Bazaar Men's Style 《时尚芭莎男士版》

This is a loft work studio, about 5-meter high and 300 square meters, spacious and bright. It looks orderly and prudent with the white and simple decoration style. Everything has its own position and order, which cannot be displaced. It seems only a paranoia would set a rule like that.

In the contemporary ink painter—Zhu Wei’s work studio, four color prints《New Pictures of the Strikingly Bizarre》hang on one side of its wall； On the wall behind the working table, is the famous work China, China on the blueprintof Deng Xiaoping’s image, which once appeared in the US magazine TIME. The Monet family also collected his first work Beijing Story, while the headquarters of IBM in Manhattan put his sculpture China, China beside the Andy Warhol’s prints. Before then, the IBM had never bought any art work that’s not created by American. Though Zhu Wei always murmurs that: “what’s the big deal of painting?” he likes rock music, and Deyun Crosstalk, however, as an ink painter, he can’t even imagine life without Rice paper or writing brush.

His work studio is located at the central region of CBD in Beijing, looking at the CCTV headquarters and Beijing's tallest building across the Tonghui River. The reason why he chose this place is he wanted to live around the general public, for he doesn’t like art to be gathered nor has the obsession for school. He thought it would be boring if the studio is one next to another, and company isn’t that necessary for painting. At that time, here was indeed a lovely residential area without any art atmosphere, now, however, the building is loaded with artists, either famous or obscure. With a large-scale art museum around, he is totally surrounded by the art atmosphere.

He is always doing the meticulous (Gong-bi) Ink and Wash in his studio while listening to the rock music. Several years ago, on the invitation of Cui Jian, he designed the composition for his band in America’s tour concerts. In the autumn of 1995, Cui Jian heard that a painter’s works were related with rock music, and his lyrics were inscribed on them. Then, he found Zhu Wei through friends and said to him: “could you design an act-drop for us to use as the symbol of our band?” Zhu Wei agreed at once without any hesitation. He led a group of students of Fine Arts Academies, spent around two months, in the large stage workshop of General Political Department Song and Dance Ensemble, finished the stage background—a 19-meter giant backdrop in the form of Ink and Wash, which Cui Jian used in his performances at home and abroad in the past decade.

Cui Jian used to bring that act-drop with him in all his performances. Many years later, Rome Art Museum held a visual art exhibition “a Fifty-Year Review of the World Rock Music”. Someone offered to buy that act-drop with the price of two Toyota SUVs, but Cui Jian refused to sell. Anyway, that act-drop participated in that exhibition.

In Zhu Wei’s works during the 1990s such as Eggs Under the Red Flag, China Diary, Square and Running Horses in a Rainy Night, Cui Jian’s image and lyrics can be found. He did that because he was so into rock music, not for some Chinese-western combination. All he can master are the writing brush and Rice paper, in spite of years of leaning on a felt rug to paint, thinking of Shi Tao, Ba Da and Huang Gongwang, and trying to draw lines like those of Cao Buxing and Wu Daozi， his rock music complex is till a mark in his head. How much does Zhu Wei like rock music? On April 8, 2006, he gave up the opening ceremony of his individual exhibition in Beijing, with several friends, directly flew to Shanghai to enjoy the concert held by the Rolling Stones that enjoyed 40 years of world popularity in Shanghai Gymnasium.

For the core demonstrated in his works, some critics said: the empathizing tendency rooted in the social elites is clearly expressed in Zhu Wei’s works. The artist realized the strong power held by the words and vision in both traditional and modern China, but he never rigidly stick to the pattern of Chinese inking painting, instead, he explored a brand-new path. The forty-some man still has deep interests in extensive cultural issues. All these made his art obscure yet profound in meaning: humor mitigated the interpretation, and humanity softened the sharpness. His painting recorded the fast-changing social regulations and human weaknesses. It’s humorous as well as sarcastic… It’s hard for viewers to interpret the concept he aims to express with fixed wording, for the images he create have boundless possibilities.

As one of the few artists who earned fame at home and abroad with Ink and Wash, Zhu Wei employed meticulous (Gong-bi) Ink and Wash techniques on the social-critical subjects, which led to clear painting style and abundant visual pulling force. The sculptures and prints extended from his Ink and Wash also bear his usual style of blending tradition and modernity.

Ink and Wash represents tradition, while rock music was born in the advanced industrial civilization. Maybe it’s the beauty of this combination that stands for the position the classic art holds in our times.

