若隱如畫

榮劍

中國畫論最早論及山水畫者，當推南朝畫家宗炳，他在《畫山水序》開篇就說：？？？？“圣人含道暎物，賢者澄懷味像”，開宗明義，提出畫以載道，以求踐行孔子“智者樂水，仁者樂山”的思想，認為？“旨微于言象之外者，可心取于畫策之內。”由是以瞳子之小，可觀昆侖之大，方寸之內，可圍昆閬之形，“豎劃三寸，當千仞之高；橫墨數尺，體百里之廻”。真可謂高論！

從古人看當代人，現在所謂的觀念藝術豈不就是在拾古人心師造化的牙慧？繪畫之形與神、遠與近、文與質、虛與實、意與象，景與境，看似變化萬千，神秘叵測，其實不過就是如宋炳所言，萬趣融其神思，暢神而已！一切藝術皆“無間於外，無息於內”（石濤語），眾有之本，萬象之根，在乎明心見性。本次展覽定位于《內·向》，試圖收斂今人之驕縱，揣摩古人之美意，由內心觀乎外象，不以形勝，不為色取，趣味于神思漫游，信馬由韁。

畫者張嘯天有如隱者，言之吶吶，行之拙拙，不矯情，不偽飾，全然以本心繪畫；而畫如其人，內斂含蓄，若隱若現，色不張揚，形自瀟灑，于細膩處略見功夫，在隨意間透露大氣。當下中國抽象繪畫，凡執(zhí)迷于西式者，均不免有邯鄲學步之嫌，極簡、硬邊、冷熱、色域、表現，材料、綜合等，畫法層出不窮，然總歸于萬象紛呈而內修失衡，攻有余而守不足。張嘯天的抽象繪畫，有中國氣韻，于隱約、虛薄、飄渺、朦朧之中，澄懷觀道，寫意萬象，筆墨精微，不貴五彩，陶詠乎心象，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