一直以来，我都在尝试着回答中国的当代艺术是什么。我认为，艺术作为文化的一部分，必须要反映时代精神以及社会的变迁。它常常重现过去，但决不重复历史。

当代艺术的主要现象之一表现为观念的普及化，不论在绘画，雕塑，影像，还是摄影中，我们都能看到观念的影子。纯视觉的表现手法已经成为过去。王浪的摄影涉及历史，政治以及寻常百姓的生活；韩文华扭曲的雕塑是对崩溃的传统文化的影射；王雷的装置表现了艺术家对权利的看法；姚俊忠的绘画是对新一代人的心灵的探询，这一代人为新事物而欢欣，但却对历史缺乏应有的认识。与此同时，一种新的潮流正从这批无视历史，政治和哲学的“80后”所生活的世界中孕育而生，我将之称为“虚拟波谱”—— 一种从漫画，广告和电脑游戏中衍生出来的无序的视觉象征性语言，这种语言脱离了所有的价值体系：比如他们把麦当劳叔叔和圣母放在一起，或者把米老鼠放在Chanel或Gucci等奢侈品牌标志的旁边，以及把美少女和航天飞机进行拼接，王玺的作品就是此类趋势的代表。还有一些对于传统的阐释，仍然能够给人惊喜，让人愉悦：耿博气势磅礴的作品对美的标准提出了挑战－肥胖的女人为身上的层层赘肉而自豪；卢云亭的水墨画，拥有宋代山水画的壮丽，游移在抽象和写实之间；李越峰的绘画，使用写实主义的手法来表现抽象的意向。正是这些不同风格的共存保持了文化的生命力和冲击力。

这次展出的作品都具有很强的视觉效果，在与充斥着单调乏味风气的当代艺术的抗争之中，它们都是美的。因为我相信，好的作品决不是晦涩难懂，或是灰暗无力的。这个展览代表了我对当代艺术的一些看法，感谢所有参展的艺术家。

翻译： 陈雪

8.2008

 

In attempting to answer the question of what constitutes contemporary art in China, I am fortunate in being able to present the work of a group of artists whom I admire. For art to be part of the culture, it has to reflect the zeitgeist of the times, and the conditions in a changing society. It often mirrors what has gone before, but it does not repeat the past.
One of the major phenomenon of the contemporary scene appears to be the ubiquity of concept – whether it be a painting, a sculpture, a video, or a photograph, concept appears to be pervasive and the purely visual to be receding into history – picture the photographs of Wang Lang which address history, politics, and the lives of ordinary people or the magical sculptures of Han Wenhua that act as metaphors for the collapse of traditional culture, the installations of Wang Lei with their commentary on the relationship of power, or the paintings of Yao Junzhong, which explore the psyche of the new generation, its celebration of all that is new, and its unawareness of history. In contrast to this trend is a movement I have termed cyberpop, arising from the virtual world inhabited by the children of the 80’s who appear uninterested in history, politics or philosophy. Theirs is a language of chaotic visual symbolism culled from comics, advertising, and computer games devoid of any attached value system. The clown from MacDonalds is juxtaposed with the Virgin Mary with the brand symbols for Chanel or Gucci with the latest robotic creation. I have included the works of Wang Xi as representative of this trend. Then there is the take on tradition which still manages to surprise and delight: the monumental figures of Geng Bo that represent a new paradigm of beauty – the flesh unapologetic, the ink paintings of Lu Yunting, possessed of the grandeur of Song dynasty landscapes while hovering between abstraction and reality, or the paintings of Li Yuefeng, which employ the language of realism to produce abstract imagery.  It is this disparate mix that keeps the culture fresh and exciting.
Finally, I have presented works that are visually arresting, and dare we say, beautiful, in protest against the unrelenting drabness of so much of contemporary art, because I believe that great work does not have to be cryptic, obtuse, or visually depressing. This exhibition is my personal anthology.

Curator: Arthur Hwang   (Aug 2008)