幻 - 灭 (之一) 110 × 93cm 设色纸本 2021
我身边有不少朋友对阿海的为人为艺赞许有加。其实，我与阿海相识已是几十年前的事。那时候，我俩在一所学校，同一个专业。我读研，他本科。他给我印象是活跃、机巧，有点小狡猾。毕业后我俩各忙各的，接触不多。但时常也有点小交往。前一阵我在上海，碰巧去了他工作室，看了大大小小许多作品，有些惊讶。因为他曾在手机上发过作品的图片给我，与原作比，差异很大。再次证明了一点：好作品不能看图片，差作品不能看原作。
去年，我写过一篇短文，谈及水墨画的现状，将其概括成“闭环”二字。我的意思是，水墨画越来越成为牢不可破的封闭系统。纵向比，她是当代的；横向比，她是本土的，两头沾光，两面讨好。水墨画完成自我循环、自我论证、自我封闭这么一个过程，无疑有一只无形之手在推动。这只无形之手把可能性扭转成必然性，把偶然性转变成必然性。所以，当我们谈论水墨画问题，实质上是在谈论水墨画背后的问题。这些问题远离画家本人。否定了画家本人，也就否定了具体性，最终纠缠在文化、国情之类的抽象争议上。水墨画恰恰又是水墨画家身披的铠甲，抵御着评判、争论，也抵御着与自身名利无关的深入探讨——这样的矛盾和悖论已成常态，几无更改的迹象。
按照贡布里希的说法，没有艺术，只有艺术家。是艺术家造就艺术，还是艺术孕育艺术家？不妨把先有鸡还是先有蛋的循环论搁在一边，让我们直面艺术家的现状。贡氏的说法之所以受到重视，显然是他抓住了要点：剥离了艺术家和艺术作品——再多的概念堆砌，再多的知识介绍，再多的诗意描述，都是流于空泛的。因而，谈论阿海及阿海的画作，得从阿海及阿海的画作里寻找解说的钥匙。
阿海其人其画不复杂。他当了这么多年画家，画了这么多年画，走的是一条比较平稳的路径——要知道，在大多数情况下，画家不是一种尊称，而是一种职业。首先是谋生，其次才有机会攀爬艺术高点。阿海的幸运在于较早地解决了生计事宜，如此，就可以多点时间来琢磨什么叫做更高的层次。许多人喜欢引梵高为例，把艺术置于云端之中，吹得神乎其神。伟大的艺术肯定是高入云端的，是接不了地气的。但那是极少数人的事，是极少数人好不容易为艺术争取来的尊严和荣光。我一向认为，对于职业画家来说，画出特色，画出高度，使个人价值得以社会化，则算超额完成任务。有一次，我问了阿海这个问题：你超额了吗？他不作回答，笑言：看画看画。
阿海是自负的：表现在他对自己画作的充分肯定。但他的不自信也是显而易见的：表现在他的个人价值与社会关系之间的熔断。其实我们每个人都是一个矛盾体。只是有些人擅长遮掩，有些人不怕袒露。我欣赏阿海的袒露。他说自己脸皮薄，不善于混圈子。混圈子是目前众多艺术从业者的立身之本。大家心知肚明其中的奥妙。厚黑学本就是我们同胞无师自通的本色。越脸皮厚，越无底线，越吃得开。阿海不混圈子，脸皮薄只是说法。不自信的底子是自尊，自尊的底子是不自信。于是，自然而然形成一种自我内部的交替——正如他声称：他希望自己得到更多人的欣赏、认可，然而，靠脸皮厚和无底线挣来的名利，他宁愿拱手让出。他过不了这道心理关。
阿海把自己安置在一个自认为干净的安逸的地方。画画之外，吃喝玩乐，不担负恶名和道义带来压力。这里的压力消失了，被边缘化的压力就会生成。不管阿海如何平衡两者的关系，现实是谁也回避不了的。他跟我说，最理想的状态是不管世事多么纷繁，能够单纯地画画就知足了。理想和现实是一对冤家，如影随形。取舍的难，不是画里画外的难，而是人生的难。多少人在大事小事的取舍上纠结了一生？阿海的姿态是可取的。他不是个决绝的人。像前面所说，他也给自己披上了铠甲。理想是理想，现实是现实。聪明人不做傻事——高入云端的事只能由傻子去做，聪明人做不来。
该进入阿海作品的内部了。作品是对画家高低优劣的唯一鉴别。绘画史告诉我们一个道理，好作品永远是活的，是与任何时代的人发生关联的。所以，我常常向创作者表露：不要相信艺术评论，不要相信评论家。古今中外，对创作者看走眼的评论和评论家远远超过慧眼识珠的人。这方面，阿海的优势凸显出来。他不混圈子，孤守阵地，耳根子清净，脑子就清净。不受那些不切实际的高蹈的蛊惑。他脚踏实地，一分耕耘，一分收获。我一直信奉博尔赫斯那句咒语：你只能写你能写的，不能写你想写的。人人都想一步登天。想想是可以的——譬如做做梦，醒来之后，该做什么还是做什么。用阿海的话说：我每天都得干活，干活才让我感到充实。是的。我在他工作室看到大批量的画作，工作量是惊人的。而且几乎没有粗制滥造之作。他的画作在制作工序上相当繁复：一遍遍，一层层，实验性强，把控到位，画面丰富而精致，效果非常独特，放在当下整个水墨画界域里，是独树一帜的。
