文章 | 对话张帆
撰文 李旭辉
问：暧昧是新时代绘画的倾向，你在90年代的伦文里以王朔的小说《看上去很美》为例，谈论艺术对时代回应时应该保持的距离，那么今天你是怎样看待自己的艺术创作的，它与时代的关系有发生改变吗？
我已经不记得写过这样的内容了。
“时代”这个词放到讨论艺术的语境之中，是个又大又模糊又琐碎的概念，假如在谈论艺术创作的时候必须要谈“时代”这个话题的话，那么我们可以从“时代”的两个最基本的含义上来谈，第一个含义是指当下现实社会中的普遍生存状况，第二个含义是指精神层面上的个体艺术创作，而往往我们都是语焉不详的。
从第一个含义的角度说，我不希望在自己的作品中与生存现实发生关系。架上绘画没什么实用性，既不能指点迷津，也无法改善现状，甚至连记录社会生活都不是绘画的强项。我更不愿意以这种艺术创作的方式来表达一些别人已经直接了当的发出的声音，当实干者在用行动改变世界的时候，一个所谓的艺术家却通过利用现实来成就自己的作品和声望，这么做太鸡贼了。对现实社会能够做出贡献，创造和回应的是科学家和政治家，而不是完美主义者，更不是艺术家。
从第二个含义的角度来说，与文学，音乐，电影相比，绘画这种艺术形式有很多的局限性，这些局限性恰恰也正是绘画的魅力所在。绘画基本上是一种既具备理性推论的可能，又是经验主义的，同时还会被架空的世界。在绘画创作这个世界里重要的是作品与作品之间的关系，而作品与作品之间只能靠绘画语言来对抗和交流。那么我用我完成的画面，我的绘画方式和我对绘画的理解来表达我对正在发生，以及绘画历史上曾经发生过的作品的判断，就是在绘画世界里对第二个含义的“时代”的回应。这种回应方式超越了实效性，也更能体现艺术的自身价值。
Mountains and Streams, Oil on canvas, 2010, 150x150cm
问：形式自律是抽象艺术在上世纪发展中一个重要的前提，“为艺术而艺术”曾经被奉为一个时期艺术的名言，那么你是怎样看待最早抽象萌芽于现代主义之中，像康定斯基，蒙德里安，而后抽象在60年代后逐渐走向成熟，并也开始淡出主流，被波普、观念、新媒体艺术冲击的现实？
为艺术而艺术的意思和为物理而物理，为数学而数学一样无可非议。
康定斯基，蒙德里安的时代是抽象艺术的原始社会状态，抽象艺术的一切刚刚开始，语言开始产生，但是没有修辞，他们明确了这种绘画样式和前进方向，但对抽象元素的掌控都处在蛮荒阶段，抽象绘画的审美规则和细节也没有经过提炼和实践，他们指出了一个新大陆的存在。
而后的几十年，抽象绘画在不断的细化，这就有点像原始艺术向古典艺术进化的过程，抽象艺术逐渐在语言上开始有了规范和标准，直到现在，这种进化依然存在，只不过是以越来越小的数值来递进的，这个也是符合逻辑的，就像运动员赛跑，最后只是想超越那0.001秒的时间，而理论上这0.001秒永远存在。整个架上绘画的状况也是如此，经过一代又一代大师们的挖掘，留给我们可以进展的空间里只剩下蛛丝马迹，能做到在某个细微处有所斩获就算是一种成就。
划分主流和支流对我没什么意义，这不是判断艺术好坏的标准。我并没有觉得谁受到了谁的冲击，谁又冲击了谁，该画的好的依旧在继续好下去，吓唬人的东西依旧在玩儿命故弄玄虚，大家各干各的互不打扰。尽管可能因为大多数看客喜欢热闹爱赶时髦，使得一些类型的艺术和艺术家像个局外人，但这和具体的个人创作的艺术价值之间并没什么联系。
问：你谈到过西班牙著名画家塔皮埃斯，他对材质的处理令人印象深刻，而且他在绘画方式上对东方书法的借鉴也是一直被后来的艺术家借鉴，那么能否谈谈他对你的影响，在此基础上我们能否能进一步谈论一下，书法艺术在进入世界审美语境中所具备的可能性？
塔皮埃斯是我最喜欢的艺术家，在我二十多年对抽象绘画的学习中，有些艺术家是我曾经膜拜而后平视的，唯有对塔皮埃斯保持了一贯的热爱。他对材料的运用当然很伟大，能够赋予各种日常品以神性，但我更钦佩的是他另外一种重要的东西，是强悍的生命力，这体现在他粗暴又优雅的用笔之中，粗暴源于自信，优雅源于修养，这两种因素完美的融合在他的作品中，无论小幅的纸上绘画还是大型的装置，都能看到这两种气质的融合。还有一点，是他的图示的多变，他并没有像其他诸如罗斯科等等艺术家一样被一种图示禁锢，他丰富多变的形式运用和自由奔放的视觉感受，也正是生命力强盛的体现。把塔皮埃斯和通布利放到一起来看，一个像盖世英雄，一个像绝色佳人，一个征战四方，一个顾盼生辉。
