中国文化有着错综复杂的深层结构和坚固的精神内核，这种高度自律性在一定程度上构成了文化藩篱。相比农耕生活，现代人的生存态度、精神面貌乃至心性构造都发生了巨大的变化，沿袭的笔墨样式似乎已经不能完全表达当今的社会生活和现实体验，传统的水墨语言面临的表达局限与障碍值得我们反思。“水墨”牵扯着中国传统文化的内在精神延续，艺术家们对于水墨表现形式的各类尝试和改造，与其说是探寻水墨在当下的新的生机与可能性，不如说是一种对本土文化的自觉审思。

　　雁北将自身生命体验与东方抽象韵味相关联，用高度精炼化的笔墨构造了一个可居可感、生机勃勃的生命场域。在这个场域中，西方文化与东方文化构成了共时性的存在，一种高度精炼化的、充满文化自我救赎意味的、超越具象的心象之景得以形成。他的作品，感性丰盈，却又暗合理性，这是对于世界本质规律的图像化表达，是融入现代文化观念的中国式关怀。

　　气韵非师

　　在雁北的作品中，花草虫鱼、树木鸟兽、山川日月，所有的物象都充满生动的情状，仿佛获得了自我言语的能力，呈现出“气韵畅达，生机盎然”的感觉，正与“气韵生动”这一艺术境界暗合。“气韵生动”作为中国画的品评标准之一，融汇了中国传统文化的精神内核，因极为精简

　　妥当又意味无穷而被很多艺术家们奉为圭臬，其中蕴含着中国绘画的丰富意旨。从学理上讲，“气韵生动”中的“气”更多的指向艺术作品的内在气象与整体气势，而“韵”则多意指艺术作品的韵律节奏与神气情态，但从艺术实践的角度，不同的作品虽然“气”与“韵”有所侧重，却不会绝然分离。在水墨画中，“气韵”基于笔墨又超越笔墨本身，它蕴藏于画面背后，但又充盈于画面之中，赋予画面流荡沉浮的律动感，它是一种可意会不可言传的非理性力量，是艺术家长期孜孜以求的艺术灵魂。驻足于雁北的作品前，观者可以感受到一种往复回环、肆意激荡的气韵流淌于画面之上。在他的笔下，一切自然之物都成了线条行迹交缠往来的运动，无论是残荷、还是落红，抑或惊起的飞鸟，流连湖上的白鹭，都充溢着一种不可名状但又无法遏制的生命张力，这是他作品独特的风格与气息。

　　“气韵非师”，正所谓“游心内运，放言落纸，气韵天成”，如果少了灵动而活泼的气韵，则“空陈形状，笔力未遒，空善赋彩，谓非妙也。”达到气脉通达的妙境自然需要慧根天成。雁北是有神论者，他以独特的悟性和禅心观察世界，自由穿梭于“世相”与“性灵”之间，他将创作的过程比拟为“如有天启”。他的作品中慎重地保留了水墨画的传统形式趣味，然而这种保留并非他作品追求的终极，而只是他精心设计的画面空间的初级想象，是通往“象外之象，景外之景”的初级阶梯。他对水墨渗化的精准拿捏，对布局位置的恰当谨慎最终都被纵横于他画面的运动的线条、被扩满画面边界的氤氲模糊的水墨印痕所破解殆尽，他的绘画重新构造出一个超越具象事物边界，有其自我独特生命的“灵的空间”，这是物我两融的空灵境界。在他的作品里，“气韵”从流动的线条中，从墨色晕染中，从随心而赋的色彩中，生发出来；其苦心经营的艺术意象也因气韵而生动起来。

　　随心赋彩

　　在雁北的作品中，东方绘画的细腻观感与西方艺术的浓厚热烈得以融合，他吸收了油画的光影变化和肌理表现手法，将色彩与光的表现推到了极致。色彩是他作品中强有力的手段，是极为重要的表现要素。他的画中不断出现墨竹、荷叶、兰花等传统水墨画经典形象，似乎在提示着我们关注过去的水墨传统。但同时，他又强调了这些物象与后景明亮的淡绿色、绿色、橘黄色、黄色、蓝色之间强烈的色彩对比。这种对比既突出了水墨构成的物象本身，也反衬出色彩在绘画当中的重要作用。在他的作品中，不同的色彩表现了特定空间的轻薄浓淡变化，让画面变得或柔和、或热烈、或忧伤，或焦虑，处处弥漫着令人动容的情绪，恰似白居易笔下“花非花、雾非雾”的意境。他描绘了自然界的花鸟虫鱼，但这些花鸟虫鱼却比自然界的物象更似真似幻、扑朔迷离。

