TANK 展览｜“爱人”：托马斯·豪斯雅戈眼中的人和宇宙万物
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油罐艺术中心“爱人”展览鸟瞰图
Bird-eye view of the “LOVERS” exhibition at TANK Shanghai
托马斯·豪斯雅戈在“爱人”展览中的雕塑作品以一种奇妙的同心圆格局陈列，像是一个恒星系统出现在上海油罐艺术中心T馆标志性罐形空间内，中央是巨大的沉浸式雕塑《爱人（圆屋）》（2016），本次展览标题就是来自于这件作品， 展厅之中它的四周环绕着豪斯雅戈史诗般的人像雕塑。
油罐艺术中心“爱人”展览现场图
Installation view of the “LOVERS” exhibition at TANK Shanghai
“爱人”是托马斯·豪斯雅戈在中国的首次机构个展。豪斯雅⼽1972年出⽣于英国利兹，于1990年⾄1991年就读于英国利兹雅各布·克莱默学院，1994年获得伦敦圣⻢丁艺术学院学⼠学位，并于1994年⾄1996年之间在阿姆斯特丹的De Ateliers学习。2003年，豪斯雅⼽移居美国洛杉矶，⽬前在在此⽣活和⼯作。在过去的十年里，他的作品一直是美国和欧洲主要机构个展、调查和回顾展的主题，这次他的作品来到亚洲。
豪斯雅戈的雕塑创作中使用石膏、木头、粘土或青铜，以及钢筋和麻纤维等材料， 延续了从奥古斯特·罗丹到阿尔贝托·贾科梅蒂 、康斯坦丁·布朗库西、亨利·摩尔、乔治·巴塞利兹等艺术家的雕塑传统。豪斯雅戈大量参引艺术史，包括现代艺术史和古典艺术史。他的创作深受立体主义和原始主义的影响，毕加索是他的重要灵感来源之一。
《爱人（圆屋）》（中央）和《给孩童和爱人的雕塑》（右）的“爱人”展览现场图
Installation view of Lovers (Round Room) (center) and Sculpture for Kids and Lovers (right)
at “LOVERS” exhibition
从《爱人（圆屋）》内部向油罐顶部拍摄的“爱人”展览现场图
View from inside Lovers (Round Room) at “LOVERS” exhibition at TANK Shanghai
《爱人（圆屋）》（2016）和《给孩童和爱人的雕塑》（2022）都是由石膏、麻纤维、钢筋制成的抽象的、沉浸式、互动式、空间性和建筑性雕塑，二者在2022年在结束在法国蓬皮杜梅斯的展示之后来到油罐艺术中心。
从《爱人（圆屋）》内部向油罐顶部拍摄的“爱人”展览现场图
View from inside Lovers (Round Room) at “LOVERS” exhibition at TANK Shanghai
《爱人（圆屋）》由两个形状彼此嵌入的形式构成，一个刚硬的圆柱体位于轻微膨胀的、有机的球体之内， 包含两个孔洞——一个纵向的孔洞和一个梨形的、像子宫一样的孔洞——两者形成了内表面和外表面之间的相互作用，雕塑顶部的圆形开口与油罐穹顶的圆形天窗完美呼应。这座纪念碑式的雕塑作品的创作灵感来自于豪斯雅戈亚洲之行期间参观的庙宇——当时他在柬埔寨看到了高度雕塑化的寺庙建筑结构，对他来说，这些建筑是雕塑般的建筑启发了他去创作建筑性的雕塑作品，观众可以进入作品之中。与此同时，这件形似子宫的《爱人（圆屋）》曾被长期摆放在豪斯雅戈的工作室里，是艺术家本人在其脆弱时刻的一个港湾或者说是避难所，他会藏身其中并感受到庇佑和平静。
左：康斯坦丁·布朗库西 《世界之始》（1924）
右：《给孩童和爱人的雕塑》于“爱人”展览的现场图
Left: Constantin Brancusi’s The Beginning of the World (1924)
Right: Installation view of Sculpture for Kids and Lovers (2022) at “LOVERS”
豪斯雅戈的《给孩童和爱人的雕塑》的卵形造型让人想起布朗库西的《世界之始》（1924）， 但与布朗库西的实心大理石雕刻不同，豪斯雅戈的作品是一个空心的场所，更加易于接近，也具有保护性，观众可以走上台阶并进入雕塑内部舒适地坐下来。正如标题所示，豪斯雅戈为他的时任女友和他的孩子们构思了这件作品，他孩子们喜欢在这件雕塑内玩耍。观众也可可以在雕塑内部冥想，其顶部的一个小开口让更多的自然光从顶部进入内部，使其成为一个不那么幽闭的环境。