阿海精于设计画面，与他的画法有关。我不愿将他的画称为“工笔画”，因为“工笔画”已有定式。阿海却有自己的一套定式，不“工”也不“写”，一切从画面效果出发。毕竟，阿海浸润在当下的图像氛围里，视野开阔，对画面的要求自然不会执于一端。他不无自豪地对我说，他能把一张坏画救成一种好画；能让一张好画变成一张精品。他用叠加的办法，也用削减的办法。某些时候，他的成稿需要装裱师共同完成。另些时候，他又在装裱完的成稿上继续加工，直至变成另一张完全不一样的画。实验性是画家避免自我雷同的法宝。也是绘画的魅力所在。阿海得益于实验性。同时他也注重把控性。显然，阿海没有将实验性进行到底。他宁愿把着力点放在色彩、机理、构图和造型这些画面的基本要素上——如此，他的画面耐看、耐嚼，经过细细品味。当他达到这样的平衡时，平衡本身不仅悄悄地取悦他自己，也潜移默化地带动了他人。
需要补充，阿海的画法与他涉及的题材是相关的。虽然我讨厌“内容决定形式”这种教条，但也不能全然否定，画家选择的题材或多或少影响着画法。阿海的题材比较多样：山水、花鸟、人物、走兽，无不信手拈来。只有一点，他避开了现实题材。观看他的画作，生活的实在需要通过某种符号的转译来认知。这是文人画的特征之一。阿海在文人画氛围浓厚的地方起步，难免不受到淘洗。观其画作的总体面貌，他迷恋程式化、符号化的东西。他的画不以生机取胜，而是靠沉淀，靠移植，靠精炼取胜。其实，这也是绘画高妙之处。不同类型的画家做不同类型的事。李津画不了阿海的画。阿海也画不了李津的画。阿海不再年轻。阿海的画也业已成熟，有的人成熟意味着开始衰落，有的人成熟意味新的开端。阿海触摸到他的天花板了吗？他还能做得更好吗？所有他的朋友和看好他的人都抱有期待。而我只能这么说，结论得靠他自身在未来的实践当中去求证。
李小山
2022年1月26日
花幽 (之一) 65 × 130.5cm 设色纸本 2021
Many people around me are full of praise for Ahai's conduct as a person, and for his art. I actually first met Ahai a few decades ago. Back then, we went to the same school, and were studying in the same field. I was a master's student, and he was an undergrad. My impression was that he was lively, clever, and a bit mischievous. After graduation, we went on to our own separate things, and didn’t have much contact, though our paths would cross from time to time. On a recent trip to Shanghai, I ended up visiting his studio, where I saw many artworks of various sizes. I was taken by surprise, because he had sent me pictures of his works before, but the originals were something different altogether. It proved once again that you shouldn't look at photos of good artworks, or at the originals of bad artworks.
