Qiling Duan

This painting caught my eye because of something very unusual about it. It violates the accepted rules of design and in doing so, creates what for me was a very intriguing dynamic. Most of the "interest" in the image lies on the right and at the margins of the left half. An open space leads into the image on the lefthand side and I couldn't get over the idea that I, as the occupant of the point of view, could casually walk right over the tiled floor and into this room, a sense reinforced by the attention of the woman and the dog on me, (or whoever happened to be the viewer at that moment). If I subtract my presence, it's off-balance. There are 'action-oriented reasons to do that, but this isn't an action-oriented image. But instinctively, I found I had to struggle not to think of myself as present. And with my presence, the balance of the scene is magically restored. It's the most effective example of this sort of thing I've ever seen, and I've spent a lot of time looking for things like this. This could be an accident, but accidents like this seldom happen in the process of making a painting. So, I think it's not accidental, it is brilliant, as in, a work of genius. Everyone should judge for themselves, but I feel genuinely rewarded.