承古铸今 大道惟朴—顾伟玺中国画刍议

    21世纪以来，中国画创作进入了一个空前繁荣的时期，画家的艺术追求和风格特点也日趋多元，就其类型来说，大致有三个方面。其一是“锐意创新型”，其作品意欲“颠覆和解构传统陈式”，在这类作品中，“表现对象已成为画家‘符号化’的媒材”。其二是“功夫型”。主要体现制作性，他们借用一些辅助的材料，制造肌理，营造某种氛围，制作精密细实、繁复丰富的样式。其三是“传统延续型”。所谓传统延续型，就是从绘画传统中汲取精华，无论笔墨技法，艺术方式方法都恪守“中国画法”，坚持笔墨的千锤百炼和自身学识修养的修炼。这类画家的作品，既不如第一类画家那么引人注目，也不似第二类画家那样精于制作而多功利性,而是循着“中国画法”之正途，陶熔锤炼自己的笔墨个性，走上技道并进的求索之路。 本文所要介绍的顾伟玺教授正是属于这一类型的画家。  

    伟玺之于绘画，可谓天分自足，早在上世纪80年代，他在读大学时，就已接连获得国家及省级画展的奖项，作品发表于《美术与设计》、《艺苑》等报刊。《江苏画刊》1989年曾作长篇幅的专题介绍。

    大学毕业后，伟玺先后主持了几个刊物的编辑工作，取得了南京艺术学院艺术学博士学位，这使他既有艺术创作成果的累积，又具有了艺术理论学养的积淀。而长期在高校从事艺术教育教学的特殊背景，又使他在中国画创作方面，于山水、花鸟、人物，甚至书法篆刻诸领域都有广泛涉猎和研究。加之他近年来出版多本理论专著，发表学术论文数十篇的理论思考，使他成为一个富有多方面能力和学养甚至带有某些特殊性的中国画家。关于伟玺的“特殊性”，著名艺术家，中国美术家协会副主席黄格胜先生著文《士先器识而后文艺》，以及著名画家、南京艺术学院美术学院院长张友宪先生《笔墨中立定精神》和江苏美术家协会副主席画家尹石先生的《朴素而天下莫与之争美》等文章都从不同的角度和切入点，对伟玺的艺术人生进行了介绍、分析和研究。在此则不赘言。

    本文以“承古铸今 大道惟朴”为题，重在对伟玺的中国画艺术进行一次整体的梳理，并“试图论证其风格形成的诸多因缘”。伟玺山水、人物、花鸟兼擅，就创作时间来看，则呈现出阶段性的特点，他的人物画创作时间主要在20世纪80至90年代，花鸟画创作则集中在90年代及新世纪初年，山水画主要是2000年以后。

    伟玺的花鸟画以“丁丑画展”的作品风格为基调。作品题材基本以苏州地区的几次写生素材为主。主要有三方面的特点：其一，是对花鸟画传统传承基础上的创新。伟玺的花鸟画从作品的构图设境、表现方法，明显得益于徐青藤的恣肆放达和陈淳的静穆从容，其雄厚朴拙则显见刘海粟的影响，而其整体体现出的腴润纯朴又对齐白石及其传派李苦禅的形式旨趣有所“消化和吸收”，从而形成了自己的特点。其二，是作品所呈现的作者的造型能力、构图设境能力及其笔墨功力。他的《秋趣》、《雨季》、《秋之风》等作品的激情抒写和所呈现的金石趣味，其笔墨的鲜活生动，无疑体现了这些特点。其三，是作品于雄健生动的写意性中，呈现出逸气和高雅的格调，这是非常难得而可贵的画格，也是其作品以“江南风物”为素材，体现其神情意蕴的成功范本。

    伟玺的山水画，则基本经历了“临习”、“探索求新”和“形成自我面目” 三个阶段。第一阶段，是他临习传统经典作品时期。特别是宋人山水的雄浑和磅礴之气，对他影响显著。这一时期创作的《黄山云》、《青城山》、《云台山韵》等作品，用笔细谨，具有“可居可游”的存形特点。第二阶段为20世纪90年代左右，试图实现古典笔法在山水创作中的现代转换。在经过一段时间的解构、重组和分析之后，他将目光落在了刘海粟和张大千的绘画图式特质中，希望以他们的泼墨、泼彩来寻求笔墨形态的转变以及绘画风格个性的确立，尝试水墨冲泼的肌理感，神秘感和“妙合天趣”的图式特点。创作了《赤壁赋》、《黄山白龙潭》以及《水墨零界系列》等作品。经过一段时间的实践，伟玺感觉到这种冲泼有时又易显得“空泛”和“轻浮”，更加重要的是这种冲泼，消解了“笔墨”的丰富性和表现性，而笔墨的金石气所昭显的精神性，也常常会被“玄妙”的肌理感所消减。这使伟玺陷入了困惑。