再说书法的问题，西方所有表现性绘画的艺术大师都或多或少受到过东方艺术的影响，他们从书法和文人画中发掘了书写的西方式运用。书法是对书写的提炼和探究，书法是不太可能进入到你所说的世界性审美语境的，但是书写可以，何况书法即使在今天的中国也失去了原本被赋予的人文意义，在社会生活中书法也失去了交流的效用，但书法背后更广义的书写性却是绘画自觉以及绘画向内在发展所必须依赖的东西。我在绘画中追求的是人的趣味，比如同一个字，用同样的运笔方式，最后每个人写出来的这个字会有不同的面貌和气质，这个就是人的趣味。尽管书写和书法几千年来形成的体系给了我们约束和规范，可是这里面还是有人的趣味的差异存在，反倒是恰恰因为有了这个体系，艺术才有乐趣和意义，才不那么虚无。比如中国传统艺术都讲究师出来历，也是源于对于艺术的定义的不同理解方式，横空出世的创新并不受待见。从这个意义来看，艺术也是对自我表达的质量的完善与提升。
问：你是怎样看待像贾斯培·约翰斯这样的艺术家的或者像弗兰克·斯特拉这样的艺术家的创作，因为他们本身不是典型性的现代主义艺术家，或者我们可以用后现代来形容这些艺术家更为贴切，那么在此基础上你是怎样看待现代艺术到后现代艺术这些改变的？
人性的本能是遇到困难的时候寻找新的，相对容易实现的方向，后现代也好，波普也好，种种当代艺术也好，在很大程度上是这种不自觉的心理状态下的策略游戏。我始终认为绘画才是最难的，我舍不得绕过绘画这样一座大山去征服一个小土坡，然后插上一面旗帜标榜自己是先锋前卫与时俱进。
现代主义之后所发生的艺术都像是一种既然精英如此难做，何不先把精英拉下神坛的权宜之计，他们聪明的用各种文字游戏和生猛新奇的作品外观来化妆成行动先驱和精神领袖，当第一批这么干的人一旦成功，这也就成为了一种行为模式。
问：你是开始，是从版画切入艺术创作的，早期曾经创作一系列几何格子，请你谈一下这个时期的创作的缘由，我们知道几何是柏拉图理想国的终极理念，但在中国文化了却没有这方面的文脉，但在商品全球化的今天，人对事物看法随着生存方式的改变而产生着交错，感染，那么你是怎样看待理性抽象到极简主义这一路抽象的繁殖和发展？
在我早期创作中，那些格子本身，需要分两个层面来说，第一个层面里，格子是完全不重要的东西，他可以被任何一种表面形式或者说构成元素所代替，从这个层面来说格子是当时最就手的一个工具，一个可以抄起来就用的工具，是注定会被抛弃的东西。因为假如一个抽象艺术家总是拿同一种图示来说事，那是因为实在没有别的可说的。因此，这些格子就必须承担第二个层面的意义，那就是通过格子这种互相垂直的结构，以及画布上优良的表面质地，来体现我当时对庄重，崇高，含蓄的绘画追求。
极简主义的存在是由于他所面对的前文是抽象表现主义，他的对面是波普艺术，他需要一种冰冷严峻的视觉感受来表达一种对周围无动于衷的旁观者的冷漠态度，顺便彰显一种所谓的酷，好的艺术家需要对周遭的艺术潮流有所判断，而不是一味追随。
《红灰色习作》，布面油画，2004年，200x200cm
Study in Red and Grey, Oil on canvas, 2004, 200x200cm
问：能否谈谈你对复数形态的一些看法，早期你在对照东西文化的文章里谈论过中国面对文化反复观摩的过程中有种“把玩”的心态存在，那么经过多年之后，你对自己的这种看法有变化吗？
把玩也需要有可供把玩的东西在，这也是我对观念艺术不感兴趣的原因之一，说到底还是老套的对艺术的定义问题。
没有技艺的东西只是思想，思想再深刻也不是艺术，技艺不过关是差的艺术，只有技术的是工艺品，从技术修炼到技艺是艺术产生的过程，从技艺中体现出来的思想是美学，以美学为指导的行动或许就是把玩。
比如我在画面中尽可能的提供大量的细节，这些细节或许可以反映出把玩的心态，创造这些细节的过程就是磨练技术的过程，把这些细节加以控制和统一就是从技术到技艺的提升，能够把形成技艺的统一的经过扬弃的细节放到我想要表达的主题之内且不违和，就是好的艺术，这些东西是一个环环相扣周而复始的循环，进入了这个循环中个人的艺术才能得到提升。
Improvisation No.5-1, Acrylic on canvas, 2016, 400x200cm
问：从马远的“水图”到怀素的“自叙帖”，你用版画语言和碑拓语言将其转译为现代形式，那么这种创作经历过哪些困难，在你的理念里传统能与现代对接可能性在哪里？
我曾经说过我在作品中与宋画之间是一种半推半就的关系，我的初衷是消除形式。
