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In 2019 and 2020, Triumph Gallery held two solo exhibitions for artist Liu Fengzhi. From landscapes to figures, from oil paintings to manuscripts, we try to present the important works and creative styles of the artist at different stages in an all-round and multi-angle way, and explore its academic value in the territory of Chinese modern and contemporary art.
Therefore, after the last launch of Liu Fengzhi’s portrait work dialogue video, we will continue to organize and present relevant content in text, and continue to invite senior media professionals to thank you, with Li Lanfang, founder of Art Kaixuan Gallery, and Lin Song, senior art expert Have more discussions about Liu Fengzhi and his art.
Q-Xie Mu
(Senior media person, special writer of "Contemporary Art", former editor-in-chief of Artron.com)
A-Li Lanfang (Founder of Triumph Gallery)
B-Lin Song (Senior art expert)
Q：What was your initial reason for planning an exhibition for Teacher Liu Fengzhi?
A：My understanding of Mr. Liu’s work was when I first started working in 2004, I did one of his solo exhibitions at that time, and I mainly felt that his work brought me a lot of touch. Later, when I started my own gallery and often looked at some artist's albums, I always remembered this experience. So I asked my colleagues to find Teacher Liu. After all, we haven't seen each other for many years, and we don't know where he lives and works now. Later, in 2017, I suddenly learned the news of Teacher Liu's passing, which shocked and regretted me, and my willingness to hold an exhibition for him became even stronger. Later, with the help of our co-artist, Fang Lijun, we were fortunate to get to know Mrs. Liu’s wife and facilitate the cooperation, which is considered to have fulfilled one of my wishes for many years.
Q：How many exhibitions did Triumph Gallery do for Teacher Liu? What are the differences this time compared to the past?
A：This is the second solo exhibition, and the schedule is close to that of Mr. Liu's solo exhibition in 19, both in September and October. Last year's exhibition presented a series of works by the artist from the 1990s to 2015. It includes more than 50 works including portraits, still lifes and landscapes, which is a collation and review of Liu Fengzhi's creative career. At the same time, we also take this to tell our colleagues that we have established a cooperative relationship with Teacher Liu. This year the gallery focuses on showing his portraits, which is what the artist thinks is a more personal way of expression. From his works, I understand that for many years the artist’s love for family and friends has always been difficult to express directly, but these feelings are all there, but restraint and obscurity, which are concentrated in the works, so this exhibition is from this On the clues, the portraits are sorted out in a comprehensive and in-depth manner to fully tap their value.
Q：How to evaluate Mr. Liu's portrait work?
A：First of all, the artist's portrait paintings are not very wide, mainly self-portraits and depictions of relatives and friends, so the characters in the works can basically find their true images in real life. Secondly, although the pictures of the works seem to be concise, it can be found that they have elements of Western modernist art, such as Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, and Expressionism. Therefore, looking at his entire portrait art career creation, it can be seen that this is an artist with very strong painting skills. He will grasp the essence of different people according to the life and mental state of different people, and then choose the matching painting genre and creation method. . For example, in his younger sister-based creations, from the early Cubists, the middle classical school, to the final expressionist, etc., he expresses very freely in every way.
B：I think this is a very splendid exhibition. Because in the past, everyone's cognition of Feng Zhi came from his landscape paintings or some works depicting big scenes, including scenes of famous humanities and historical landscapes, such as the Bund and Tiananmen Square. But in fact, these works are not all in his art system, they are relatively sporadic. If you spend more time observing his portraits, you will have a more comprehensive understanding of him and his works, and you will find that this series has its own characteristics and style. For example, the picture often presents a sense of sensitivity, sharpness and fragility, which is a manifestation of personal temperament. In addition, in terms of technique, his lines are often drawn very long and very powerful. In fact, lines are rarely useful in oil paintings, because lines are Chinese painting methods, while in Western painting systems, they mainly focus on the sense of volume, depth, and weight. Of course, this is not to say that he is good at calligraphy or Chinese painting, but he may be particularly willing to express with lines by nature, so I will see very accurate but very casual and straightforward lines in his landscape and portrait paintings. This Very powerful and in place.
Q：What do you think of the work "Wife"?
A：I think it is very representative, and even think that it can exist as a concept of the modern Oriental "Mona Lisa". First of all, the work is the image of the wife knitting a sweater. The character's face is not depicted too much, and the posture is his youthful appearance. Liu Fengzhi’s wife said that every time she worked as a model, it took about two to three hours. This shows that the artist captured the essence of the whole picture in a short time. Secondly, the costumes and hands of the characters in the work have been painted many times, including many details, constantly running in and depicting, and then washed off with a spatula, and then painted and washed again. I think this kind of repeated creation should be very changeable. . In addition, when he created this work in 1996, he had already reached a peak in the composition of the picture and the complexity of the characters, so this painting should be the top of his portrait works. What is also impressive is that the hands and feet in the work are very beautifully portrayed. I think Mr. Liu has done in-depth observation and research on life. The way he draws hands and feet in his works has a very classical meaning of painting, but at the same time he is also a contemporary artist, and he is not so realistic. , So in this process of complex and simple, I think he has put a lot of effort into it.
B：You can't see the so-called dazzling skills and realistic skills in his paintings. He uses very freehand, even oriental lines and emotions to express. This is a very ordinary life scene, where the wife knits a sweater, a woolen thread, a few needles, but from the picture you can see the human temperament, calm and quiet, and you can see this painting is very beautiful. Good paintings are all like this. The artist will use this color for things that are naturally revealed in a frank and casual way. In fact, this work does not have too many impactful colors, but uses a large area of black, which makes the picture very simple. In fact, the simpler the painting, the more difficult it is to paint, even like an abstract painting. With a person, a black background, a little green ground and a few lines, a very casual, unintentional but precise painting is formed, and the warmth, romance and poetry are unique and unique. Expressed by the oriental methods, this is a high degree of unity between the emotions contained in the works, personal creative techniques, and painting language. In addition, I think that I can still see the artist's pursuit of classical spirit and divinity in the works. For example, the outer frame drawn with white lines and enclosing the characters in the middle can be understood as the arch of a house. Arches are often seen in Western architecture, especially churches. They have a long cultural heritage and a strong heritage. His religious mood, but the work presents not the kind of serious and dignified, condescending atmosphere, but uses a tender way to blend the brilliance of human nature with the divine nature. I think this is still related to his more sensitive and compassionate soul. relationship.
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