左：奥古斯特·罗丹的《走向前进的男人》（1899-1900）
右：《跳蚤幽灵（一）》（2011）于“爱人” 展览的现场图
Left: August Rodin’s Homme qui marche (1899–1900)
Right: Installation view of Ghost of Flea I (2011) at “LOVERS”
豪斯雅戈以其人像雕塑作品而闻名，此次他展示了四件史诗般的人像雕塑。这些作品均采用了不同材质和创作技巧，包括造型、铸造和雕刻等，整体以环形格局展示，并按顺时针方向以时间顺序进行排列，以《跳蚤幽灵（一）》（2011）为展览线索的开端：豪斯雅戈认为这是他本人的第一件高完成度的作品，它参考了英国艺术家、诗人和作家威廉·布莱克的幻想微型画进行命名，该画通过对比昆虫的肌肉体积和力量形成鲜明对比，达到了戏剧性的效果。《跳蚤幽灵（一）》这件雕塑作品呈现的人物形象拥有发达的肌肉体格，充满勇气、力量和生命力。作品亦在动态之中涉及古典原理，暗示了罗丹的开创性雕塑《行走的人》（1899-1900）和贾科梅蒂的1960年同名作品
《响尾蛇人像（铝）》（2011）于“爱人” 展览的现场图
Installation view of Rattlesnake figure (aluminum) (2011) at “LOVERS”
豪斯雅戈的小女儿在他们洛杉矶图琼加地区的家外发现响尾蛇，并与它们一起跳舞，这一事件启发了豪斯雅戈创作《响尾蛇人像（铝）》 （2011）。这座银色铝制雕塑最初的版本由 豪斯雅戈用电锯在一块巨大的红木上雕刻而成，并在铸造为铝制雕塑的过程中完整保留了红木雕刻的形态和纹理。人物脸上刻着一只大眼睛，茫然地看着观众，而身体的其余部分则转过身去，只能看到侧面，表现了豪斯雅戈对早期立体主义和毕加索的艺术的迷恋。
《红木立像》（2023）于“爱人” 展览的现场图
Installation view of Standing Redwood Man (2023) at “LOVERS”
《红木立像》（2023）是豪斯雅戈时隔近四年后最新的人像雕刻创作，被艺术家认为是他创作生涯中最出色的雕塑作品。令人印象深刻的人物高368.3厘米，采用了古典的“对立式平衡”姿势，由艺术家在一整块巨大红木上使用电锯雕刻而成，体现了豪斯雅戈对人体持久的迷恋。这座雕塑从各个角度都可以观看和解读，整体展现出一种向上的能量，这在艺术家的作品中是罕见的。这个站着的人身上布满了艺术家用电锯雕刻出的，或者按照豪斯雅戈所用的词汇“绘制”出的无数的痕迹，唤起了一个人经历了危机、动荡和失去的生活，却决定坚强地站起来，哪怕浑身伤疤却仍然满怀希望地继续生活。
《⻢里布的月光2023》（2023）于“爱人” 展览的现场图
Installation view of Moon Wane in Malibu 2023 (2023) at “LOVERS”
《⻢里布的月光2023》是豪斯雅戈“视觉绘画”系列的最新创作，该系列是艺术家自2020年开始的绘画系列之一，由他在户外创作的大型、富有表现力的绘画作品组成，重点关注自然、宇宙统一和生命循环等主题。
托马斯·豪斯雅戈在油罐艺术中心现场介绍作品《⻢里布的月光2023》
Thomas Houseago introducing Moon Wane in Malibu 2023 at TANK Shanghai
在构图的左下角，观者可以看到豪斯雅戈本人坐他在马里布的自家院子里的椅子上，这个院子俯瞰大海，豪斯雅戈被他最喜欢的植物包围着。一些蓝色的痕迹指向海平面的位置。清晨，在月落日升之际，这位仍在从心理健康危机中恢复的艺术家沐浴在明亮的月光之中，享受着这一刻的宁静和与自然的联系。一些偶然的元素，例如被风吹到画布上的植物叶子，由他作为一名户外画家的实践，使用丙烯颜料永恒地保留在构图之中。
《静物2023》（2023）于“爱人” 展览的现场图
Installation view of Still Life 2023 (2023) at “LOVERS”
《静物2023》 （2023）是展览的开场作品，并由于展览的环形动线也成为了观众离开展厅前看到的最后一件作品。这是构图显然受到 毕加索20世纪40年代的相同题材和类似构图的油画和版画作品的启发而创作的一幅布面丙烯画作品，而毕加索本人亦是从17 世纪荷兰静物画传统（更具体而言，是劝世静物画（vanitas））中汲取灵感。而不同之处在于，豪斯雅戈 的《静物2023》 构图中有一本打开的书，观者可以清晰阅读完整的英文版的老子《道德经》第六章的内容，不同于早期的劝世静物画中的书籍，而毕加索的相关作品的构图中的书籍页面呈现的都是无法阅读的形状和符号。