《溪山林泉》和《水图》这两个系列是我依照我的绘画逻辑发展出来的结果，从早期纵横交错的格子，到只有垂直结构的坚硬质感，再到我彻底消灭了画面中几何意义上的秩序，以一种被几个层次依次覆盖并留白的物理秩序来建立出另一种抽象绘画的结构，通过这几个阶段的发展，当一切直观上带有视觉符号意味的形式的消失，唯一可被感受到的就只有气息，这种气息隐约浮现和弥漫出一种五代北宋的绘画气质，所以我用了《溪山林泉》这个标题来进行代指。由于这个系列的朴素的描绘性的绘画方式还是无法尽情的言志达意，而我希望可以把所有的信息凝聚到一时一刻，把身体状态和情感状态精确的用一瞬间表达出来，所以《水图》开始有了一点点的书写方式存在。到了《采薇》和《自叙帖》，则完全是主动的使用这种书写性的绘画方式了，这个过程与中国绘画发展的逻辑也是相似的。
《溪山林泉》，布面油画，2010年，260x150cm
Mountains and Streams, Oil on canvas, 2010, 260x150cm
《水图》，布面油画，2010年，150x130cmx2
Scroll of Water, Oil on canvas, 2010, 150x130cmx2
《自叙帖之十一》，布面丙烯，2013年，400x200cm
Autobiographical series No.11, Acrylic on canvas, 2013, 400x200cm
问：“采薇”来自古代名仕避隐的典故，似乎在你作品里它变为在纷华世界中艺术家寻找自身的命运的一种剪影，为何有这种距离感？
《采薇》可以说是我的习作，就像一个考生每天要画的速写，同时这个系列还有一个目的是要表达我对绘画的尊重。好的艺术应该具有骄傲的态度，好的绘画应该每一笔都透着骄傲，好的艺术家首先要学会拒绝。绘画应该拒绝那些不属于绘画的成分，应该拒绝那些绘画中低质量的成分，应该拒绝那些看图说话的漫画式的插图式的东西。从绘画的角度来看，笔墨就是一切。因为无论画什么，最后还是要落实到笔墨上，我想不出还有什么比笔墨更重要了，当然这个笔墨是广义的，是怎么画的问题。
《采薇》，纸上油画，2012年，78.7x54.6cm
Picking Flowers in Reclusion, Oil on paper, 2012, 78.7x54.6cm
问：在你的作品中强调作品在较短在时间内完成，灵光一闪作为评价艺术创作好坏的潜在标准。因此也在你的创作过程中会产生大比例的废张，如同书法。那么从这个角度你如何看待今天中国抽象的流行的？
《黑色》，布面油画，2005，200x200cm
Black, Oil on canvas, 2005, 200x200cm
我早期的作品（比如格子时期的单色画），会让人误读为我是画了很多遍才会出现那种层次感，可实际上只有一遍。现在我画的《急就章》也是一次性完成的。这个系列是通过贯穿画面的线条痕迹来直接体现书写的动作过程，在这种使用最基本的快速的书写动作完成的痕迹里面同时产生相互之间协调的节奏感，细节，质感，情绪，律动等等元素。这些元素都是在书写的过程中瞬间迸发出来的，这是我努力把偶然经过控制然后转化为必然，最后筛选出来的结果。所以我强调的短时间并不是灵光一闪的那个意思，我的意思是不要靠劳作量来充实画面，靠劳作量来赋予意义，或者把劳作量置换成一种观念，我认为靠巨大的劳作量和劳作时间来完成一张作品的这种方式属于奇观式的绘画，理论上说，这种绘画任何人都可以完成，只需要对一个物体反复进行一种简单机械的操作就可以成就一种奇观，比如说一条狗每天对着一张纸撒尿，假如这条狗尿上一万年，这张纸的视觉效果一定会带给你惊奇和震撼，可是你不能说这条狗会画画，也不能说这张纸是伟大的抽象艺术和观念艺术，他只能是自然界的某个奇观。中国传统绘画和书法都是靠着身后的废画三千来最终达到一幅作品的成熟境界，这是一种对艺术价值的判断，它不认为你在一张画上经过反复修改后还有意义，它认为你的修炼才是必须的，你要靠修炼才能有拿的出手的东西，书法尤其如此，其实这都是天经地义的无需争论的道理，音乐舞蹈哪个都需要天天练，所以，《急就章》虽然是在很短的一个小时之内画完一张四米乘两米的大画，但我之前需要通过不断试错来产生废品，不断删除画面中不必要的成份，不断调整自己的状态，最后才能有效的完成，有效完成的意思就是尽量与我的预期一致。回头再看绝大多数的当代视觉艺术，已经不讲这个道理了，不理会这个练的过程了，几乎变成脑筋急转弯式的小游戏了。