Over a long period of time, the "Political Pop" campaign thrived in Chinese mainland. The political implication in Zhu Wei’s works, for its possibility of duplication and easy to spread, were included in the “Pop”. You would find that claim inappropriate if you seriously study his life experience since his 20s. From the very beginning to the end, he never intended to divert and replace visual symbols, relate to reality from a concept angle or with novelty-seeking attitudes, but to make observations from a common Chinese people’s perspective, and make straightforward responses to reality with the traditional Chinese painting techniques. Most of his works reflected the actual life, for he always observe the grand social events with the perspective of “humane” care and the once “deified” great people image.

In front of a famous art gallery in 798, Beijing, Zhu Wei's set of sculptures “China, China” -two fat man in Zhongshan suit, with vague facial expressions, keeping a ridiculous forward standing position, look respectful and flattering—chosen by many tourists to be their photo background. After viewing Zhu Wei’s picture album, a youth who had taken pictures with the sculpture exclaimed: this man can paint?

In 1985, the then 28-year old Li Xiaoshan published an article in Jiangsu Pictorial Art Monthly, claiming that “the Chinese painting has come to a dead end.” Zhu Wei was 19, and he just started to get on that path.

“Dead end” seems to be an exaggeration. Traditional Chinese Ink and Wash doesn’t lack attention, while the debate on its status quo has never ceased, which has become the haunting “pain” in the Chinese art circle. In the first 8 years of his creation, he refused to exhibit his works with other art forms such as oil painting, and seldom participated in other group exhibitions related with contemporary art. Zhu Wei once said: “I used to feel inferior as an ink painter, for inking painting’s expression is not as abundant and vivid as oil painting in terms of technique. To be honest, I feel more inferior now, because no one wants to pay attention to contemporary Ink and Wash, it’s too weak.” Through his words, we can perceive his dismay. But that’s indeed a real problem prevalent in the art circle. Years of contention led to nowhere, and years of academic research and qualifications became important criteria in judging ink painters. In the home Ink and Wash context, Zhu Wei still feels perplexed by that. Critics usually doubt the attainments of the ink painters who are in their 30s or 40s. To be specific, they didn’t even get into the critic’s eyes, and some people only consider western art as the so called contemporary art. The prejudice for Ink and Wash hindered the general recognition of its contemporary nature.

Oscar Wilde once said: “It’s absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.” So is painting. Many people like Zhu Wei’s pictures, because they never bored by them. In Zhu Wei’s work Beside the Girls(1996)(the painting was drawn based on the title of the second volume of In Search of Lost Time written by the French writer Proust), two well-developed girls in Lenin coat sitting in the same position with their legs crossing. That picture freed me from the puzzle of the titles like xx Picture when viewing Ink and Wash. “Like dreaming, beside the girls.” Ink and Wash can express everything: in Spring Herald No.3（2003）, which was drawn during the “SASS” period, he painted himself in the picture, wearing a then necessary breathing mask with a blooming peach flower on his shoulder; in Utopia No.57(2005), a meeting was depicted, full of truants with earrings and stunned people with their mouths open; in Vernal Equinox No.16(2008), in the coming of spring, the silent middle-aged men stare at the floating peach flowers before their eyes.

Though under the pressures of the Chinese living condition and the Ink and Wash itself, he still holds fast to Ink and Wash. It’s a delicate art starting from one writing brush and one bottle of ink, why give up?

Zhu Wei’s life is involved with the courtyard culture. His parents are soldiers, and his childhood memory also started in the army courtyard. But he didn’t enjoy too much the beauty of family life as his parents were too busy in that revolution age. He was sent to grandparents’ home—Shougang courtyard. When recollecting those, he revealed some dismay in the mocking tone. The “wild” Zhu Wei, listening to rock music, reading “existentialism”, why picked up Ink and Wash? It’s quite hard to understand for many people. On the appearance, passionate expressionism seems to be a better choice for him. I didn’t truly understand his enthusiasm for ink language until I heard his understanding for tradition, which came from the on-the-scene application instead of the worshiping inheritance. He has a firm belief that everything happened today can trace its prototype in tradition, which became the thinking foundation for his quote of classics, and that’s indeed the actual linkage between history and the current.

“Whether Ink and Wash can be made contemporary is not a question at all. Just like the westerners eat Western-style food, and we eat Chinese food. It has been like that for thousands of years, but we just have to make discussions about whether we should eat like that? Can we eat like that? Can Chinese food meet the demands of Chinese people? Why do we have to doubt ourselves? Are we being too unconfident? There are only two conclusions waiting for us after this thorough discussion: one is to see whether it’s still available after fixing; the other is to throw it away. Which one do we more tended to chose after all these years of discussion? ” For Ink and Wash’s position in contemporary art, “artists should be like a scientist in creating, improve the current situation and explore the new area. Inheritance first and development second. It’s necessary to inherit and understand well before taking the next step” he once said. “The biggest difference between contemporary Ink and Wash and traditional Ink and Wash is that the former one has got rid of the influences of court paintings and literati paintings, no more focusing on individuals or being groaning, whining and way too emotional. Instead, they get involved in the development process of society”, he said.

