by John Labry
As a senior art connoisseur, although I grew up in the Western art atmosphere, I have been paying attention to Eastern art for a long time. Over these years, I have seen many Chinese landscape paintings. Among them, Mr. Bao Hongbo's works give me a very different feeling.
First of all, Mr. Bao's works are by no means traditional Chinese landscapes. I can read the West's modern flavor in his works, for example, the ideas of the composition. In traditional Chinese painting, there is usually keeping blank along with the main subject. In comparison, Western paintings' composition emphasizes fullness that there is no blank space outside the main subject. Instead, some objects are arranged in concert with the subject. The brush and ink rhythm should be much more skillful at making the Chinese painting's full composition look good. With the Interrelations between Emptiness and Substantiality, the painting is vivid.
While the composition in Mr. Bao's painting is Westernized, the brush and ink's rhythm is also quite modern. The brush has a strong turn, no longer focusing on the simulating natural forms, but emphasizing personal subjective feelings, for example, the sharp turn of the tree trunks, the square shape of the stream, which highlights a personality. The loose lines and the strong contrast of ink give the picture a kind of naivety and roughness, a sense of rebellion against reality. According to my observations, this kind of brush-use is popular in the new literati painting style paintings. On the other hand, the unruly thatched pavilion, ink-wash, and elegant color schemes add many deep ancient cultural charm to the picture. The painting is fresh, calm, and refreshing.
Mr. Bao's works are either classic or colorful. His "Apricot blossom rain" is a quiet and elegant style, while his "Sunset glow" is colorful and magnificent. His small painting "lonesome" is really interesting. The painting used a lot of warm colors, such as orange and yellow. It painted the pavilion and trees in the glow. Still, there is an artistic conception of "It seems to be more lonesome in the mountains when birds are singing," showing a kind of unpredictable Zen and the feeling of a hermit away from the earth. As far as I know, Mr. Bao has a profound ancient literature background. This makes his paintings have a clever fusion of classical elements and modern consciousness.
I would also like to mention that Mr. Bao's works are not only small-size paintings. His works like "The Great Wall of Ten Thousand Lis Never Fall" "Yimeng Mountain Minor" are magnificent and immersive. There are mountains, rivers, running water, floating clouds, humans, buildings, and even modern cars in Mr. Bao's paintings. These come from his observation and experience of life and a hazy ideal and insight, and the artistic conception is endless. It not only retains the uniqueness of his own culture but also has a broad vision. I really appreciate Mr. Bao's work.
Translated by Kai:
作为一名资深艺术鉴赏家，虽然在西方艺术氛围下成长，我也一直在关注着东方艺术。这些年来，我看过不少中国山水画，其中包洪波先生的作品，给我一种很不同的感受。
首先，包先生的作品，绝不是传统的中国山水。我能在他的作品中读出西方现代的气息。他的作品，构图思想更接近西方风格，中国传统绘画里，主体之外通常留白，而西方绘画构图讲究丰满，主体之外不留白，而是安排一些和主体相呼应的物象。国画里构图要满得好看，虚实笔墨节奏的处理就更见技巧。虚实相生，方能气韵生动。
包先生在构图西化的同时，笔墨节奏也颇具现代感。用笔转折强烈，不再以模拟自然形态为主，而是强调个人主观感受，凸显一种个性。比如树干尖锐的转角，溪流的方块形态等等。 散漫的线条，强烈的墨色浓淡对比，使得画面带有一种稚拙和粗旷，一种对现实的反叛意味；据我的观察，新文人画比较流行这样的用笔。 而另一方面，不成规矩的茅亭，大量的晕染和典雅的配色，又给画面增加了不少深层的古文化韵味，画面情调清新、沉静，沁人心脾。
包先生的作品，可素，可艳。有《杏花雨》这样的淡雅，也有《霞》这样的热烈。有一幅《幽》的小品很有意思，画面用了大量桔黄这种暖色，是霞光里的凉亭和树木，却有一种“鸟鸣山更幽”的意境，显示一种莫测高深的禅意，和远离尘世的隐士情怀。据我所知，包先生有着深厚的古文学底蕴。这使得他的画面，古典元素和现代意识有了一种巧妙的融合。
还想提一下，包先生有精巧的小品，也不乏壁画般宏伟的大作。他的《万里长城永不倒》 、《沂蒙山小调》 等等，气势磅礴，令人如临其境。在包先生笔下，有山川，流水，浮云，人物，楼阁，甚至现代的汽车，所有这些，有来自他对生活的观察和体验，也有来自一种朦胧的理想和感悟，意境无穷。既保留了自身文化的独特性，又有更为宽广的视野。我推崇包先生的作品。
Comments
Post a Comment