中国传统绘画的程式化过程中只有非常有限的几种体裁和内容，可见，一张画品质高低的决定性因素不在于画什么，而在于“画”这个动作的完成质量。所以，在说到“抽象绘画”这个概念的时候，重音也不是落在抽象上，而是落在绘画上。我不想把我的抽象绘画搞成只提供视觉愉悦的装饰画和图案，我不能容忍自己完成的画面中本质上只是一些装饰块和装饰条，我的创作重心在于主动表现继而提升“画”或者“写”这个动作以及这个动作的质量，而不是把某个表面（比如一块画布）摆弄的有点儿煞有介事。表现传统艺术的精神性不应该从山水书法等等符号入手，同样的，表现抽象绘画的精神性也不能变成玩弄平面构成和工业设计。
《急就章第六组之三》，布面丙烯，2017年，400x200cm
Improvisation No.6-3, Acrylic on canvas, 2017, 400x200cm
Conversation with Zhang Fan: Three Thousand Wasted Paintings
Interview/Article by Li Xuhui
Image courtesy of Ginkgo Space
You once said that art, when reacting to the times, should keep its distance. At the moment the position of contemporary art towards these times is somewhat ambiguous. So how do you regard your own artistic creation today? Has its relation with the times changed?
When used in the context of discussing art, the term "era" is a broad, vague and inconsequential notion. If we must talk about the subject of "times" when discussing artistic creations, we should consider it starting from two principal definitions. The first is with reference to contemporary social reality, the second to the spirit of individual artistic creation, and we are often unable to describe these clearly in details. From the point of view of this first sense of “times”, I am not seeking in my work to relate to the reality of life. Painting is devoid of practicality. It is unable to discuss reality and improve the status quo. Even representation of social life is not the function of painting. And I am more reluctant still to use artistic creation to repeat things that have been said more directly by others. For though a professional might change the world by their actions, if a so-called artist chooses to make his work and reputation by using reality then he must be unscrupulous. Scientists and politicians are those who have the power to make contributions in the real world, not perfectionists, not artists.
