COSPACE｜刘泽群个展《临在与异场》

COSPACE将于2024年7月6日至2024年8月6日展出当代水墨艺术家刘泽群的最新个展“临在与异场”。此展览汇集了刘泽群近年创作的三十余件作品，他的水墨作品跨越了传统水墨的再现与拟像，向宇宙畅想和生命进化的维度推进，以一种更为先锋的态度，拟合无机物与有机物所共有的神性的临在，引动经验与超验之间的通感和张力，求索微观的分子层面到宏观的宇宙尺度之间的普遍关联性。其创作主题从明暗对比强烈的金属光泽到锈迹晦暗的工业末世图景，从空灵的生命体到奇诡的飞行器，营造出缈远、幽玄而具有科技感的独特氛围。

本次展览是该艺术家在COSPACE的首次个展，由中国人民大学文学院教授夏可君策展。

COSPACE will present the latest solo exhibition "Presences ? Deviated Scenes" by contemporary ink artist Liu Zequn from July 6, 2024 to August 6, 2024. This exhibition brings together more than 30 works created by Liu Zequn in recent years. His ink works transcend the reproduction and simulation of traditional ink painting, and advance to the dimensions of cosmic imagination and life evolution. With a more avant-garde attitude, he fits the divine presence shared by inorganic and organic matter, triggers the synaesthesia and tension between experience and transcendence, and seeks the universal relevance between the microscopic molecular level and the macroscopic cosmic scale. The themes of his creations range from metallic luster with strong light and dark contrast to industrial apocalyptic scenes with rust and darkness, from ethereal life forms to strange aircraft, creating a unique atmosphere of remoteness, mystery and technology.

This exhibition is the artist's first solo show at COSPACE and is curated by Xia Kejun, professor of the School of Literature at Renmin University of China.

画面上出现了铁丝与铁桶一样的器物（《存在NO.7》），无论是线条还是白光，都有一种坚实的物质感，一种控制与扭曲的挤压感，似乎一旦触及就可以敲打出声响（《存在NO.8》）！泽群画出了水墨从未有过的金属质地的硬度（《存在NO.3》），把水墨逼向物质的强度，这其实也是来自于疫情以来生命的憋屈，但艺术家要转化为绘画的表现力，就把水墨的黑白与呼吸的流动，转化为铁丝的痉挛与铁桶的坚实（《存在NO.7》），那铁桶的开口似乎要吞噬我们（《存在NO.6》），但泽群以水墨的黑度表现出物质的冷静与自身的自持，似乎又不屑于我们人性的感知挣扎与矛盾。

事物越是自在，水墨黑白越是对比强烈，人性越是无力，在这三者的对比中，艺术的感知就越是获得了“存在的深度”。艺术表达出物性的坚实存在而非感知的游弋，泽群的水墨艺术要塑造的是生命力的强度，可塑性及其坚韧才是生命存在的体现，水墨艺术因为面对物质性的冷漠与坚实，反而拓展了自己的表现力，无论是线条的变化还是黑白的反差，泽群都赋予了水墨从未有过的张力。

这也是为什么泽群会画出另一个《探索》系列，他画出了宇宙飞船与飞碟，水墨艺术的目光转向了太空，转向了飞升之物，如何保持水墨的质感，又融入人性对于遥远之物的想象？泽群以超写实的技术画出了飞船与飞碟的细节（《探索NO.1》），依然是保留物质的坚实性，但使之处于一种梦幻的迷恋状态，以水墨氤氲的气息描绘出总体的氛围《探索NO.5》），似乎这依然是一场梦，也许是白日梦，但却保留了人性对于未知之物的隐秘渴望与探索的热情。正是这种热情，有一种神秘的牵引力，如同古代道教仙人的飞升幻象，把技术与宇宙还原到混沌微茫状态（《探索NO.8》），人类与宇宙之间内在的远古的感通记忆就被唤醒了，艺术并非要模仿科技，而是通过技术去唤醒我们与宇宙的原初通感。

