An exhibition of Chinese ink wash paintings by a famous Christian artist opened in Beijing on November 12.
Under the theme of “Daozi—The Recurring Commencement", the academic exhibition shows 22 representative ink-wash paintings that have been created by Daozi since 2007, infused with Christian elements. The preface of the display is titled "Dark Etching and Prayer".
Daozi, whose real name is Wang Min or Samuel Wang, is a renowned poet, art critic, and professor and Ph.D. supervisor from the Academy of Art & Design at Tsinghua University. He started to produce “saintism ink wash paintings” with Christian elements around 2000. His work God and Gold won the 20th MISEREOR-Hungertuch Artistic Creation Award in Germany and was selected as the Lenten Curtain for Churches in Germany in 2016.
Daozi holds that his works present multiplication, a dialogue between different essences, and shape ideals and faith.
The artist believes that his works are characterized by a new kind of artistic performance and narration. He stressed several times that his “saintism ink wash paintings” are mental art rather than religious art, pertaining to the eternal-value-oriented spirit.
Along with the launching ceremony, a symposium was conducted to comment Daozi’s paintings.
Artistic critics and scholars dived into an analysis of the ink-wash paintings from the perspectives of philosophy, theology, religion, social science, culture, history, and poetry.
Wang Luxiang, a famous art critic, culture scholar, and researcher at China National Academy of Painting said, “Prayer is the last expression of the weakest of the weak in the most desperate of situations when someone can barely still respond. Miracles always happen during such a period. Fate will be reversed when one can bounce back due to God’s intervening power.”
Yang Peng, a professor of Chinese studies, summarized that Daozi’s paintings possess an over-arching style: “darkness and hope, darkness and faith.” “Prayer points toward hope and strength. Dark corrosion means the world suppresses, consumes, tortures, and dilutes lives. . . . But Daozi’s paintings have brought a candlelight to this dim world. Jesus said that you should be salt and light bringing the flavor and light of life everywhere you are. Don’t live in flavorless darkness.”
Ye Kuangzheng, a renowned poet and columnist, commented: “His works, Chinese ink wash paintings, contain the charm of ink wash, Christian aesthetics and dialogue. The core of Christian aesthetics is suffering. One scene, in which Jesus was crucified on the cross, (the painter) was not portraying his own situation, but rather expressing the human suffering God feels . . . . This aesthetic perspective is rarely seen in Chinese ink wash paintings. (The painter) was creating a dialogue between Christian aesthetics and suffering. To some degree, we have more concrete paintings here presenting both faith and God.”
- Translated by Karen Luo
11月12日下午3点，“岛子——不断重临的开端”画展在北京锦都艺术中心举行了开幕活动，并在开幕活动上举行了一场学术研讨会。此次展览由北京锦都艺术中心主办，著名艺术批评家、策展人荣剑博士策展，并将此次展览定位为一个学术性的个展。
此次展览展出了岛子自2007年以来创作的22件“圣水墨”代表作品。
岛子，诗人、画家、艺术家，现为现为中华美学学会会员，国际美学学会会员，清华大学美术学院教授。2000年后开始进行“圣水墨”的创作，将其对基督信仰的理解与中国传统水墨艺术结合，创作出许多优秀作品。2015年他的作品《上帝与黄金》获得第20届德国米苏尔基金艺术创作奖，收到高度评价.
岛子认为自己的创作是乘法，这是一种本质与本质的对白，也是对理念与信仰的一种塑造。他认为，自己作品最大的特色就是开创了一种新型的艺术表现力与叙事手法，他也多次强调，“圣水墨”不是宗教艺术，而是精神性艺术，更多指向具有终极价值导向的精神。
开幕式活动：一场别开生面的学术研讨会
本次展览的策展人荣剑博士邀请许多著名的艺术批评家、专家学者等共同参与本次的岛子画展的学术研讨会。这些艺术批评家和专家学者们从艺术理论和哲学、神学、宗教、社会学、文化、历史、诗歌等层面对岛子“圣水墨”的艺术创作、艺术价值、人生经历、心路历程和社会意义等角度做出了专业且精彩的剖析和点评。
此次研讨会主持人著名艺术批评家、文化学者、中国国家画院研究员王鲁湘发言表示岛子这次的画展主题为“祈祷”，而在他看来“祈祷是最弱的弱者在最绝望而且完全几乎不可能靠自已作为的情况下做的一个最后表达，往往这个时候奇迹会出现，就会出现绝地反击的命运逆转，因为神的力量这个时候会介入。”而岛子的作品不仅表达了他个人的生命处境，也表达了一个群体性的处境。
“这是我第一次看到他的个展，”清华大学美术学院教授刘巨德说：“虽然数量不多，场面也不大，但是每幅作品都很有分量，他有一种理论家深层的精神性思考，也有艺术家悲天悯人的情怀。”
展览前言题为“暗蚀与祈祷”，对此刘教授表示“祈祷确实是人类本能”，而岛子的话让他感受到岛子的“内心里有一种力量，有一种虔诚，有一种祈祷，有一种忧患，有一种悲情。从此方方面面可以看到他的心灵总是想与古贤圣哲为伍。”
著名国学学者杨鹏将岛子的画概括成了一个总格调——“灰暗与希望、灰暗与信心”，就如同他本次画展前言的诗一般“暗蚀与祈祷”。“祈祷是指向希望和力量的，暗蚀就是这个世界对生命的压迫、消耗、折磨和稀释。……岛子用他的画作给昏暗的世界带来烛光。就像耶稣说的，你们要做盐，做光，所到之处带来生命的味道，带来生命的光明，不要在无味的黑暗中生活。”