Now from the second perspective, one sees that painting as an art form has many limitations when compared to literature, music and movies. But it is from exactly these limitations that painting derives its charm. Painting is fundamentally a universe which is simultaneously rational, empirical, and illusory. What is important in this world of painting is the relationship between different works. One can only communicate and confront these relations within the language of painting. Therefore, I use my paintings, my method of painting and my understanding of painting to convey my ideas about what is happening now and what has happened in the history of painting. This is my answer to the second meaning of the "times". This way of responding is more effective, and better represents the value of art than any other.
Formal regulation is an important theme for the development of abstract art in the last century. "Art for art’s sake" was once regarded as the famous slogan for art in one period. The earliest abstraction sprouted in modernism, and then gradually became mature after the 1960s, and began to fade the mainstream.
The meaning of "art for art’s sake" is as unquestionable as "physics for physics’ sake" and "mathematics for mathematics’ sake." The era of Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian was the “prehistory” of abstract art. Everything about abstract art was just taking shape, the artistic language began to emerge, but there was no rhetoric. They defined the form of the genre and set out the lines for its subsequent development. However, the treatment of abstract elements was still at the stage of “barbarism”. The aesthetic rules and specifics of abstract art had yet to be refined and practiced. These artists revealed the existence of a “new continent”.
In the decades that followed, abstract painting went through perpetual refinements. This is resembled the progression from primitive art to classical art. Abstract art gradually began to have its norms and standards in artistic
language. This evolution continues even today. However, progress is advancing by smaller and smaller steps. Just like in a running race - eventually, it is comes down to winning by just one ten thousandth of a second, which in theory is still possible, the same is true for traditional painting. Coming after the work of generations of masters, only a little room remains for us to advance, and an improvement in an area, however small, is some kind of achievement.
For me, it does not make any sense to differentiate between mainstream and alternative - it is not the criteria to judge whether a piece of work is good or bad. I don’t think in terms of who influences whom, or who has been influenced by who. For those who have drawn well still continue to draw well, clowns still play the fool - we focus on our individual paths and without disturbing one another. It may be the case that most of the public prefers to follow the trend, which makes some genres of art and some artists appear outsiders. But this has little to say about artistic value of personal creation.
The way that Antoni Tàpiess handles the material is very impressive. His reference to Eastern calligraphy has also been borrowed by later generation of artists. Please talk about his influence on you, and can you elaborate on the possibility of placing calligraphy into a universal aesthetic context?
Antoni Tàpies is one of my favorite artists. I have been doing abstract painting for more than 20 years, and now I believe to be the equal of some artists that I once worshiped. It is only Antoni Tàpies that I still venerate. Of course, his use of materials is wonderful, and can endow any kind of everyday object with a kind of divinity. But what I admire more still is another feature – his exuberance, manifest in his raw and elegant strokes. Cruelty comes from self-confidence, grace from self-cultivation. Both these elements blend perfectly in his works. Whether in his small drawings on paper or large installations, we see the integration of both temperaments. In addition, he uses diverse visual elements, not like artists such as Rothko shackled to a single graphic motif, and these rich and varied forms and free-spirited visual effects, are also an incarnation of the exuberance of Tapies. If we compare the art of Antoni Tàpies and Cy Twombly, one looks like a hero of the world whilst the other like a stunning beauty, one conquers whilst the other seduces by charm.
Concerning calligraphy, all the masters of Western figurative art have to a greater or lesser extent been influenced by Oriental art. They have discovered the Western use of the idea of “writing” in calligraphy and in scholar paintings. Calligraphy is the refinement and research of “writing”. It is unlikely that calligraphy will become part of what you called the universal aesthetic context. However, “writing” can achieve this. Calligraphy, even in modern China, has lost its original cultural significance. In daily life, calligraphy has also lost the effectiveness of communication, but the “writing” behind calligraphy is something that the intrinsic development of painting must rely on. What I am searching for in painting is the human component. For example, with the same word and same method of writing, the result from different people will have different appearance and tone - this is the human component. Although the thousand-year old system of writing and calligraphy brings with it myriad constraints and norms, differences still are still present because of individual humans. In fact, it is precisely because of this system that art can be fun and meaningful, and not so nihilistic. For example, Chinese traditional arts are interested in their origins – to different understanding of the definition of art, because of this, new artistic creations are not unduly popular. In this sense, art is also a refinement and improvement of the character of self-expression.
What do you think of the creation of artists such as Jasper Johns or Frank Stella, and of the changes in modern and contemporary art?