幻 - 灭 (之二) 92 × 123cm 设色纸 2021
Last year I wrote a short essay discussing the current state of ink painting, which I summed up with the words “closed loop.” What I meant was that ink painting is becoming an increasingly impregnable sealed system. Vertically, she is contemporary; horizontally, she is native—the reputation of each is enhanced by the other, and each tries to flatter the other. Behind the completion of this self-sufficient cycle, self-verification and self-isolation, there is certainly an invisible hand at work. This invisible hand has transformed possibility into inevitability, serendipity into inevitability. Thus, when we talk about the issues of ink painting, we are actually talking about the issues behind ink painting. These issues are removed from the painter himself. To negate the painter himself is to negate specificity, and everything ends up entangled in abstract debates about culture and national sentiment. But ink paint painting happens to be the painter's suit of armor, protecting against criticism and controversy, as well as against any deep discussions unrelated to the painter’s own fame or fortune—this contradiction and paradox has become the normal state of affairs, with no trace of change to be seen.
灿 92 × 173.5cm 设色纸本 2021
According to Ernst Gombrich, there is no art, only artists. Does the artist shape art, or does art nurture the artist? Let us set aside this chicken or egg question for now, and turn directly to the state of the artist. Gombrich's idea struck a chord because it captured an important point—when removed from artists and artworks, no matter how many concepts you pile on, how much knowledge you introduce, or how poetic your descriptions, it is all for naught. To discuss Ahai and his paintings, we must look to Ahai and his paintings for the key to interpretation.
幻 - 灭 (之三) 176 × 91cm 设色纸本 2021
Neither Ahai nor his paintings are complicated. Being a painter for so many years, through all these years of painting, he has followed a steady path—we must keep in mind that in most cases, “painter” is not an honorific, but a profession. Before climbing to artistic heights, one must first make a living. Ahai is fortunate in that he solved the living part rather early on, giving him more time to ponder what it means to reach a higher level. People like to use Van Gogh as an example to place art high up in the clouds and puff it up as some great mysterious thing. Great art is indeed a lofty affair that never stoops down to the ground. But that is something for the very few people, an honor and dignity hard won by the few. I have always felt that for the professional painter, if one is able to paint with distinctive character and attainment, and able to turn individual value into social value, then they have excelled at their task. I once asked Ahai, “Have you excelled at your task?” He didn't answer. He just laughed, saying, “let's look at the paintings.”
艮岳 (之一) 66 × 131cm 设色纸本 2021
Ahai is conceited, showing the utmost confidence in his own paintings. But his insecurity is also readily visible, showing the friction between his individual values and social relationships. We are in fact all living contradictions. It is just that some are better at hiding it, and some are happy to lay it bare. I admire Ahai's willingness to lay it bare. He says he is thin-skinned, and no good at networking. Networking is the foundation of success for many art professionals these days. Everyone is tacitly aware of its mysterious ways. Machiavellianism comes naturally to our people. The thicker your skin and the lower your moral threshold, the better you eat. Ahai says he doesn't network because he's thin-skinned, but that’s just an excuse. Behind a lack of confidence is self-respect, and behind self-respect is a lack of confidence. This has naturally led to an internal interplay: just as he says, he hopes to earn broader appreciation and recognition, but instead of the fame and fortune gained through Machiavellian means, he’d rather have nothing at all. He could not bring himself to that.
逝 179×93cm 设色纸本 2019
Ahai has placed himself in a place he feels is clean and easy. Aside from painting, his life is eating, drinking, and playing, unburdened by the weight of infamy or morality. When this pressure dissipates, the pressure of marginalization arises. No matter how Ahai balances between the two, this is a reality no one can avoid. He tells me that no matter how complicated the world gets, he will be content as long as he can just simply paint. Ideals and reality are old foes, constantly following each other.
幻 - 灭 (之四) 93.5×176cm 2021
The difficulty of choice is not the difficulty of what does and doesn't enter the picture; it is the difficulty of life. How many people have agonized for entire lifetimes over choices great and small? Ahai is open to new choices. He is not a stubborn person. As said before, he has covered himself in armor. Ideals are ideals, and reality is reality. Smart people do not do stupid things. Lofty deeds are for stupid people. Smart people just can't do them.