　　雁北画中的色彩不是随类赋彩，而是“随心赋彩”。王国维在《人间词话》中说：“有造境，有写境，此理想与写实二派之所由分。”所谓“造境”，更接近于一种“心象风景”，艺术家基于心中的某种思想情感而描绘出一种意象空间，这种空间往往是现实世界中并不存在的，它不是自然之境，但这种理想之境却似乎可以更为准确地表达艺术家的所思所想与情绪体验。雁北笔下的色彩正是他表现心境的重要手段，最终完成的画面看上去似乎更像是视觉实验。他赋予画面更加自由外放的色彩表达，这些物象的色彩已经超越了自然的赋予，而是所谓的“心象”之色。在雁北的作品中，色彩不仅用来表现物体形状，也用于烘托画面的整体气氛，甚至直接自立于画面，成为其画作不容割裂的意义。在他的一些作品中，具体物象已经完全消失，他将自信强烈或是焦灼不安的情绪以色彩和墨酣畅淋漓地铺陈于画面之上，用简练放纵的色彩向我们讲述着一切。

　　凝固的时间

　　对于一些艺术家而言，绘画显然并不止是简单地表现单向度的时间，而是谋求视觉中时空的延展性和无限性，形成一个错杂沉厚的纵深结构，以打开观者的想象空间，使其可以用视觉触摸画面中多重的时间流动。

　　雁北的绘画有其独特的思考与处理时间的方式。有不少画家喜欢将目光投向过去，他们对古人画境进行重新模仿，试图通过这种模仿重回古人绘画中可居可游的理想境地；也有不少画家关注当代，意图用传统笔墨语言表现当代生活样态。雁北的绘画，似乎与这两种诉求都保持了适度的距离。他用抽象的概括将时间凝固在画面之中，形成了有着时间质感和生命温度的视觉空间。

　　雁北不是一个职业画家，但是，他以敏锐的感受力和观察力，搜寻捕捉身边事物瞬间的动态与微妙变化，并最终圆融在自己苦心经营的的水墨意境之中。从某种意义上讲，雁北的作品充满着现代主义的诗性情怀。这些作品是他一路行走和思索生发的深刻体悟，而不是对于某时、某地、某物的简单模写与客观记录。他用笔、墨、纸建构起具有纵深感的画面空间，表达对于即将消逝或已消逝的物象的回溯与叹挽。他的作品中有大量“荷”的意象，如《荷塘听雨》、《风起鸟儿歌》系列，衰草残荷既是自然之物，也往往预示着繁华褪尽后生命的尽头，在盛放和衰败之间，观者能够体验到自然生命在不可预知的瞬间所展现的须臾即逝的面貌。每一次的败落都是下一次再生的轮回前奏，这里隐藏着万事万物的无限玄机。在他的笔下，残荷即是逝去的时间，他淡化了荷的轮廓，以抽象的、夸张的墨迹表现衰败的荷叶，墨迹模糊了物体的边界，也模糊了整个画面的边界，让残荷看起来似乎铺陈于整个画面当中，但瞬间又消融于画面之外。同时，他又用娴熟的传统笔法勾勒出清晰的荷柄线条，强调了荷的存在感，让残荷这一生命力短暂的事物获得了一种凝固的时间美感。在雁北笔下，物象的模糊痕迹就像是映照着自我灵魂的残像，就像是梦呓，与他心中的记忆相钩连。这种痕迹不仅是水墨氤氲的荷叶，也是各种更为模糊和不确定的自然余痕，它们也许是树木、也许是山峦，也许是一切过眼烟云，它们作为模糊的背景反复出现在他的作品当中。这种虚幻朦胧之上又往往被加诸更为具体的物象，这些物象破坏了残痕，又对残痕的意义进行了丰富与补充，成就了更为多义的画面。