Zhu Wei was one among the first group of artists who entered the formal commercial operation in the 1990s. In 1993, he started his cooperation with the Plum Blossoms Gallery, whose branches spread in Europe, America and Hong Kong, and their close cooperation lasted to 2005. Over the past more than ten years, he gained great attention paid from abroad collectors and art organizations with his Ink and Wash works, which demonstrated his works’ international significance. Critic Li Xiaoshan once frankly said “Zhu Wei has plenty of pride record in his profile”. The westerners love to say character is destiny, but in fact, a lot of people don’t know how to treat destiny. Zhu Wei never showed off his achievements, in his own words, he is like an industrious farmer who diligently worked in the fields. In the commercial chains, his strict observance of rules and self-regulation is quite rare. While in the academic links, the abundant thinking and unique art style delivered through his works are also related with his personal experiences and low-profile character.

The cooperation between Zhu Wei and the Plum Blossoms Gallery lasted for 14 years. It was his worldwide exclusive agent. He continued drawing from 26 to 41 and fulfilled the contract, and that was a happy creation period. Up till now, “I haven't painted anything for 4 or 5 years”, he said. But he will continue to paint this year, for there are several big exhibitions to be held and contracts are already signed.

“Drawing Ink and Wash has already become part of my life and a life style. I keep thinking about the possibilities of transforming all the visual pictures and images that I see every day into Ink and Wash. It's your patience that counts in the drawing process. It requires hard work and total concentration if you want to draw well. In a word, once you get distracted, the paintings are ruined.” Seeing his studio spotlessly clean and everything in order, I know that over the 20-plus years, Ink and Wash still occupies a sacred place in his heart.

这是一间层高5米多的loft工作室，300平米左右的通透空间宽敞明亮，白色简约的装修风格利落而谨慎，每一个放在台面上的东西都有着固定的位置和秩序，不能有差错，这似乎是只有偏执狂才必须遵守的。

当代水墨艺术家朱伟的工作室，一面墙上悬挂的大幅四连张彩墨版画《新二刻拍案奇》，工作台后面的墙上是那张著名的曾登上过美国《时代周刊》的以邓小平的形象作为蓝本的作品《中国，中国》。莫奈家族也曾经收藏了他的第一张作品《北京故事》，而在曼哈顿的IBM总部大厦将他的雕塑《中国中国》放在安迪沃霍尔的版画旁。当时在IBM收藏的史册中，从来没有买过美国以外的任何艺术作品。虽然朱伟经常嘟囔：“画画算个什么事儿？”他喜欢摇滚乐，也喜欢德云社，但作为一个水墨画家，如果真的让他离开宣纸和毛笔，那就是绝对不能够想象的另外一种生活。

朱伟的工作室位于北京CBD的中心区，越过通惠河与中央电视台和北京第一高登巨大的建筑隔窗相望。朱伟当时进入这个工作室就想着找一个老百姓住的地方画画儿，他不喜欢艺术扎堆，又不迷恋学校，如果画室像教室一样左边一间右边一间的没什么意思，画画儿不需要成帮结队的。那时候，这里的确是一个没有任何艺术空气的可爱居民区，可是现在这里楼上楼下布满著名或非著名艺术家，旁边还有一个大型美术馆，于是他彻底被艺术氛围所裹挟了。

朱伟经常在画室里一边画着工笔，一边听摇滚乐。他和摇滚乐的渊源很久，多年前，他就受崔健邀请设计了乐队在美国巡回演唱会的布景。1995年秋天，崔健听说一个画家的作品和摇滚乐有关，画里还有他的歌词，就通过朋友的联系找到了朱伟。崔健对朱伟说：“你给我们设计一个幕布，舞台美术，我们一直要用作我们乐队的标志。” 朱伟没有一分钟的犹豫就答应了。他带领一帮美院的学生忙了近两个月时间，在总政歌舞团的大舞美车间完成了崔健将近十年海内外演出的舞台背景，一幅19米长的用水墨画形式画出来的巨大天幕。

崔健曾经在所有演出中都带着这块幕布。多年后，罗马美术馆做了一个视觉艺术的展览“世界摇滚乐五十年回顾”，有人提出用两辆丰田越野车的价格收藏这块幕布，崔健没有出让。当然，最后这幅幕布还是参加了这个展览。