    2000年后，伟玺数次登临黄山等名山佳境，着力研究山石结构，体味用笔用墨来表现客体的方式和方法。这一思考和探索的过程，促成了伟玺山水画的又一次转变。其代表作品主要有《诚斋诗意》、《黄山雨境》、《黄山白龙潭》、《唐人诗意》、《皖南山水人家》等。经过一段时间的思考和实践他转而寻求李可染的厚重与体量，黄宾虹的朴拙与萧散以及宋人山水的雄浑与崇高。“以坚凝雄健的勾勒，以线的顿挫，体味自然造化的精神谐趣，以朴拙、雄浑与苍莽来昭显坚韧不拔的人格精神和英雄主义的生命激情”。他最近创作的《防城港上思魔石谷》以及《老山界》，反映了这一时期作品的风格特点。标识了他山水画艺术新的境界和高度。

伟玺的人物画作品主要以工笔为主，比较有代表性的有《月亮湖》、《织》、《丹心》、《抑郁的回溯系列》等。总体来看，其造型多经过夸张和处理，多以繁复的线和富有特点的构图方式，产生画面的节奏，形成自己的图式特点。

伟玺工笔人物画的特点，还在于“写意性”，这从他《抑郁的回溯系列》作品中表现得更加突出。他的“写意性”，一方面是改变传统工笔人物画刻画细致线条严谨的特点，而以空灵的复线进行更加自由的勾描。另一方面，以水墨冲泼然后以洗染等手法，形成了特别的肌理效果和色彩感觉，形成了他自己的独特的工笔人物画面目。

    伟玺的中国画始终根植于传统，并依循“中国画法”的正途，无论是艺术创作还是理论研究都取得了一定的成绩，形成了自己的风格特点。他的能力、才华、作品和理论思考为其绘画艺术拓展了更大的发展空间。他“承古铸今”的艺术方式以及“大道惟朴”的艺术追求和学术主张，必将使他不断跨越新高度，取得更大的成功。

    注：本文作者为全国政协常委、广西艺术学院副院长、广西美术家协会副主席、著名中国画家。

 

    Zheng Junli

    21st Century has seen an unprecedented prosperous period of Chinese painting creation and the diversity of the artistic pursuit and styles of painters. In terms of classification, there are three aspects. Firstly, creativity. Their works intend to overturn or deconstruct the outmoded conventions. In these works, performance object has media used by painters to signify. Secondly, hardworking. The painters make textures, build certain atmosphere and make abundant and sophisticated outlines by using accessory materials. Thirdly, inheriting. By inheriting, we mean we need to absorb the essence in painting tradition. Chinese Painting Methods and the roles of thoroughly tempering painting and the developing self cultivation must be strictly abided by when it refers to Pen and ink techniques or art methods. Works in the third type is not as eyeball-catching as those in the first type and not addicted thus utilitarian like those in the second one. Instead, the painters, sticking to Chinese Painting Methods build and temper their painting characters and explore both of their techniques and Dao. Professor Gu Weixi, to be introduced on this book belongs this type.

    Professor Gu has a God given talent on painting. As early as 1980s when he was a college student, he won many awards of national level and provincial level. His works were published on newspapers like Arts and Design, Forum of Arts and there was long introduction about them on Jiangsu Art Pictorial in 1989.

    After graduation from Nanjing University of the Arts, Mr. Gu took charge over several editing works and got the PhD degree on Fine Arts which gave him accumulation on both Art creation and art theories learning. The unique background of teaching arts in high schools gave him great credit on extensively studying and researching landscapes, flowers and birds, figures even carving. Besides, he published many theory monographs and dozens of papers over these years. He thus becomes a versatile Chinese painter, even a little special. As for his specialness, Huang Gesheng, an artist and deputy of Chinese Artists Association with work Gentleman Knows Organs and then Literature and Art, Youxian Zhang, dean of Nanjing University of the Arts with work of Halt Spirit in Painting and Mr. Yin Shi, the president of Chinese Arts Association all made introductions, analysis and research on Professor Gu’s life from different perspectives, Nothing Can Strive with Simplicity Excellence. There is no need to dwell on the matter anymore.

    Themed with “Inherit the Ancient and Cast Nowadays, Large Road with Simplicity”, this paper focuses on summarizing Chinese Painting Art of Professor Gu and tries to proof the factors shaping his style. Mr. Gu is proficient at landscapes, flowers and birds, figures. His creation presents phased characteristics. His Figures paintings were produced during 1980s and 1990s. Flowers and birds paintings in 1990s and landscapes was after 2000.