　　雁北有着丰富的人生阅历，他将一种近乎沧桑的激情，一种保有节制的优雅试探性地融汇到自己的绘画之中，在对短暂之物的反复表现和强调之中，固化了古人与今人生活的交汇性瞬间，在静止的画面中充盈着动态生活的魅力，这是对于生活美好时刻的回顾与守望。这种回顾与守望是开放性的，是未完成的，是瞬间又是永恒的，它们倏忽而逝又连绵不绝，他作品中的时间感正是这样迸发并凝固其中的。

　　解构与重生

　　雁北的绘画并未囿于文化传统的束缚，而是尝试突破传统水墨的形式语言与图像结构，表现出更加复杂叠沉的意味。他以自由随心的想象力和准确的控制力，将传统与现实生活进行巧妙的关联，勾勒出具有民族文化气质并充满着现代视觉力度的精妙画面。

　　雁北画中的荷叶、鱼、白鹭、古木显然与他曾经的经历与文化取向有着密切的关系。古人所反复描绘的理想原型在今天已经呈现出一种斑驳的破碎之态，原本和谐的自然之物在今人的画面中则是破败、突兀与皴裂的。他无意于在当代重新选择保守的文人画趣味，他通过自己的绘画，对一些传统的视觉形象进行了消解，在画面中展现出了一种淡淡的讥讽意味，另一方面，他又把一些带有个人偏好的视觉符号在画面中进行了重复表现，用一种强调式的手法，提醒人们注重自然审美和生命感知，映射出其对世界的艺术化解读。

　　他的作品中，物体的形被氤氲的水墨解构，随着水墨的交互而获得了自由的变化。当然，他在某些作品中仍然保留了物体的形，以期唤起观者熟知的审美体验。在很多作品中，部分物象清晰可见，而另一部分则模糊不清，仿佛背景或湖中倒影，整个画面空间笼罩着镜花水月般的不真实感，提示观者去思索传统的逐渐远去。而构图带来的空间变化，使整个画面充斥着一种紧张与不安感，这是古代田园牧歌生活消逝后的焦虑感，这些画面带给观者的早已不是纯然喜悦的阅读快感，它们逼迫着观者主动缴械，放弃对于优美之物的审美幻觉，直面画家展陈给他们的混沌迷离的现实。

　　在雁北的作品中，所谓的现实并不存在，他只是将周遭的现实作为创作的某种元素性成分和文化符号，而“真实”就隐藏在这些表象之下。他将熟悉的图像重构，形成了画面中的真实空间，这种原真性始于画面，终于画面。在他的画面中，有西方绘画的痕迹，也有传统水墨画的痕迹，这种强制性的并置和拼贴使得这些物象看起来像一个整体，但其中的断痕又明显存在，它们之间的气息如此格格不入，在同一个空间中，显现出了极大的异质特性。这正是雁北作品想表达的核心之一：他以一种温和但不失嘲讽的方式表现了中国古典生活的坍塌和变化，显现出他对于当下人文和自然环境的焦虑，以及他试图重新建构一种新的生活风格和艺术风格的努力。这让他的很多看似抽象的绘画重新与现实联系起来，有了可知可感的温度。原有的图像意义在经过解构和重构后，也产生了新的意义，并在一定程度上，完成历史想象和现实的和解。

　　无物之象

　　与叙事性绘画相比较，抽象绘画更易获得形式的美感，但从抽象绘画的实践看，又往往走向两极，不是走向形而上的模糊晦涩，就是走向毫无问题意识的粗浅化的形式模仿。无论哪一极，都阻碍着观者对于抽象绘画的理解和感受。

　　雁北在创作中吸取了西方抽象绘画对于肌理、色彩、画面构成等形式元素的醇熟运用，其作品逐步呈现出脱离具体物象和叙事性，追求精神永恒世界和深层次意识空间的嬗变，表现出自由随心的抽象美。在他的部分作品中，能明显看到从具象向抽象转化的痕迹，他逐渐抽离了花茎、竹叶等物体具体的形，而在寻找一种更具规律性和普遍性的构成关系。他在一些作品中运用草书线条一样的留白，其中残留着中国文化独特的印迹，而有些作品中则只剩下紫色、黄色等单纯的色彩变异。于是，经过这种模糊及抽象，所谓的客观世界已然消失在画面之中。

