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"[N]otice how the contrasts between the colors, shapes, and sheens of the objects are called to our attention. Three boxes—the flat wooden box, the angled bluish-white box, and the flared wooden rice carrier—contrast to the rounded shapes in the painting: the tea cup, the silver wine chiller, and the two eggplants. Contrasting to both shapes, and placed quite centrally in the painting, is the lovely velvet bag whose tasseled cords invite our eyes to follow along their lengths.

"Notice how each of the rectilinear objects are set slightly askew; if they were set perfectly square to one another, we might not be able to see and fully understand their shapes and sizes. And notice how our eyes naturally follow each of the boxes' edges, from the shallow wooden box on the bottom, up the slightly angled sides of the bluish-white box, to the wide flaring sides of the rice carrier. After tracing these rectilinear edges, however, our eyes notice the shallow arc of the rice carrier's handle. This arched handle was originally created for the functional purpose of fitting nicely into its user's hand, but its curve is also a lovely contrast to the rest of the container's shape.

"This curve serves as a visual bridge that draws our attention to the similarly curved shape of the eggplant to its right and the wine chiller to its left. Each very different item—a rustic old container for carrying an everyday staple, an elegant container for a special wine, and the oddly dark-colored vegetable—is visually joined together by this gently bowing shape. Next we notice the teacup, which shares a similarity to the wine cooler in its sheen and curving gold handle. The warm white glaze on the inside of the cup contrasts to the vibrant display of colors on the outside of the cup, colors that we notice in other elements of the painting. The hues of the pink and red flowers can be seen in the colors of the velvet bag, the warm golden hues can be seen in the undertones of the wooden boxes as well as the table and wall, and little spots of blue and lavender on the cup pull our eyes to the bluish-white box, the cool highlights on the wine chiller, and the cool hue of the eggplants.

"But perhaps the most striking contrast is among the variety of different textures in this painting, from the plush velvet bag to the soft sheen of old wood in the rice carrier, to its rusted iron straps, to the polished brass handles of the wine cooler, whose rope-edged detail reminds us of the roped texture of the velvet bag's strings. And the wine chiller's polished silver surface is so shiny that it mirrors all of the textures back to us again, inviting the delightful visual tour to begin again."

—Sherri Tracinski, The Intellectual Activist, Vol. 19, No. 4