“他的作品是中国的水墨画，”著名诗人、专栏作家叶匡政说：“既有水墨的意趣，同时也是在与基督教审美互文、对话。基督教审美的核心是苦难，是耶稣被钉在十字架上的图景。……岛子画这些画的时候，表达的并不是个人处境，……是来自于上帝感受到的人间的苦难。……我觉得他的这种审美观在中国水墨画中几乎看不到，他用基督教审美观同苦难对话。……在某种程度上，展现信仰与神的画作更能引起我们的呼应。”
著名艺术家丁方发言表示岛子的艺术是当代中国一个独特的现象，“他坚持自己的精神追求与内心表白”，“是普世诗学与神学美学的结合体”。而岛子的信仰“不应简单归类于西方基督教，它植根于古代东方大地，背后有一种雄厚博大的力量作支撑，由使徒、教父时代为表征” 。其艺术语言“底蕴深厚，成功地将中国水墨传统技法转换为神学美学的诗性书写” 。
“我对岛子老师的画非常熟悉，”独立艺术批评家贾廷峰称：“他的画有几点：悲悯、救赎、黑暗、光明。岛子是一个时时刻刻充满悲悯之心的人，救赎，救赎自己、救赎众生，所以他的画，水墨只是一个载体，黑暗、光明，很单纯，没有那么多复杂的。”
北京师范大学基督教文艺研究中心副主任张欣女士发言表示岛子用他的画表达了“他的心灵叙事”，她表示可以从基督教道成肉身的拯救、“超越与临在的合一”的角度来理解岛子画中的“心灵叙事”。
“我觉得岛子是一个非常虔诚的信徒，”中国人民大学艺术学院前院长、博士生导师牛宏宝教授说：“这个虔诚可能使他想要有一种转化，把他对于教义的理解转化成一种画面，……一是由水墨语言形成基督教个体图像……；二是用水墨表达基督教的精神性高度……；三是基于水墨而表达出来的基督教信仰的情感，也就是一种神学情感的东西。”
牛教授继续说：“岛子有一种苦难意识，……苦难在一个文化的历史中是非常重要的东西，勇敢地面对苦难，并且言说苦难，把苦难转化为个体和民族的文化记忆，这个记忆通过图像，通过情感的凝聚，成为固定的一种具有穿透力的表达，这是艺术家无论是信基督教还是信佛教，都是他们共通的主题。所以在这点上，岛子的探索是宏阔而深远的。这是我在他的画里今天所能够感受到的。”
https://www.christiantimes.cn/news/38248
“岛子——不断重临的开端”圣水墨画展开幕式举行：一场别开生面的学术研讨会
An exhibition of Chinese ink wash paintings by a famous Christian artist opened in Beijing on November 12.
Under the theme of “Daozi—The Recurring Commencement", the academic exhibition shows 22 representative ink-wash paintings that have been created by Daozi since 2007, infused with Christian elements. The preface of the display is titled "Dark Etching and Prayer".
Daozi, whose real name is Wang Min or Samuel Wang, is a renowned poet, art critic, and professor and Ph.D. supervisor from the Academy of Art & Design at Tsinghua University. He started to produce “saintism ink wash paintings” with Christian elements around 2000. His work God and Gold won the 20th MISEREOR-Hungertuch Artistic Creation Award in Germany and was selected as the Lenten Curtain for Churches in Germany in 2016.
Daozi holds that his works present multiplication, a dialogue between different essences, and shape ideals and faith.
The artist believes that his works are characterized by a new kind of artistic performance and narration. He stressed several times that his “saintism ink wash paintings” are mental art rather than religious art, pertaining to the eternal-value-oriented spirit.
Along with the launching ceremony, a symposium was conducted to comment Daozi’s paintings.
Artistic critics and scholars dived into an analysis of the ink-wash paintings from the perspectives of philosophy, theology, religion, social science, culture, history, and poetry.
Wang Luxiang, a famous art critic, culture scholar, and researcher at China National Academy of Painting said, “Prayer is the last expression of the weakest of the weak in the most desperate of situations when someone can barely still respond. Miracles always happen during such a period. Fate will be reversed when one can bounce back due to God’s intervening power.”
Yang Peng, a professor of Chinese studies, summarized that Daozi’s paintings possess an over-arching style: “darkness and hope, darkness and faith.” “Prayer points toward hope and strength. Dark corrosion means the world suppresses, consumes, tortures, and dilutes lives. . . . But Daozi’s paintings have brought a candlelight to this dim world. Jesus said that you should be salt and light bringing the flavor and light of life everywhere you are. Don’t live in flavorless darkness.”
Ye Kuangzheng, a renowned poet and columnist, commented: “His works, Chinese ink wash paintings, contain the charm of ink wash, Christian aesthetics and dialogue. The core of Christian aesthetics is suffering. One scene, in which Jesus was crucified on the cross, (the painter) was not portraying his own situation, but rather expressing the human suffering God feels . . . . This aesthetic perspective is rarely seen in Chinese ink wash paintings. (The painter) was creating a dialogue between Christian aesthetics and suffering. To some degree, we have more concrete paintings here presenting both faith and God.”
- Translated by Karen Luo
Exhibition of Chinese Ink Wash Paintings Opens in Beijing