　　当然，中国传统审美精神和东方文化意象是他的作品与西方抽象绘画的不同之处。在他的作品中，我们看到的不止是西方抽象艺术家常见的激情化宣泄或纯理性求索，而是有着东方式节制的氤氲痕迹，有着中国绘画肌理的线性留痕，以及跳出了纯粹的抽象表现主义窠臼的文化抽象走向。他的作品有着大量中国传统文化符号的挪用，它们作为一种象征物进入画面，实现了画面的转化，破坏了古典世界的封闭式想象，让观者面对画面时，产生了一种间离感，凸显了一种更为纯粹的抽象性空间感。除了这些传统的文化符号，雁北还对具体的物象结构删繁就简，取其主要意象，抽取出物象的隐含结构和具有普遍性的形式结构要素，并将其赋予精神内涵，让其画面构成有抽象写意的性格，但又没有完全脱离物质性痕迹。

　　雁北用充满诗意的水墨绘画批判地重拾了中国传统文化的古意精神，并且还在不断的自我剖析、自我改变和自我进步之中。他的艺术面貌尚未完全定型，他对艺术的认识也在不断深化和转变。他在这不断变化中寻找着创作能量和激情，用绘画方式表达对于瞬息万变的世界与理想化的永恒存在之间关系的思索。正如德库宁说：“这正是我要表达的，所有绘画都是错觉”。雁北用作品构建了一个空虚的隐士世界，在这个虚拟的视角中，时间得以虚化和永恒。他的艺术世界，是被历史的河流反复冲刷的时间的晦涩隐喻，是时光流逝的残存镜像。这是一个水墨渲染而成的新世界，代表着他心中的主观性真实，也是物象经重构后形成的另一层真实空间。

中央美术学院博士 姚远

2016年4月22日

　　A FORMLESS FORM AND

　　A SPATIAL DIMENSION OF THE MIND:

　　THE PAINTING OF YANBEI

　　The Chinese culture has a sophisticated underlying structure and a firm spiritual core. Its high level of self–restraint to a certain extent leads to a cultural barrier. Comparing to the times of an agricultural society, people’s attitude towards life, their mental outlook, disposition and temperament in the modern society have changed dramatically. The tradition of (ink and brush) passed down from the old times no longer seems capable of capturing the life and experiences of contemporary Chinese society. The limitations and obstacles to free expression in the ink tradition is worthy of attention. Ink paintings can be seen as an internal spiritual continuation of the traditional Chinese culture. Artists’ various trials, modifications and innovations with the Chinese ink tradition can be considered not only an attempt to explore new possibilities for the tradition, but they are more of a introspection and reflection of local culture.

　　Use of highly concise ink and brushwork, Yanbei connects his life experience with the charm of abstraction of the East, and builds up a sensuous world full of vigor. In the world that Yanbei constructed, Western and Eastern cultures are synchronized. A mental imagery that is highly refined, full of the sense of cultural self-redemption, which goes beyond physical representation, is created. His work is abundant in sensibility. In the mean time, it implies reason. It is a visual representation of the world’s inherent patterns and conveys a Chinese-style concern that is infused with a modern cultural perspective.

　　Qiyun is not Learned from a Master

　　In Yanbei’s works, all the flowers and birds, trees and beasts, the sun, the moon and mountains are full of life. It is as if they are given the ability to speak for themselves, and are conveying an air of liveliness and vigor, which is an important criterion for appreciating Chinese ink paintings. The criterion incorporates the spiritual core of Chinese traditional culture, and the wording, “the qi (air) and yun (charm) of liveliness and vigour”, has become the guiding principle for many artists due to its concise wording yet sophisticated implication. Theoretically, qi refers more to the overall visible powerfulness of a work. Yun, on the other hand, is more about the underlying rhythm and aroma of the work. From a practical perspective, although different works of art may put a varying emphasis on either qi or yun, the two elements are never really separated. In Chinese ink paintings, the qiyun, or the air or aroma of the painting, is based on the use of ink and brushwork yet surpasses it. There is a spirit that hides behind the paper, hovers among the scene, and gives the picture a flowing sense of rhythm. There is something that is well sought–after by many artists, yet it can only be grasped by the mind but not expressed. Standing in front of Yanbei’s works, viewers can feel an overflowing surge of passion and freedom. Everything in nature is transformed into an intertwining movement of lines under his hands. Be it the lotus flowers, fallen petals, flying birds, or egrets lingering on the lake, everything is filled with an unstoppable force of life that is beyond description.