It is human nature is to look for new and easier directions when facing difficulties. Be it Post-Modernism, Pop Art or all the other kinds of contemporary art, to a great extent, they are just strategies in a game born from such a mindset. I have always believed painting to be the most difficult medium. I couldn't bear going round the “mountain” of painting just to climb a small hill, and there plant a flag in order to set myself up as avant-garde or one who is keeping up with the latest trend.
The art created after modernism had a strategy: since it is so hard to make it into the elite, why not pull them down from the podium. These artists “cleverly” used different word games and the appearance of new works to pass themselves off as pioneers and spiritual leaders. When the first group who did it succeeded, it became a behavioral pattern.
At first, you started making art with the medium of printmaking. In the early days, you created a series of works with geometric grids. Please tell us about your inspiration for this period. Geometry is the ultimate idea of Plato's “Ideal Nation”. However, in Chinese culture, there is no such context in this area. However, in the era of globalized consumption, people's perceptions of things are intertwined and interrelated as their way of living changes. What do you think about the development from rational abstraction to minimalism?
In my early works, the grids could be viewed on two levels. First, the grids were utterly unimportant and might just as well be replaced by any form or constituent element. From this point of view, one could say that the grid was the just most convenient “tool” for me at that time. But a tool that can be used at any time is fated to be abandoned. For if an abstract artist persistently uses the same motif, this is because they have nothing else to say. Therefore, these grids had to assume a role on a second level, that is, through the perpendicular structure of grids, with the excellent texture of canvas, expressing my pursuit of solemn, sublime and subtle paintings.
Minimalism owes its existence to the fact that the art genre it was confronting with was abstract expressionism. It was in opposition to Pop Art. To communicate an indifferent attitude towards onlookers and present the so-called “coolness” it needed to have that cold and somber demeanor. Good artists must judge the trends in art around them, rather than merely following them.
Tell us now about your views on the plural form. In your earlier articles on comparing Eastern and Western cultures, you talked about the existence of a kind of "playful" mentality in China in the process of observing cultures. After many years, is there any change in your opinion?
To be "playful " one must have something to play with, and this is one of the reasons I am not interested in conceptual art. It boils down to the perennial question of what is art.
Works without technique are just concepts – no matter how profound they are, it is not art. Works with inadequate technique is poor art; works that are just about technique is handicraft. From the improvement of techniques to artistry is the process of art production. Thoughts that are embodied in artistry are aesthetics. Aesthetic-oriented activity may be the “playing” we talk about.
For example, I put a lot of details in the tableau whenever possible. These details may reflect the mentality of "playing". The process of creating these details is the process of improving technique. Controlling and unifying these details is the leap from technique to artistry. To be able to put the selected details of unified craftsmanship into the theme I want to express without disharmony is making good art. These are interlocking cycles and only by entering into these cycles can one's artistic skills improve.
From the "Paintings of Water(Shui Tu)" of Ma Yuan to Huai Su’s “Autobiography(Zi Xu Tie)”, you interpret them in a contemporary form with the artistic language of printmaking and stone rubbing. What difficulties have you experienced in this process? How could the traditional combine with the contemporary?
The relationship between my works and the Song paintings is like Yin and Yang. My original intention was to eliminate the forms. Based on my philosophy of painting the result of this is series "Mountains and Streams" and " Scroll of Water". From the early criss-crossing grids in paintings, to the hard texture of vertical structures, then the complete elimination of the order of geometry in the picture - building the structure of abstraction by a physical order covered by several layers and blanks in turn. Through the development of these phases,
when all direct visual symbols vanish, the only thing that can be felt is the mood. This mood contains a touch of Northern Song Dynasty paintings. Therefore, I used the title of "Mountains and Streams" for reference. Because of the simple descriptive painting methods of this series, I was unable to convey as much as I would have liked, and in the hope that of the information might get distilled and that the physical and emotional state may be accurately expressed in a single moment, I began to put a little of this “writing” in "Hand Scroll of Water" series. In a process similar to the evolution of the philosophy of Chinese painting, I fully applied this method of “writing” in painting in the "Picking Flowers In Reclusion" and "Autobiographical series".
The story "Picking Flowers in Reclusion" comes from the tradition of ancient elites went to the hermitage, it seems that it becomes a reflection of the artist in the troubled world finding their own destiny in your work, why is this sense of taking distance?