在朱伟90年代的作品《红旗下的蛋》、《中国日记》、《广场》、《雨夜跑马图》中，都出现过崔健的形象与歌词，他因热爱而将摇滚乐付诸于宣纸之上，这个并不是搞什么中西结合，是因为他能掌控的只有毛笔和宣纸，即使这么多年都是趴在毡子上三矾六染，脑子里转着石涛、八大、黄公望，整天琢磨画的是“曹衣出水，吴带当风”，对于摇滚的情结仍是刻在脑子里的一个符号。朱伟有多喜欢摇滚乐呢？2006年4月8日，为了去看享誉世界40年的“滚石乐队”在上海大舞台举办的演唱会，朱伟放弃了当天晚上自己在北京的个展开幕式，和几个朋友直飞上海。

对于他作品中所表现的内核，有评论家曾这样说：社会精英秉承的移情取向在朱伟的作品中表现得非常清晰，艺术家意识到传统中国和现代中国承载的文字和视觉的强大力量，但朱伟从未拘泥于中国传统水墨的程式，探索出了一条前无古人的道路。不惑之年的朱伟仍对广泛的文化问题抱有的浓厚兴趣。这让他的艺术隐密晦涩而又寓意深广，幽默缓和了他的阐释，人性软化了他的锐利。朱伟的绘画记录了正在迅速转变的社会规范、人性弱点，是幽默也是讽刺……观众很难将朱伟想表达的观念用一种既定的说辞来诠释，他营造的画面也延伸出了无限可能。

作为当代艺术界极少数以水墨画蜚声海内外的艺术家之一，朱伟的绘画作品使用传统工笔手法来表现社会批判题材，画风清晰而充满视觉张力，从他的水墨画中延伸出来的雕塑和版画作品也秉承了他传统和现代揉和的一贯风格。

水墨象征着传统，摇滚诞生于先进的工业文明，也许这种融合的奇妙之处就代表着古典艺术在时代中的位置。

在过去很长一段时间中国大陆艺术界兴起的“政治波普”运动中，朱伟作品中的政治意味，因其可复制和易流传而被打下了“波普”的烙印。如果认真研究朱伟20岁以来的人生经历会发现，冒然的断言他在20世纪90年代的艺术创作属于“波普”的阵营，是不恰当的。自始至终，朱伟并无意于视觉符号的挪用和置换，而是以一个普通中国人的视角进行观察，以传统中国绘画的技巧对现实做出率直的反应，而非以一种概念的角度或猎奇的态度与现实发生联系，朱伟的作品更多从现实生活中取材，用极具“人性”关怀的视角观察宏大的社会事件，以及一度被“神化”的伟人形象。

北京798一处著名的画廊门前，朱伟的一组雕塑“中国，中国”成为一大批参观艺术区的游客的拍照背景。两个身材肥胖，面孔模糊的中山装男人，保持着可笑的前倾站立姿势，看上去恭敬而谄媚。一个拍照留念过的小青年在看了朱伟的画册之后惊呼：这个人还会画画？

1985年，28岁的李小山在《江苏画刊》发表了一篇文字，称“中国画已到了穷途末路的时候”。而那一年朱伟19岁，刚刚踏上这条穷途末路。

“穷途末路”貌似危言耸听，传统的中国水墨自然不缺少关注，但是关于中国水墨画的生存现状，争论和激辩至今没有休止，这似乎成为中国艺术界萦绕于心却又无力改变的“心头痛”。在朱伟刚开始创作的8年间，他曾经拒绝和油画等形式的艺术作品同时展出，并且极少参加与当代艺术有关的群展。朱伟说过：“当初我曾经觉得作为水墨画家很自卑，从技法上水墨的表现力不如油画那样丰富、逼真。说实话现在我感觉更自卑了，因为当代水墨势单力薄，没有人愿意关注当代水墨。”朱伟的言语间流露出一丝无奈的情绪。这也的确是艺术界普遍存在的问题，多年的论争仍没有结果，多年来精研学术的功力和资历成为衡量水墨画家价值的重要标准，身处目前国内水墨语境中的朱伟仍对此感到困惑。批评家往往怀疑三四十岁年龄段水墨画家的“造诣”，确切的说，这些人甚至根本没有进入评论的视野范围，而更有许多人认为所谓的当代艺术只包括西方舶来的艺术媒材，对水墨的偏见阻滞了水墨当代化的普遍认同。

