百草园 将于12月24日开幕

展览序言

文／闵丽君

这里的“百草园”没有鲁迅笔下的菜畦和桑葚，皂荚树和石井栏，却依然构筑了一个草木丛生、虫鸣鸟唱、妙趣横生的乐园。当代水墨领域的两位代表性艺术家——高茜和章燕紫近年来的作品，均有涉及花卉、草药、虫蚁、鸟雀，她们以独特的水墨绘事，表达了个体对世界、生命、情感的理解及体悟。此次《百草园》展览，呈现了两位艺术家的近期新作，让我们漫步在她们的百草园中，赏阅并思考女性独有的思维触角与艺术表达之间的关系，以及中国传统艺术的表述方式在当代传承及转换的可能性。

高茜，当代新工笔的代表艺术家，作品独有的江南气息和优雅气质已成为她的标签。近年来，她对“气味图像”的研究尤其着迷，她研究香水气味的植物成分，并将此种芬芳透过画面传达予观者。香气氤氲间描绘昆虫交尾，暖香合欢，不免让人联想闺阁幽情，然而，高茜不满足于闺阁意趣的浅显格局，画面的女性气息之外饱含更多的内心情绪及记忆碎片的重组。似梦非梦的情绪瞬间定格的场景，一直是高茜想表现的画面，她坦言就像人的梦境，似曾相识，转瞬即逝，给人留下无限遐想。尼采把梦和醉看作两种基本的艺术状态，我们也能在作品中看到她画面背后的喃喃低语。

此次她带来《游仙窟》、《玉交枝》、《合欢》系列作品。虚淡雅致的设色，翩翩花草间的昆虫或鸟雀，图像的启示性显而易见，留给观者充分阅读与揣摩的空间。《游仙窟》是2016年新作，六幅作品分为三组，分别描写三种不同植物的荣茂与枯谢状态。这个唐人传奇小说的题目虽与画家本人并无直接关联，却暗藏了与“合欢”相对应的丝丝玄机。

章燕紫的草药题材始于2015年《古方千金》系列作品中对中草药的研究。对中西方医学及治愈的表达，是其近年来的创作母题。随着年龄增长，她开始慢慢体会到中医神秘莫测、不可言说之妙，并对形态各异的草药产生兴趣。深谙传统文化和西方当代艺术的章燕紫在创作中总能游刃于观念、语言、材料的多重隐喻中。基于对中国医药名著《本草纲目》的研读，并对传世古方进行重新解读和演绎，她发现“万物皆药，万物非药”，秘密都在“时机”和“法度”之间。

此次章燕紫带来《幻》、《刹那》、《痒》、《爱莲》系列作品，其中《幻》是为此次展览特别绘制的新作，描绘了天堂蓝、罂粟、死藤、曼陀罗、大麻、苦艾这六种致幻的草药，她延续《古方千金》中的创作方法，一张草药配一张书法解读，六组十二张构成《幻》的完整图谱。这些致幻草药来自世界各地，或南美，或印度，或西亚，美丽的外表之下，隐含着危险的种子，它们是毒也是药，带来人快乐与安慰，也带来依赖和沉迷。在这里，好和坏并非绝对，而是可以转换的。这种对立和矛盾的关系吸引我们，每个人都可以根据个人的经验给予不同的解读。

观高茜与燕紫的绘画，会形成一种有意思的对照。虽然她们的作品中都带有江南的气息、女性的敏感、文雅的格调，但是燕紫作品中深层的苦涩和高茜画中精致的雅韵，形成强烈的反差。燕紫的尖锐和高茜的温雅，一样让人忘怀。她们描绘自然也超越自然，以女性天生多触觉的雷达，发掘除了视觉之外别的官能感受，如嗅觉、味觉、触觉，从而达到某种“移觉”或“通感”，在形式与内容，古意与当代之间寻找到了一种平衡。

在学术界对“水墨画或工笔画的当代性”讨论不断时，我们不妨看看高茜和燕紫二位艺术家的实践，她们用自己的学养、思考和感悟，进行着个人水墨语言的创新和叙事方式上的突破。正是每一个艺术家坚持不懈的努力，才让中国新水墨与新工笔走向更多元的发展，也有了更多的可能性。

Preface for “Herb Garden”

Here in “Herb Garden”, there are no small sections of vegetable plots or mulberry, acacia trees or stone well curbs as portrayed by Lu Xun, but we still build a paradise full of vegetation, with the singing of birds and insects which are full of humor and fun. In recent years, the works by Gao Qian and Zhang Yanzi, two representative artists in the field of contemporary ink and wash, are related to flowers, herbs, insects and ants as well as birds. They use their unique ink and wash narrative to depict their own comprehension of the world, life and emotions. The exhibition entitled “Herb Garden”, presents the recent works by these two artists, let us walk in their herb garden, read and think about the relationship between the unique female perspective and artistic expression, as well as the possibility of contemporary inheritance and conversion from traditional Chinese art expressions.

