若隐如画

荣剑

中国画论最早论及山水画者，当推南朝画家宗炳，他在《画山水序》开篇就说：？？？？“圣人含道暎物，贤者澄怀味像”，开宗明义，提出画以载道，以求践行孔子“智者乐水，仁者乐山”的思想，认为？“旨微于言象之外者，可心取于画策之内。”由是以瞳子之小，可观昆仑之大，方寸之内，可围昆阆之形，“竖划三寸，当千仞之高；横墨数尺，体百里之廻”。真可谓高论！

从古人看当代人，现在所谓的观念艺术岂不就是在拾古人心师造化的牙慧？绘画之形与神、远与近、文与质、虚与实、意与象，景与境，看似变化万千，神秘叵测，其实不过就是如宋炳所言，万趣融其神思，畅神而已！一切艺术皆“无间於外，无息於内”（石涛语），众有之本，万象之根，在乎明心见性。本次展览定位于《内·向》，试图收敛今人之骄纵，揣摩古人之美意，由内心观乎外象，不以形胜，不为色取，趣味于神思漫游，信马由缰。

画者张啸天有如隐者，言之呐呐，行之拙拙，不矫情，不伪饰，全然以本心绘画；而画如其人，内敛含蓄，若隐若现，色不张扬，形自潇洒，于细腻处略见功夫，在随意间透露大气。当下中国抽象绘画，凡执迷于西式者，均不免有邯郸学步之嫌，极简、硬边、冷热、色域、表现，材料、综合等，画法层出不穷，然总归于万象纷呈而内修失衡，攻有余而守不足。张啸天的抽象绘画，有中国气韵，于隐约、虚薄、飘渺、朦胧之中，澄怀观道，写意万象，笔墨精微，不贵五彩，陶咏乎心象，沉醉于自由也！

2016．6．8于日本

As an Anchorite & Like a Painting

Rong Jian

The one who first discussed the landscape painting in Chinese art theory should be Zong Bing in Nan dynasty. In the beginning of his “Preface of Landscape Painting”， he said “The wise hold the heart as clear as a mirror to reflect everything， and the virtue savour the subtle emotions with a peaceful heart.” He stated his theory at the first beginning of his book， and argued that painting is a way to bring out the Taoist road， which aims to practice the theory of Confucius： “The wise enjoy the water， and the benevolent enjoy the mountains”. He also stated that “Even though the theories and thoughts of ancient sages are quite profound， which may be invisible among objects， but we could still obtain them via diligence study on the books”。 This is why we could see the gigantic KunLun Mountain with our small eyes， and picture the sacred mansion on its top within limited spaces. “The 3 inches vertical lines could resemble thousands miles height， and very few horizontal ink lines could present hundreds of miles broadness.” What enlightening remarks he has made！

Looking at modern people from ancient people’s views， isn’t this so called “Conceptual Art” taking up and adopting the thoughts of ancient sages instead of using its own？ It may seem constantly changing and mysterious in terms of painting’s shape & spirit， far & near， refinement & simplicity， meaning & expression， scenery & state. It’s just like what Song Bing argued that， the purpose of the infinite emotions generated from the landscapes is simply to make people happy. All art is “Miserable outside and peaceful inside” (by Shi Tao). The base of everyone and the root of everything lie in understanding the mind and seeing the disposition. This exhibition names “Inner &Towards”， trying to restrain the arrogance of people today and to fathom the beauty of ancient people. To observe the form outside with inner heart， without favoring the bodies， nor enjoying the appearance， the joy is for the mind to ramble and wander.

Painter Zhang Xiaotian is like an anchoret， quiet with his voice and clumsy with his action. He paints with his true heart， neither dramatic nor hypercritical. His painting is just like him， reserved， partly hidden and partly visible， unpretentious， elegant and carefree. His artifice lies in the subtleness， and his grace is also shown carelessly. The current Chinese abstract paintings， which are obsessed with western styles， are trying to imitate others and thus lose their own individuality. Various paintings emerge in an endless stream， like minimalism painting， hard-edge painting， hot & cold painting， color-field painting， expressive painting， material painting， and synthesized painting. These may look in riotous profusion， while the balance is lost with more aggression and less defendant. But the abstract painting of Zhang Xiaotian is full of Chinese spirits. Among the faint and dim illusions， he observes the truth with a clear heart. With subtle and fine lines， he paints the world in rich colors， so that to express his heart and thus to indulge in this freedom.

Rong Jian

Japan， June 8th of 2016