左：巴勃罗· 毕加索《头⻣和书》（1946），私人收藏
右：巴勃罗·毕加索《⿊壶与骷髅》（1946）纸本上⽯版画，泰特美术馆藏品
Left: Pablo Picasso, Skull and book, 1946, Private collection
Right: Pablo Picasso, Black Jug and Skull（Le Pichet noir et la tête de mort), 1946, Collection of Tate
《静物2023》 中的英文版《道德经》内容对应该书中文版的第六章：“谷神不死，是谓玄牝。玄牝之⻔，是谓天地根。绵绵若存，用之不勤。”这一章节通常被认为描述了老子思想体系中的宇宙的起源，然而它也被理解为指向源源不竭的创造力的源泉。
《静物2023》 局部
Detail of Still Life 2023
“爱人” 将托马斯·豪斯雅戈的标志性雕塑作品聚集在油罐圆形的展厅中，展示了他早期的、最具代表性的人像雕塑，并强调了他最新的雕塑突破，展示了他作品中多样化的材料和创作技巧。它还通过将他最近的静物和自然主题的画作背靠背并置来凸显他作为画家的实践。雕塑作品的同心圆布局唤起了一个恒星系统，与豪斯雅戈广泛的艺术史参考相呼应，例如布朗库西的本源的鸡蛋，以及豪斯雅戈对宇宙世界起源、生命循环和人与宇宙关系的持之以恒的哲学探索，都在他的自然绘画、人像和抽象雕塑，以及道家哲学参考中做出了典范式的体现。
艺术家介绍
托⻢斯·豪斯雅⼽1972年出⽣于英国利兹。他于1990年⾄1991年就读于英国利兹雅各布·克莱默学院（Jacob Kramer College），1994年获得伦敦圣⻢丁艺术学院学⼠学位，并于1994年⾄1996年之间在阿姆斯特丹的De Ateliers学习。豪斯雅⼽于 2003年移居美国洛杉矶，⽬前在在此⽣活和⼯作。
豪斯雅⼽最近的个展包括：“托⻢斯·豪斯雅⼽ ：给爱⼈们的雕塑”，蓬⽪杜梅斯中⼼，梅斯，法国（2022年）；”我们” (“WE”)，萨拉希尔德艺术博物馆（Sara Hildén Art Museum) ，坦佩雷，芬兰（2022年）；“视觉绘画”（ “VISION PAINTINGS” ），⽐利时皇家美术博物馆，布鲁塞尔，⽐利时；“托⻢斯·豪斯雅⼽”，英国伦敦皇家学院（2019）；“⼏乎⼈类“ ，巴黎市现代艺术博物馆，法国巴黎（2019）。
他的作品⼊选 2010年惠特尼双年展，并被国际公共机构永久收藏，包括：法国梅斯蓬⽪杜艺术中⼼；克兰弗德收藏（Cranford Collection），伦敦，英国；德拉克鲁斯收藏（De LaCruz Collection），迈阿密，美国；巴黎市现代艺术博物馆，巴黎，法国；Aishti基⾦会（Aïshti Foundation），黎巴嫩⻉鲁特；当代艺术博物馆，芝加哥，美国；当代艺术博物馆，洛杉矶，美国；加拿⼤国家美术馆，加拿⼤安⼤略省渥太华；⽐利时皇家美术博物馆，布鲁塞尔，⽐利时；⽪诺收藏，法国巴黎和意⼤利威尼斯；S.M.A.K., ⽐利时根特。
In English:
“LOVERS” at TANK Shanghai:
The Universe and the Humankind in the Eye of Thomas Houseago
Thomas Houseago’s sculptural works in the exhibition “LOVERS” are presented in an intriguingly concentric configuration that is reminiscent of a stellar system inside the iconic cylindrical space of the T Hall of TANK Shanghai, with, in the center, the monumental immersive sculpture Lovers (Round Room) (2016), after which the exhibition is titled, surrounded by Houseago epic figurative sculptures.