    Mr. Gu’s landscape paintings is characterized with styles of those in Ding Chou Art Exhibition and takes its subject from his experiences in Suzhou. There are mainly three characters: First, innovation based on inheriting traditional Flowers and Birds paintings. His Landscape paintings, whether it’s composition, setting or expression clearly take their inspiration from self-indulgent and calmness as associated with Xu Qingteng, Naturalness with Liu Haisu. The fertile plainness he presented is the result of digesting and absorbing form Chi Baishi and his successors, and then had his own features. Second, the ability to show the author’s molding, pictures setting and the skill of ink. Some works such as Autumn Fun, Raining Season, Autumn Wind and more, expressed and shown great fun with rigorous vivid, which undoubtedly embody these features. Third, during the paintings, he showed elegant styles, which is very difficult and valuable. He also applied the materials of “Jiangnan Landscape”, to show the successful examples accordingly. 

    Weixi’s landscape paintings basically have gone through three stages called “Imitation” “Explorative innovation” and “Ego-style formation”. The first stage was the period when he was imitating those traditional and classical art works. The vigorous, powerful and magnificent momentum of Song Dynasty’s landscape works especially had significant influence on him. At this stage, the works like Clouds of Mount Huangshan, Qingcheng Mountain and Charms of Yuntai Mountain with cautious style of painting technique appear a “habitable and visitable” feature. The second stage occurred at about the 1990s when he tried to convert his classic painting style into a modern one in his landscape creations. Going through a period of deconstruction, reorganization and analyst, he had his eyes on the peculiarity of Liu Haisu and Zhang Daqian’s painting pattern, hoping to apply their splash-ink and splash-color techniques to seek for the conversion of his brush formation, and to establish his own painting style, and he tried to embody the scheme features of Chinese ink-splash’s texture, mystery and “Natural Appealing”. During this period, he created The Red Cliff Ode, Mount Huangshan Bai Long Tang and Chinese Ink Zerozone series. After practice for a while, Weixi felt that the ink-splash sometimes will easily appear “vague, general and flighty”. What’s more, this kind of ink-splash just decomposes the richness and performance of the painting, besides the spirituality revealed by the ink’s sense of epigraph, will always reduces due to the “occult” sense of texture. This situation ensnared Weixi into confusion.

    After 2000, Weixi visited the famous mountains and wonderful sceneries like Huangshan Mountain for several times, exerting himself into the research for the structure of the hillstones, and explored the ways and methods for object embodiment by the brush and ink. The process of reflection and exploration just facilitated Weixi’s conversion on landscape paintings once again. The representative works at that time are Chengzhai Poetry, Huangshan Rain shower, Mount Huangshan Bai Long Tang, Poetry of Tang People, Natural Village Household of Southern Anhui and so on. After thinking and practicing for a while he turned to study the concordance and temperament of Li Keran’s artworks, the naturalness and detachment of Huang Binhong and the boldness and nobility of landscape paintings from Song Dynasty. “The concise and vigorous outline, the dynamic bargraphs, make us realize the spiritual pleasure of the nature magic, and the naturalness, the vigor and the boundlessness just reveal the gritty personality and the life passion of heroism”. The works he recently created, “Thinking of Magic Stone Valley in the Fangcheng Port” and “Yuecheng Mountains”, reflected the styles and characteristics of his works in that period, which marks a new realm and level of his landscape painting art.

    Weixi’s figure painting applied mainly fine brushwork, and he has representative works like Moon Lak, Weave, Loyal Heart, Depressed Recall Series and so on. On the whole, the shapes are mostly exaggerated and processed, and mostly applied complicated lines and specially featured picture composition, which produced a cadence of the picture, and then formed his own drawing features.

    The characteristic of Weixi’s fine brushed figure painting, also lies on “Ideographic”, which is more prominent in his work Depressed Recall Series. The “Ideographic”, on one hand, is to change the traditional fine and cautious lines of the fine brushed figure painting, and to apply the ethereal and complex lines to delineate in a more free way. On the other hand, he applied the First splashing ink then dyeing method, to configure a special textural effect and a sense of colors, which formed his own unique fine brushed figure painting style.

All the time, Weixi’s Chinese arts are rooted in tradition, and follow the track of “Chinese Painting Technique”. Whether on the artistic creation or the theoretical research, he made certain achievements, and formed his own style and characteristics. His ability, talent, works and theoretical thinking contributed a bigger development space to his painting arts. His art style of “Inherit the Ancient and Cast Nowadays”, his artistic pursuit of “Large Road with Simplicity” and his academic claims, will definitely help him step forward and make greater success.

    Remark: The author is a standing Committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Vice President of Guangxi Academy of arts, Vice Chairman of Folklore Society, and a famous Chinese painter.