Chat Extract - 2006. Volume 1

Author: Han Yu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: We should not remain confined to the traditional boundaries of disciplines and painting styles. Moreover, the boundaries of Chinese painting have become increasingly blurred. However, I still believe that we can break through the boundaries between painting styles and stubbornly adhere to them—both are equally wrong. If Chinese painting lacks its essential elements, then we might have another opportunity to rename it—but this opportunity should be avoided. Therefore, national characteristics and ontological research are also areas I focus on. Although the topic of national identity has taken a backseat to contemporaneity compared to previous generations of painters, these two aspects do not conflict. Only when the personalized colors of self-style creation become prominent can Chinese painting truly emerge from its slump and. In a sense, Chinese painting can even serve as a remedy to fill the gaps in modern art and heal the shortcomings of modern hearts. The decisive factor with ultimate judgment power remains the work. The 85 New Wave activated people's innovative abilities. After the 1990s, the entire Chinese painting scene tended to become rational and stable, but the echoes of exploration persisted. I have tried and experimented—collage, creating texture, using detergent, folk style, decorative elements, aestheticism, structural division—and still believe that "writing" is a way to express emotions. It can be "written" with the rigor and precision of "creation," or "created" with the natural ease of "writing." "Creation" and "writing" can also be combined in the same composition. Many painters have made changes to the structure of brushwork, which is to "correct the brushwork"—the key is to correct the taste of brushwork and the conventions of Chinese painting, so that the brushwork effect can be appropriately attached to the depicted objects, dissolving traditional brushwork paradigms and finding elements that align with contemporary experiences. I have been moving forward by "seeking proof" of my own legitimacy. My works present a "surface" form by replacing "lines" with large brushstrokes, and in the transitions and juxtapositions of brushstrokes, the significance of "dyeing methods" in line modeling is lost. As a result, the subtle beauty of the that might be lost is compensated by the accumulation of ink, which lacks the diffused sense of dyeing methods but still achieves a deep, mysterious, and thick visual effect, making it more suitable for depicting northern landscapes. Whether blindly adhering to tradition or blindly chasing novelty, in the current artistic context, neither is a panacea. Only with diligence, wisdom, and sharpness, through repeated connections between tradition and modernity, technique and philosophy, can we find the new ink wash we envision.