花幽 (之二) 65.5 × 133cm 设色纸本 2020
Now we should turn to the interior of Ahai's works. The artwork is the only standard by which to judge the artist. The history of painting tells us that good artworks are always alive, able to connect with people in any era. For this reason, I often let it slip to creators that they shouldn't trust art theory or art theorists. From ancient to modern times, in China and the West, the number of theories and theorists who have misunderstood artists has always far outnumbered those who have recognized them with the sight of wisdom. In this regard, Ahai's strengths stand out. He does not run in social circles, but holds fast to his own ground, keeping his ears, and his mind, clean. He is not led astray by flights of fancy.
山岳 (之一) 177.5 × 46cm 2018
He stands on solid ground, eking out an honest living. I have always ascribed to Jorge Luis Borges’ admonition that you can only write what you can write, not what you want to write. Everyone wants to rise straight to the top. It can be done—in dreams. But when you wake up, you have to get back to what you need to be doing. In Ahai's own words: “I have to work every day. Only working leaves me fulfilled.” That’s right. I have seen so many paintings in his studio. His output is astonishing. And none of the works seem crude or hasty. The process for his works is quite complicated: application after application, layer after layer, highly experimental, tightly controlled, the pictures rich and exquisite, the effects very unique. His works stand out in today's field of ink painting.
山岳 (之二) 178 × 46cm 2018～2022
Ahai excels at designing his pictures, which is connected to his painting technique. I’m unwilling to call his painting “gongbi painting,” because there is a set formula for gongbi painting. Ahai has his own set of formulas that is neither “gongbi” nor “xieyi.” Everything sets out from the overall effect of the picture. After all, Ahai is immersed in the contemporary image atmosphere, and has a broad field of vision, so his pictorial demands would naturally not be stuck at one extreme. He told me, not without pride, that he can save a bad painting and turn it into a good one, and turn a good one into an excellent one.
清虚 (之一) 59 × 89cm 设色纸本 2021
He uses stacking techniques, as well as reduction techniques. Sometimes, he must work together with a scroll mounter to complete a painting. Other times, he continues to add to a painting that has already been mounted, even turning it into a completely different painting. Experimentality is the talisman the artist uses to ward off too much similarity to his own self.
寂 65×132cm 设色纸本 2020
It is also the source of his painting's allure. Ahai benefits from experimentality. He also places importance on control. Evidently, Ahai has not taken experimentality to its logical end. He would rather put the focus on such basic pictorial elements as color, texture, composition and modeling, and as a result, his works stand up to scrutiny, rumination and close reading. When he reaches this balance, the balance itself not only pleases him, but it also moves others as well.
原乡 66 × 132cm 设色纸本 2021
One thing must be added here, which is that Ahai's painting techniques are connected to his subject matter. I dislike dogmatic ideas like “form determines content,” but I cannot deny that the artist’s chosen subject matter will influence their painting techniques to a certain extent. Ahai's subject matter is rather diverse: landscape, bird-and-flower, figure, and beast—he is fluent in all of them. There’s just one thing: he avoids realistic subjects. Looking at his paintings, life must be translated through certain signs to find recognition. This is one characteristic of literati painting. Ahai got his start in a place with a thick literati atmosphere, and was inevitably influenced by it. Looking at his work as a whole, he is enamored of the formulaic and semiotic. His paintings do not win through vitality, but through accumulation, through transplantation and refinement. In fact, this is the magic of painting. Different kinds of painters do different kinds of things. Li Jin cannot paint an Ahai painting, and Ahai cannot paint a Li Jin painting.
艮岳 (之二) 176 × 40cm 2020
Ahai is no longer young. Ahai's painting has reached maturity—for some people, maturity implies impending decline, while for others, it implies a new beginning. Has Ahai reached his ceiling? Will he do even better? All of his friends and those who know him are full of anticipation. As for me, all I can say is that the outcome will only be seen in his future practice.
Li Xiaoshan
January 26, 2022
艮岳 (之三) 81.5×176.5cm 设色纸本 2020
阿海在工作室
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