Unroll this flower and bird scroll painting and the red berries chrysanthemum theme opens out in classical form. The palette stays measured, favoring harmony over display. It belongs with the best of chinese silk scroll painting, the sort that settles into a room from day one.
Through ink wash alone the artist suggests distance, weather, and weight. Ink-dark crevices cut the rock faces, adding drama to the stillness. From a high cleft the waterfall descends, a ribbon of light in the gloom. With the chrysanthemum, the scene gains a lived-in quality that rewards slow looking. The red berries settles naturally into the scene, balanced against the larger forms.
As classical chinese brush painting, it asks for nothing more than a good wall and soft light. It holds its own in a gallery wall and shines brightest with space around it. Give it wall space and it will repay the attention.