　　Qiyun is not learned from a master. As the saying goes, “devote your heart to the inner process, drop the words on the paper, qiyun comes naturally.” If an agile and lively qiyun was lacking, painting would be an “empty physical representation; the brushwork will not be vigorous, the colors will be bland, this is not to be considered subtle and exquisite”. It requires inherent wisdom to achieve a state of all-round spiritual mastery. Being atheist, Yanbei observes the world with his unique savvy and a meditative mind, moving freely in between “worldly appearance” and “otherworldly disposition”. He describes his process of artistic creation as “as if inspired by God”. His works cautiously preserves the traditional sense of fun associated with Chinese ink paintings, yet this preservation is not the ultimate goal of his works. Instead, it represents the primary conception of his well-thought-out pictorial space, and a foundation stone to “an imagery beyond imagery, a scene beyond a scene”. His precise mastery of the process by which ink soaks into the paper and his careful placement and composition are incorporated into the swift movement of the lines in his paintings, and are later on broken down by the misty ink marks blurring the edges of the pictorial space. His paintings reconstruct a “spiritual space” that goes beyond the barrier of representation and is granted a unique life of its own. This is a state of spiritual fusion between oneself and the external world. In his works, qiyun rises in between his flowing lines, his shading ink, and his colors applied by the heart. His carefully managed visual imageries come vibrantly to life due to the presence of qiyun.

　　Applying Color by Heart

　　In Yanbei’s works, the subtlety and delicacy of Eastern art fuse with the passion and intensity of Western art. He assimilates the Western technique of depicting light and shade and surface texture, which is characteristic of oil paintings, and brings the expression of color and light to an extreme. Color serves as a very powerful tool in Yanbei’s works, and it is a very important visual element. Classic subject matters of Chinese ink paintings, such as bamboos, lotus and orchids, are frequently represented in his works, as if they are a reminder of the old tradition. In the mean time, he emphasizes the powerful visual contrast between his subjects and the bright background colors in green, orange, yellow and blue. The contrast not only reinforces the forms built up by ink, but also reflects the importance of color in painting. Under Yanbei’s hands, different colors convey a gradation of mood within a specific pictorial space–be it gentle or bold, sad or anxious–and suffuse the space with all sorts of touching sentiments. Bai Juyi’s “Flowers in fog” is an appropriate description of this state. Yanbei depicts small lives in nature, such as flowers, birds, bugs, and fish, yet these creatures appear to be more elusive than nature.

　　The colors in Yanbei’s paintings are not applied by categories. Rather, they are applied by the heart. As Wang Guowei notes in Renjian Cihua, “There is creating a scene as well as capturing a scene; this is the difference between idealism and realism.” By “creating a scene,” Wang is referring to more of a “mental scenery.” Based on certain minds and emotions, the artist creates an imaginative space that doesn’t necessarily exist in physical reality. Although not natural, the ideal scenery seems to have greater power in accurately delivering the artist’s thinking and emotional experiences. Yanbei’s use of color is an important means of self-expression. The finish products look as if they are some sort of visual experimentation. He endows the pictures with bolder and more expressive colors. The subjects being depicted possess shades beyond nature’s gift–they have a color of the heart and mind. In Yanbei’s works, colors are not merely for defining the appearance of subjects, but also for highlighting the overall atmosphere. The colors can even exist on their own and become an indispensable part of the composition. In some of his works, figurative elements are completely absent. He uses color and ink to vigorously lay out his strong confidence or burning anxiety, telling viewers every emotion in the use of simple yet expressive colors.

　　Fixing a Moment in Time

　　To some artists, painting is apparently not only expressing time in a one–dimensional sense, rather, it is seeking to visualize the malleability and infinitude of space. A sophisticated structure of depth and breadth is thus formed, which incites viewers’ imagination and enables them to use their visual perception to embrace the multiple layers of time flow hidden within the pictorial plane.

　　Yanbei’s paintings have a unique way of conceiving and handling time. Many artists like to look back in time, imitating the tradition of the ancient times in an attempt to revisit the dreamland depicted in paintings of antiquity. Other artists focus their attention on the contemporary world, seeking to capture different aspects of modern life using the traditional ink and brush. Yanbei’s paintings seem to have kept a distance from both categories. Time is frozen within the picture frame by his abstract generalization–this is what gives his paintings a pictorial space with sense of time and warmth of life.