“LOVERS” is Thomas Houseago’s first institutional solo exhibition in China. Born in Leeds, United Kingdom in 1972, Thomas Houseago studied at Jacob Kramer College, Leeds, England from 1990 to 1991, received a BA in 1994 from Saint Martin’s School of Art, London, and studied at De Ateliers, Amsterdam, from 1994 to 1996. Houseago moved to Los Angeles, United States in 2003 where he currently lives and works. In the past decade, his works have been subject of major institutional solo exhibitions, surveys and retrospectives in the US and in Europe, and this time, in Asia.
Working primarily with materials such as plaster, wood, clay or bronze, as well as iron bar and hemp, Thomas Houseago is part of a sculptural tradition from Auguste Rodin to Alberto Giacometti, Constantin Brancusi, Henry Moore, and Georg Baselitz. Houseago draws extensively on art history, both modern and classic, and his practice is profoundly influenced by cubism and primitivism, with Picasso being a major source of inspiration.
Lovers (Round Room) and Sculpture for Kids and Lovers are both abstract, immersive, interactive, spatial and architectural sculptures made of Tuf-Cal, hemp, iron rebar, and traveled to TANK Shanghai from an exhibition in Pompidou Metz, France in 2022.
Lovers (Round Room) is a form within a form: a rigid cylinder sits within a slightly swollen, organic sphere, consisting of two apertures—one vertical and the other pear-shaped, like a womb—which create an interplay of interior and exterior surfaces, with the circular openings on the top of the sculpture echo perfectly with the oculus in the dome of the TANK space. The monumental sculpture was inspired by temples that Houseago visited during his trips to Asia—when he saw the highly sculptural temple architectures in Cambodia, which, to him, were sculpture-like architectures, and he decided to create sculptures that were architectural that the audience can enter inside. Meanwhile, the womb-shaped Lovers (Round Room) which was placed in Houseago’s studio also served as a haven or a sanctuary where the artist hid himself in his moments of vulnerability.
Reminiscent of Brancusi’s The Beginning of the World (1924), Houseago’s Sculpture for Kids and Lovers has an ovoid form, yet unlike Brancusi’s solid marble carving, Houseago’s work is accessible but also protective, allowing the audience to step up the stairs and enter the sculpture in which they can sit down comfortably. As the title indicates, the artist conceived the work for his then girlfriend and his children who enjoyed playing inside the sculpture. It is also possible for one to meditate inside. A small opening on the top of the sculpture allows more natural light to penetrate inside the sculpture from atop and makes it a less claustrophobic environment.
Known for his figurative sculptural works, Houseago presents 4 epic figurative sculptures of various materials, created using technics such as modeling, casting and carving, which are displayed in a circular configuration, and in chronological order clockwise, starting with Ghost of Flea I (2011) which the artist considers to be his first accomplished work. Titled after the visionary miniature painting by British artist, poet, and writer, William Blake, which archives drama through the contrasting the muscular bulk and apparent power of the insect, Ghost of a Flea I features a figure of a impressively muscular physique, and is full of courage, strength and vitality. It references classical principals but in motion, alluding to both Rodin’s seminal Homme qui marche (1899–1900) and Giacometti’s identically titled work of 1960.
Houseago created Rattlesnake figure (aluminum) (2011) after his young daughter encountered rattlesnakes outside their home in the Tujunga area of Los Angeles, and danced with them. The silver aluminum sculpture retains the forms and textures of the original work from which it was cast, which Houseago carved with a chainsaw from a massive block of redwood. A large eye etched into the figure's face looks out at the viewer blankly, whilst the rest of the body is turned away, viewable only in profile, speaking to Houseago's fascination with early Cubism and the art of Picasso.