"Picking Flowers In Reclusion" series can be said to be my studies, like daily sketches of students, but the series has another purpose, which is to convey my respect for painting. Good art should have a semblance of pride - every stroke in a good painting should be brimming with pride. A good artist must first learn to say no. Painting should reject the elements that don’t belong to painting, as well as the low-quality elements of painting, and should renounce that which functions as graphic illustration. From the perspective of painting, the stroke is all. Because no matter what I draw, I finally have to put it down through strokes. I can’t think of anything more important than brush strokes. Of course, I mean “stroke” is in a broader sense and this is about how to draw.
In your work, you emphasize that the work should be completed within a relatively short period of time, and that the “aura” serves as a potential standard for evaluating the quality of artistic creation. Therefore, a large proportion of abandoned/wasted painting generate in your creative process, just like in calligraphy. From this perspective, how do you think about the prevalence of Chinese abstract art today?
My early works (such as monochrome grid paintings) might give people the impression that I had applied many layers of paint before to achieve the texture, but in fact I painted only a single layer. The "Improvisation" series was also done just once. That series is intended to represent the gestures present in the process of “writing” through connecting traces of lines on the canvas.
Traces originating in the most primitive gestures of writing rapidly give the work a coordinated sense of rhythm, detail, texture, emotion etc. These elements instantaneously emerge in the process of “writing”. My task is to seize opportunities and make them inevitable in the final refined result. Therefore, the “short period of time” that I emphasize does not refer to “aura”. My point is that we should not rely just on hard work to enrich or give meaning to the tableau, nor replace hard work with a concept. I believe that finishing a piece of work by labor is a miracle - in theory, anyone can make a painting. They just have to repeatedly apply a simple mechanical action to an object to produce a wonder. For example, if a dog urinates on a piece of paper every day for ten thousand years, then the visual appearance of that piece of paper will surely surprise and shock. However, this does not mean that the dog knows how to paint; neither does it mean that this piece of paper is a great work of abstract or conceptual art. It is only a phenomenon of nature. Chinese traditional painting and calligraphy builds on heaps of wasted and spoilt canvases necessary to reach the finished state of a mature work, which is a judgment of artistic value. Paintings that have been repeatedly modified are not considered to be significant - it means that practice is essential and, especially in calligraphy, to obtain something truly great one must build upon practice. In fact, this is common sense and should need no further justification. Just like in music or dance - everything must be practiced every day. Although the series “Improvisation” was finished in a very short time - one four-meter by two-meter large painting completed in just an hour, I had to practice beforehand. Making mistakes in repeated endeavors, ruining canvases, endlessly deleting the unnecessary elements from the painting and constantly adjusting myself till finally the work came to be effectively complete. Here, effective completion means that it conforms to my expectations. Looking on the vast majority of contemporary visual arts, we have stopped practicing like this, disregarding the course of practice, almost turning art into a game or riddle.
In traditional Chinese painting there are just a few genres and themes in the process of stylization. One must realise that the decisive factor that determines the quality of a painting lies not in what has been drawn, but in the character of the “act” of painting. So, when it comes to the concept of "abstract painting," the emphasis must fall not on the abstraction per se, but on the act of “painting”. I do not want my abstract paintings to become decorative paintings or patterns that only provide visual pleasure. I couldn’t bear the fact that my tableaux were made of essentially decorative blocks and strips. My creativity is focused on taking the initiative in manifesting and then refining the act of "painting" or "writing” and the character of these actions, rather than passing off a particular surface (such as a canvas) as something that pretend to be art. Just as presenting the spirit of traditional art should not begin by painting the symbols of landscape and so on, then demonstrating the essence of abstract painting mustn't turn into playing with graphic composition or industrial design.
GINKGO SPACE成立于2014年。通过展览、出版、驻留等多种方式，建立具有广泛影响力的开放平台，GINKGO SPACE积极参与国际当代艺术的发展进程，探索亚洲当代艺术的独特美学价值和文化身份，持续关注中国艺术家的多元创作。
GINKGO SPACE was founded in 2014. Through a range of activities including exhibitions, publications, artists’ residencies, collectors' salons and non-profit projects, Ginkgo space aims to participate in the developmental progress of international contemporary art, and to examine Asian artists’ diverse creativities in depth, actively exploring the unique aesthetic values and cultural identities in contemporary Chinese art.
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