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China Pictorial December 2013
Washed in History
On the afternoon of November 3, 2013, the public got its first glimpse of the Zhu Wei solo exhibition at Today Art Museum. The event pairs several years of Zhu Wei’s artwork with critiques from various periodicals to create textual and academic framing that sheds light on the work’s artistic value. Born in 1966 in Beijing, Zhu is grouped among the select few artists who have captured contemporary China using traditional Chinese ink-and-wash paintings as well as one of the most globally recognized names in Chinese art from the 1990s.
In the 1990s, when China’s new generation of artists began using oil painting to produce political pop art and ironic realist work, Zhu Wei insisted on maintaining his meticulous drawing method, an indispensable feature of traditional Chinese painting, to portray his country. In 1933 when he had just graduated from Beijing Film Academy, Zhu submitted Story of Beijing No.3 to an exhibition in Guangzhou. At the event, he was discovered by Director Stephen McGuinness of Hong Kong’s Plum Blossoms Gallery and signed a 13-year contract with the gallery. Since then, his name has been familiar in global artistic circles. His first painting, Story of Beijing No.3, was eventually acquired by Monet’s grandson. His work has been displayed in more than 200 large-scale exhibitions worldwide and acquired by 39 museums and galleries within and beyond China.
Born to a military family and once employed as a soldier, Zhu’s early work frequently featured military symbolism such as red flags, soldiers, and red stars. For this reason, his early work was considered ‘Chinese political code’ by Western critics yet he was dubbed an icon of political pop art - one who used ink and wash rather than oil. Nevertheless, the artist felt uncomfortable with the title for a long time and intentionally kept distance from contemporary art circles. Keeping a low profile but rebellious in nature, Zhu has not joined any academic groups nor accepted any official titles.
“My subjects are the images with which I am familiar,” Zhu explains. “In the beginning of my career, I just added fashionable elements to my work such as red stars and emblems. I didn’t think too much about their connotations.” He believes such content has devalued his work by causing it to be classified as political pop art. “Pop art is simple work, which in Europe and the U.S., employs commercial symbols. When it was introduced to the former Soviet Union and China, it turned to political symbolism, which was more popular with the people.”
In the lobby of the IBM Building in New York stands a statue Zhu sculpted. Garbed in a Chinese tunic, the work depicts two people attempting to move forward despite losing their balance. The bronze statue was originally covered with dust to make it appear like an unearthed relic from a bygone era. “I added the soil to allude to the weight of history because China’s long history has left marks on everything,” Zhu reveals. However, the American installer thought the soil was dust and cleaned it off. Even Westerners who purchase and display his work may not fully understand the creation.
“At the end of 2008, I finished my Red Flag series after a year and a half of work,” Zhu claims. “It included seven paintings altogether. I produced with the aim of simply practicing traditional Chinese painting techniques to help prevent them from fading away. But instantly some spectators saw political undertones. Should I avoid them? Or have I been pigeon-holed?”
After Spring Herald in 2003 and Vernal Equinox in 2005, Zhu seems to have found more space to develop Chinese ink-and-wash painting. Chinese tunics disappeared from his canvas and the artist’s individuality has stood out, with freer usage of color and posturing of figures. Zhu considers his work across the years as a salute to the ancient masters and practice of Chinese ink-and-wash painting.
After 2005, oil painting became mainstream in Chinese contemporary art, highly motivated by the capital market. Chinese ink-and-wash painting was left out in the cold. “His efforts are in vain if an artist cares only about auction earnings rather than his reputation in art history,” Zhu declares. He does admit he once considered switching to oil painting, but ultimately opted to hold firm to Chinese ink and wash.
“I don’t agree with the opinion of many critics who think Chinese traditional ink-and-wash painting cannot catch up to the rapid pace of modern life,” Zhu says. “Over thousands of years, traditional Chinese ink-and-wash painting has proved its ability to depict a wide range of society. The unanswered question is ‘how'. The modernization process for ink-and-wash painting has no reference points or written theory. Western contemporary art theory has never touched Chinese painting. The practice needs people to explore it.”