　　Yanbei is not a professional painter, yet he uses his keen sense and observational skills to capture moments in life and subtle changes and then inject them into the realm of ink and color that he created. In a way, Yanbei’s work is filled with modernistic sense of poetic sentiment. His works are not a mere depiction or record of a certain moment, a certain place, or a certain subject. Instead, they represent the thoughts and reflections he had along the way. He builds up a sophisticated pictorial space with the brush, the ink, and the paper, to express his recollection and sympathy for things that are fading or have faded away. Many of his works are imaged with “lotus”, such as Listen to the Rain by the Lotus Pond and the series of Birds Singing with the Wind. Withered lotus and grass are a part of nature’s pattern, implying the end that every life will come to despite all the previous glory. Between blossoming and waning, viewers can experience the fleeting nature of life that is shown in unpredictable moments. Every fall is a prelude to rebirth, and hidden within it is the enigmatic secret of the entire universe. Under his hands, withering lotus is a symbol for elapsed time. He weakened the contour of the flowers, and uses abstract and exaggerated ink spatters to represent the withered lotus leaves. The ink marks blur not only the contour of the lotus but also the boundary of the picture frame, making the withered flowers reveal themselves in one glimpse and hides away in another. Meanwhile, he employs his traditional, well-practiced brushwork to give a clear outline to the stems of the lotus. It emphasizes the presence of the lotus, and injects a touching sense of eternity into something as short-lived and fragile as a withering lotus. In Yanbei’s paintings, the blurry contour of subjects can be read as the reflection of one’s soul; it is like sleep-talking which connects to his memories. The ink marks do not only represent lotus leaves, they are the traces of many other things – trees, mountains, or perhaps fleeting clouds, and appear as the paintings’ misty background time and time again. The mistiness is often accompanied by figurative and representational forms, which interfere with the blur and supplementing it at the same time, giving the picture multiple layers of interpretation.

　　Yanbei is wealthy in life experience. The vicissitudes of life have given him a passion and a restrained elegance that he tentatively injects into his paintings. In his repetitive depiction of subjects with a transient nature, he solidifies the moment of intersection of ancient and modern life. The charm of a vibrant life is captured within a static picture plane – this is a retrospection and expectation for beautiful moments in life. Such retrospection and expectation are open-ended and unfinished; they can come and go in one instant or they can be continuous and last an eternity. The sense of elapsing time in his works is accomplished and maintained as such.

　　Deconstruction and Rebirth

　　Yanbei’s paintings are not bound by the constraints of cultural traditions. Instead, he tries to break free from the traditional ink painting forms and composition, with an aim to give his works more complicated and sophisticated connotations. Using his vivid imagination and accurate power of control, he cleverly connects tradition with contemporary life and presents audiences with spectacular scenes full of national cultural spirit and modern visual powerfulness.

　　The lotus, the fish, the egret and the old trees are closely associated with his life experience and cultural conviction. The ideal models that got repeatedly imitated by the ancients appear faint and fragile in modern hands. What is meant to be harmonious and natural appears waned, abrupt and chipped. He has no intention to hold on to the conservative literati taste. Rather, he deconstructs some traditional visual imagery in his paintings, filling the pictures with a subtle hint of sarcasm. On the other hand, he duplicates the use of certain visual symbols that he favours. By accentuating their use, he reminds viewers of the importance of natural aesthetics and the comprehension of life, reflecting his interpretation of the world in an artistic way.

　　In Yanbei’s paintings, the physical form of a subject is deconstructed by the misty ink wash, freely transforming its shape with the diffusion and interplay of ink and water. Yes, the physical form of certain objects remains in some paintings as well, in order to evoke an aesthetic experience that is already familiar among the audience. In other paintings, there is a combination of images that are clearly visible and those that are obscure. The latter feels like a backdrop to the main subject or a reflection in a lake, accentuating a sense of unreality that permeates the pictorial plane like a flower in mirror or the moon’s reflection in water. This invites the viewers to ponder on the fading of traditions. Moreover, spatial shifts brought about by a painting’s composition fill the pictorial plane with a sense of intensity and unrest. This is a feeling of anxiety after seeing the disappearance of an ancient pastoral lifestyle. Scenes like this no longer bring viewers a pure sense of enjoyment and satisfaction that come as a result of visual inspection. Rather, they force viewers to abandon their aesthetic illusions towards beautiful things, and directly confront the chaotic reality presented by the artist.

