profound meaning is given a more vivid expression in the “Red” section of the “Colors” special exhibition at the Beijing Minsheng Art Museum through a series of classic works.

František Kupka’s “Lipstick” features a small, yet highly penetrating touch of red lips, like the first light of dawn. It conceals the vitality and unique charm of a woman.

Liu Ye’s “Meow” transforms Western modern art into an aesthetic humor that is easily understandable to Chinese people with a theatrical sense of absurdity, achieving a collision of visual elements between China and the West.

In Chaim Soutine’s “The Bellboy”, the emaciated and distorted figure, paired with a bright red coat, this red is not merely festive but rather a suppressed hue concealing survival anxiety, yet still exuding a powerful vitality.

Andy Warhol’s “Big Electric Chair” is interwoven with blood red and deep blue, concealing thoughts on life and death. Every new beginning is built upon the understanding of the past, which also adds a layer of reflection on the past and rebirth to the first day of the year.

The bright red sun on the second day of the Lunar New Year is the most simple blessing, while the artistic red of the red unit is an interpretation. In the joyous atmosphere, we understand life and draw strength from art. Let this new year be more splendid because of red and more profound because of art.

The tea for today is all gone. Next time, I’ll brew a fresh pot and enjoy art with you again.