王尔德说过：把人分成好的和坏的是荒谬的。人要么是迷人，或者乏味。看画也是一样，很多人喜欢朱伟的画，是因为没有乏味的感觉。在朱伟的一幅《在少女们身旁》（1996）的作品，取材于法国作家普鲁斯特《追忆逝水年华》第二卷的书名，两位体态丰腴的少女身穿列宁装以相同的姿势跷腿而坐，它让我在观看水墨画时终于不再被《xx图》之类标题的困扰，“就像做梦，在少女们身旁”，水墨可以表现一切。比如他的作品《报春图三号》（2003）当时正值“非典”恐慌期，朱伟把自己画到画里，带着一只当时必备的小口罩，肩膀上开着一朵绚烂的桃花；《乌托邦五十七号》（2005）则是在开大会，但里面坐满带耳钉的溜号者和张着嘴不知道想什么的发呆的人；在《开春图十六号》（2008）里那些在春天来临时外表沉默的中年男人们，望着眼前漂浮的桃花。

尽管身处中国人生存环境的压抑和水墨画本身所带给他的压力之中，但让朱伟放弃水墨而转向其他也是没有可能的。从小一只笔一瓶墨浸染下来，凭什么放弃？

朱伟的生命脱不开大院文化，他的父母是军人，朱伟的童年记忆是从军队大院开始的，然而革命年代父母的忙碌，使得朱伟并没有过多的享受家庭生活的美好，于是他被送到首钢大院里的祖父母家，朱伟在回忆起这些时，调侃的言语背后流露出些许的伤感。所以从小“野”惯了的朱伟，听前卫摇滚，看“存在主义”，为何又老老实实捡起了水墨画，这多少有些让人费解，从直观上看来，朱伟似乎更适合富于激情的表现主义。当听到朱伟表述他对传统的理解时，我才真正明白他对水墨语言的热衷，来自身处其境的运用，而非顶礼膜拜式的继承。他坚定地认为今天发生的一切，都可以在传统中找到原型，这成为他援引古典的思想基础，而这也的确是历史与当下的本来联系。

“水墨画能不能当代化压根不能作为一个问题。就像外国人吃西餐我们吃中餐，几千年都这么吃下来的，可我们偏偏要讨论，该不该这样吃，能不能这样吃，中餐符不符合当下中国人的需要。我们为什么要否定自己呢，是不是太不自信了？所有的事物如果拿出来讨论无非是想得出来两个结果：一个是想修理一下看还能不能接着用；一个是想扔了。这么多年我们讨论的目的更倾向于哪一个呢？”对于水墨画在当代艺术中的处境，朱伟曾经这样评论，“艺术家在进行创作的时候应该像一个科学家一样，完善现有，探索新的，其实就是先继承，后发展。而且要继承好了再发展，理解透了再往下走。”他说，“当代水墨和传统水墨最大的不同，是它摆脱了宫廷绘画和文人绘画的影响，不再玩小情调、小趣味，而是变得有血有肉，有哭有笑了，它已经开始参与社会的演变进程。”

朱伟是上个世纪90年代初最早一批进入正规商业运作的艺术家，他从1993年，便开始了与分支机构遍布欧洲、美国和香港的万玉堂画廊的合作，并且这一紧密的合作一直持续到2005年。在这十余年的过程中，朱伟以水墨为创作媒介的作品得到了海外藏家和艺术机构的极大关注，显示了他作品的国际化意义。评论家李小山曾坦言“朱伟的资料里有不少足以骄人的记载”，西方人喜欢说性格即命运，其实很多人并不知道该如何对待命运。朱伟从来不炫耀他的业绩，用他自己的话说，只像一个勤劳的农民，踏踏实实地埋头劳作。在商业链条中，朱伟对规则的严守以及对自我的约束是难得的。而在学术环节中，朱伟作品中传递出的丰富思考和独特的艺术风格，也与他的个人经历和低调从容的个性有关。

朱伟与万玉堂的合作持续了14年，画作全球独家代理，从26岁一直画到41岁，他圆满地完成合同，同时也度过了一段快乐的创作时光。到目前为止，朱伟自己说“快有四五年没怎么画画了”，所以今年正式开始恢复画画。因为后面有几个大的展览要办，而且合同也签了。

“画水墨画已经成为我生活的一部分，成为一种生活方式，每天睁开眼看到的所有视觉图案、形象，我都在想把它融于水墨画有多大的可能。在画画的过程中要看你有多大的耐性，是不是把心思全用在画上。水墨画讲究的是功力，如果心思不正，你的画马上就不伦不类了。”看到朱伟的工作室里一尘不染、秩序井然，20多年来，水墨在他的心里仍然是一块亲切的圣地。　　　　