　　In Yanbei’s works, so-called “reality” does not exist. He is merely exploiting the surrounding reality as a constituting part or a cultural symbol of his artistic creation. To him, “reality” is hidden under the surface. He reconstructs familiar images and forms a tangible, realistic space within the pictorial plane. Such primitive authenticity starts on the surface of the painting and ends there. Within the pictorial scenes that he builds up, one can see traces of both Western painting style and the Chinese ink tradition. Such forced juxtaposition and collage make the subjects look like they form an indivisible whole, yet their properties appear so heterogeneous that massive disparities appear within the same pictorial space. This is precisely one of the core ideas Yanbei’s paintings aspire to convey. He shows audiences the collapse and changes of China’s classical lifestyle in a mildly sarcastic way, expressing his concerns about the current cultural and natural environment, and displaying an effort to reconstruct a brand new lifestyle and artistic style. Having this in mind, many of his seemingly abstract paintings start to regain a connection with the reality and a perceptible sense of warmth. After a process of decomposition and reconstruction, the original images are given new meanings and interpretations. To a certain extent, reconciliation is achieved between historical fantasy and the reality.

　　An Image of Nothing

　　Compared with narrative paintings, it is easier for abstract paintings to possess greater aesthetic beauty. However, from a practical point of view, the abstract paintings can easily get polarized – they diverge either towards a metaphysical obscurity or a superficial formal emulation without any critical thinking. Either way, the problem impedes audiences’ appreciation and comprehension of abstract paintings.

　　Yanbei learned from the adept deployment of formal elements such as texture, color and composition in Western abstract art. His works gradually started to show a swiftness that aspires to a world of spiritual eternity and deep perceptual space devoid of any figurative forms or narration, and to display the beauty of unbounded abstraction. In some of his works, traces of transition from representation to abstraction can be clearly seen. He gradually deprived objects such as flower stems and bamboo leaves of their tangible form, seeking a more universalized compositional relationship. In some works, there are areas purposefully left blank in the manner reminiscent of cursive calligraphy, which leave behind unique traces of Chinese culture. In some other works, however, all that is left are some simple variation of colors such as purple and yellow. Thereby, the so-called objective world has disappeared within the pictorial plane as a result of such blurring and abstraction.

　　It is the Chinese traditional aesthetic taste and the eastern cultural symbolisms that differentiate his paintings from western abstract art. In his paintings, we not only see the intense emotional outlet and pure rational exploration characteristic of western abstraction artists, more importantly, we see traces of the restrained, Eastern style of mistiness, linear marks bearing the Chinese-style texture, and also a tendency of cultural abstraction that has broken free from the stereotype of pure abstract expressionism. His works contain myriad appropriation of Chinese traditional cultural symbolisms, which have entered into his pictures as emblems, facilitated the transition of the pictorial plane, disrupted the closed-end imaginations of the classical world, and thereby evoked a sense of distance with the viewers which heightens an even purer sense of abstract space. Apart from these traditional cultural symbols, Yanbei also simplified the formal structure of figurative subjects. By picking out the main motif, extracting its underlying structure and universal structural elements, and endowing them with a spiritual connotation, the pictorial composition is given an abstract, free and bold character of the xieyi style, although still not completely devoid of traces of materiality.

　　Yanbei unitilizes his poetic Chinese ink paintings in a critical way in order to regain the spirit of antiquity in Chinese traditional culture. His artistic identity has yet to form a definitive look, and he is still in the continuous process of self-examination, changes and improvement. His perception of art is also undergoing constant developments and transformation. He seeks for energy of and passion for artistic creation in such constant changes, and uses painting as a means to reflect his thoughts about the relationship between the ever-changing world and the idealized eternity. As Willem de Kooning famously declared, “That’s what I am saying. All painting is an illusion.” Yanbei uses his works to construct a void world of the recluse, and in a fictitious viewpoint like this, the idea of time is weakened and eternalized. His artistic world is an obscure metaphor for time – something that has endured the baptism of history – and also a reflection of the elapse of time. This is a whole new world built up by ink washes. It is the manifestation of not only the subjective truth within his heart but also a new spatial dimension formed as a result of his reconstruction of images.

　　Yao Yuan, D.A. of China Central Academy of Fine Arts

　　2016.4.22