Standing Redwood Man (2023) is Houseago’s latest piece of figurative sculptural production after an absence of nearly 4 years, and is considered by the artist to be his most accomplished sculpture ever made. The imposing contrapposto figure is 368.3 cm in height and is carved with a chainsaw from a massive block of redwood, exemplifying Houseago’s enduring fascination with the human body. Readable from all view points, the sculpture manifests an upward energy which is rare in the artist’s repertoire. The standing man, covered in countless marks carved, or drawn as the artist describes, with a chainsaw, evokes the life of a person who has been through crises, turmoils and losses, and decides to stand strong and continue life with hope despite of all their scars.
Moon Wane in Malibu 2023 (2023) is the latest creation from Houseago’s “Vision Painting” series, which is one of the painting series that the artist started since 2020 and are composed of large-scale, expressive paintings, which he creates en plein air with a focus on subjects such as nature, cosmic unity and the cycle of life.
To the bottom left corner of the composition, one sees the Houseago himself seated in a chair in his yard in Malibu which overlooks the ocean, surrounded by his favorite plants. A few hints of blues indicate where the ocean line is. Very early the morning, right before the Moon set to give way to the Sun that was about to rise, the artist who was still recovering from his mental health crisis, was bathed in the moonlight and enjoyed this moment of serenity and connection with the nature. Some serendipitous elements, such as leaves of his plants that the wind blew onto the canvas, were immortalized in the composition with acrylic as a result of his practice as an outdoor painter.
Still Life 2023 (2023), the show opener which is also the last work one sees before leaving the exhibition due to the circular flow of the exhibition layout is a composition palpably inspired by paintings and lithographs of Picasso from the 1940s, which Picasso himself draw inspiration from the tradition of the seventeenth-century Dutch still lifes known as vanitas. Contrary to the unidentifiable books of in Picasso’s compositions or the books systematically seen in earlier vanitas compositions, Houseago’s Still Life 2023 includes an open book on the pages of which one reads the entirety of the Chapter Six of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching in English: “The Source. The Spirit of the perennial spring is said to be immortal. She is called the mysterious one. The mysterious one is the source of the universe. She is continually, endlessly giving forth, life without effort.”
This chapter is conventionally interpreted as Lao Tzu’s understand of the origin of the universe, but it is also understood to refer to the source of creative forces which is endless.
“LOVERS” reunites Thomas Houseago’s representative sculptural creations in one round room, features his early and most emblematic figurative sculptures and sheds light on his latest sculptural breakthroughs, demonstrating the diverse materials and techniques in his repertoire. It also highlights his practice as a painter by juxtaposing back to back his most recent paintings of still lifes and nature. The concentric configuration of of the sculptures evokes a stellar system which echos with Houseago’s extensive art historian references, such as that of Brancusi’s essential egg, as well as Houseago’s unceasing philosophical quest of the origins of the cosmic world, the cycle of life, and the dynamics between humans and the universe, which is exemplar in his paintings of nature, his figurative sculptures, and his references of the taoist philosophy.
Artist Biography:
Thomas Houseago was born in Leeds, United Kingdom in 1972. He studied at Jacob Kramer College, Leeds, England from 1990 to 1991, received a BA in 1994 from Saint Martin’s School of Art, London, and studied at De Ateliers, Amsterdam, from 1994 to 1996. Houseago moved to Los Angeles, United States in 2003 where he currently lives and works.
Houseago’s recent solo exhibitions include: Thomas Houseago: Sculptures for Lovers, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France (2022) ; WE, Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland (2022) ; VISION PAINTINGS, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium; Thomas Houseago, Royal Academy, London, UK (2019); Almost Human, Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France (2019).
His work was included in the 2010 Whitney Biennial and resides in the permanent collections of public institutions internationally including: Centre Pompidou, Metz, France; Cranford Collection, London, UK; De La Cruz Collection, Miami, FL, USA; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France; Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium; Pinault Collection, Paris, France & Venice, Italy; S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium.
油罐艺术中心将于1月29日至2月29日闭馆，3月1日起对公众开放。
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