《中国画报》二零一三年十二月
历史的洗涤
2013年11月3日下午，朱伟在今日美术馆举办的个展首次在公众面前亮相。此次展览结合展示了朱伟不同时期的艺术作品以及相关评论，呈现出的脉络以及学术框架使人能更好地理解这些作品的艺术价值。朱伟1966年出生于北京，他被认为是以中国传统水墨绘画阐释当代中国的少数艺术家之一，也被认为是90年代以来最具国际知名度的中国艺术家之一。
在90年代，当中国的新一拨艺术家开始采用油画工具制造出政治波普艺术和玩世现实主义时，朱伟坚持使用他的传统工笔技法来描绘他的祖国。1993年朱伟毕业于北京电影学院，其后便以他的一幅《北京故事三号》参加了在广州举办的一次展览。在那次展览上他被香港万玉堂画廊主麦史哲发掘，自此便开始了与这家画廊长达十三年的合同。从那以后，他的名字被国际艺术圈所熟识。朱伟的第一幅作品《北京故事三号》最后由莫奈的孙子购得。他的作品先后参加了全球范围内超过二百次大型展览，并被三十九家国内外博物馆机构收藏。
朱伟出生于一个军人家庭，曾入过伍。早年他的作品经常涉及一些关于军队的符号，譬如红旗，士兵，红星。因为这个原因，他的早期作品被西方批评家认为是“中国的政治密码”，他本人也被认为是政治波普艺术的偶像级人物——只不过用的是水墨而非油画。尽管如此，艺术家本人却很长时间内都对这些头衔不太感冒，他宁愿和当代艺术圈保持距离。这位低调而天性反叛的艺术家从未参加任何学术团体，也不接受任何官方头衔。
“我的主题是那些我熟悉的形象，”朱伟解释道，“在我职业生涯早期，我只是在作品里加入一些流行元素，比如红星、徽章。我没想太多它们的涵义。”他相信他的作品被归类于政治波普会使其价值被低估。“波普艺术比较简单，早期欧美波普采用商业符号，被引入前苏联和中国后就加入了人们更为熟悉的政治符号。”
在纽约IBM大厦陈列了朱伟的一座雕塑作品。两个身着中山装的人身体前倾，几乎要失衡。这座铜雕塑本来覆满尘土，使之呈现出远古时代出土文物的面貌。“我加入泥土是为了隐射历史的重量，因为中国漫长的历史已在所有事物上留下印记，”朱伟说。然而，美国负责安装雕塑的人却以为泥土是落尘，把它清洁掉了。即使是购买并展示他作品的西方人也可能不能全然了解这件创作。
“2008年底，在工作了一年半之后，我结束了红旗系列，”朱伟说，“这个系列包括七张画。在作品中我只是想实践传统中国绘画的技法，使传统不至消失，但立刻有观众从中看出政治意味。我该置之不理？还是我一直被误读？”
在2003年的《报春图》和2005年的《开春图》之后，朱伟似乎发现了发展中国水墨绘画的更大空间。中式长衫从他的画面上消失，色彩和构图更自由，展示了更为显著的艺术家个性。朱伟认为他这几年的作品是在实践中国水墨绘画，并向古代大师致敬。
2005年之后，在资本的推动下，油画开始成为中国当代艺术的主流。水墨则被打入冷宫。“如果一个艺术家更在乎拍卖价值，而非艺术史中的声誉，他的努力将一钱不值。”朱伟说。他承认他有一次甚至考虑转向油画，但终于还是决定死磕水墨。
“我不同意许多批评家的观点，他们认为中国传统水墨不能跟上现代生活的高节奏，”朱伟说，“几千年下来，水墨证明了它能够描绘广泛多样的社会，没被回答的问题只是‘怎么去画’。水墨的现代进程没有观点和理论可以参考，西方当代艺术理论也不曾涉足水墨。实践需要人来探索。” |