Gao Qian, a representative of the contemporary new Gongbi artists, the unique atmosphere of the South of the Yangtze River and elegant temperament have become her labels. In recent years, she was particularly fascinated by the study of “scent filled images,” she studied plant components with fragrant smells and conveyed the fragrance to viewers through her images. Among the dense aroma, the mating scenes of insects are portrayed, their happy union reminds us of the exquisite feelings in boudoirs. However, Gao Qian is not satisfied with the simple pattern from the boudoir charm, beyond the women’s atmosphere her work is full of more inner emotions and a reorganization of fragments of the memory. These seemingly dreamy moments of emotions are instantly frozen in her work, this has always been something Gao Qian wants to present. She admits that they are like human dreams, deja vu, fleeting and transitory, which leave infinite rêverie. Nietzsche describes the dream and drunkenness as two basic states of art, we could see the murmuring whispers behind her work.

This time she brings “Visiting the Immortals Cave” , “Jade Crossing Branch”, “Intercourse” series of works to this exhibition. In an elegant light color,  insects or birds are gracefully moving among flowers and plants, the revelation of images is obvious, leaving the viewer to comprehensively read and think. “Visiting the Immortals Cave” is a new work she created in 2016, six works are divided into three groups, they respectively describe the flourishing and withering states of three different plants. Although the title from the legendary novel in the Tang Dynasty is not directly related to the painter herself, which hides the slight mystery that corresponds to “Intercourse”.

Zhang Yanzi’s herbal theme started from her studies in Chinese herbs after the “Ancient Prescription” series of 2015. The expressions of Chinese and Western medicine and cures have remained the motif of her work in recent years. Along with aging, she began to slowly understand the mystery and charming wonder of Chinese medicine  and she has become interested in the various forms of herbs. Zhang Yanzi, who is well versed in traditional culture and western contemporary art, has always been able to explore the multiple metaphors of ideas, language and materials. Based on the study of the famous Chinese medicine “Compendium of Materia Medica”, she has conducted a re-interpretation of ancient prescriptions, she found that “everything is medicine, while everything is not medicine” and the secret lies in the “occasion” and “standard”.

This time Zhang Yanzi brings “Ecstasy”, “Ksana”, “Itches” and “Loving Lotus” series to this exhibition, among which “Ecstasy” which was specially commissioned for this exhibition, it portrays six herbs that could bring about ecstasy including heaven blue, poppy, dead rattan, mandala, marijuana and absinthe. She continues the creative method she used in the “Ancient Prescription”, a painting of herbal medicine with a calligraphy interpretation, six groups of twelve pieces constitute the complete illustrative plates of “Ecstasy”. These psychedelic herbs come from all over the world, South America, India, or West Asia, under the beautiful appearance, they imply the seeds of danger, they are drugs and medicines, they bring happiness as well as comfort to people and they also bring dependence and addiction. Here, good and bad are not absolute, but they can be converted. This antagonistic and contradictory relationship attracts us and everyone can provide a different interpretation according to their individual experience.

Observing the paintings by Gao Qian and Zhang Yanzi, we will find an interesting contrast between them. Although their works are endowed with the atmosphere of the South of the Yangtze River, female sensitivity and elegant style. But the deep bitterness in Yanzi’s work and the elegant rhythm in Gao Qian’s paintings, form a strong contrast. Yanzi’s acuteness and Gao Qian’s elegance, are both hard to forget. They depict Nature and they transcend  Nature, with their natural born radar of female sensitivity, they have discovered other functional senses besides the visual, such as smell, taste, and touch, so as to achieve “synesthesia” and “correspondence”. In form and content, between ancient and contemporary they have found a balance.

南京艺术学院美术系中国画专业，硕士学位。1999年至2012年，就职于上海美术馆。2016年毕业于中国艺术研究院美术学专业，获博士学位。现为中国艺术研究院文学艺术创作研究院专职画家，国家一级美术师，硕士研究生导师。

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江苏镇江人，毕业于中央美术学院，硕士学位。现任教于中央美术学院, 中央美院艺讯网主编。曾在上海美术馆，今日美术馆，那不列斯当代美术馆，香港与学博物馆举办个展，作品被多家艺术机构和藏家收藏。