泽群以水墨的微妙性，墨色细微罩染的技术，烘托出来自于高空神奇之光的召唤（《探索NO.3》与《探索NO.12》），无论是飞船还是飞碟，都具有一种金字塔的造型，以及原始祭坛的形态（《探索NO.6》），但都被一种水墨渗染的神秘气氛所笼罩，泽群充分利用了水墨材质特有的晕化效果，或者是氤氲的自然性《探索NO.10》（如同新的山水画），或者是透明的科技感（《探索NO.14》）（如同新的摄影照片），还有陶瓷的质感（《飞碟NO.2》），都体现出迷人的艺术感染力。

从探索存在的超自然状态出发，泽群自然就画出了第三个系列《生命体》，宇宙整体的回归也必然要求生命体回到最初的生物形态，也许是因为物质技术过去强大与坚硬，柔弱的人性更为渴望回到原初的生命上，这是如同动物，如同原初的胚胎形态，重新从超自然的能力中出生。因此这些“生命体”并非仅仅是人形，而是显现为动物的情状，但在水性设色材质的罩染与流动中，具有了一种原始的呼吸形态，它们似乎刚刚出生，正在出生。因为有了前面《存在》系列的硬度，这些生命体就更为流动变化（《生命体NO. 4》），就是一股氤氲化生之气，一种宇宙洪荒之力的最初凝缩，如同中国道教的“猴气” （《生命体NO. 5》），生命本来的原初形态及其变幻的可能性，是超自然的活力种子，生命体乃是生命种子的可再生性。

刘泽群的绘画，带给水墨艺术一种从未有过的想象力与存在性，这是年轻一代艺术家真正面对了时代危机与生存处境的艺术，此超自然主义的中国艺术要重建一个隐秘的道场，一种神圣的所在，让个体进入宇宙的超自然主义存在，进入存在的混溶与整体。艺术家充分利用了水墨的潜能，使之接纳科技的物质强度与遥远指引，打开了一个梦想的未来，唤醒了原初生命的活力，这是艺术的存在，也是存在的艺术！

When facing Liu Zequn's ink painting, you will feel that ink painting is a way of existence, a reflection of philosophical spirit, and not just a craft. Ink painting art has to face the challenges of the technology of the times and the crisis of life, and it must accept the texture and imagination of technology. This is why Liu Zequn named his first batch of recent representative works "Existence", perhaps because the artist feels that ink painting is too weak, so he wants to give it unprecedented strength.

Objects like iron wire and iron buckets appear on the screen (Existence No.7). Whether it is lines or white light, there is a sense of solid material, a sense of control and twisting squeeze, as if it can make a sound once touched (Existence No.8)! Zequn painted the hardness of metal texture that ink has never had before (Existence No.3), forcing ink to the strength of material. This is actually also due to the frustration of life since the epidemic, but the artist wants to transform it into the expressiveness of painting, so he transforms the black and white of ink and the flow of breathing into the spasm of iron wire and the solidity of iron bucket (Existence No.7). The opening of the iron bucket seems to swallow us (Existence No.6), but Zequn uses the blackness of ink to show the calmness of matter and its own self-sustaining, and seems to disdain the perception, struggle and contradiction of our human nature.

The more free things are, the stronger the contrast of black and white ink painting, and the more powerless human nature is. In the contrast between these three, the perception of art has gained the "depth of existence". Art expresses the solid existence of materiality rather than the cruising of perception. Liu Zequn's ink painting art is to shape the strength of vitality. Plasticity and its tenacity are the embodiment of life. In the face of the indifference and solidity of materiality, ink painting art has expanded its expressiveness. Whether it is the change of lines or the contrast of black and white, Liu Zequn has given ink painting unprecedented tension.

This is why Liu Zequn painted another "Exploration" series, in which he painted spaceships and flying saucers. The focus of ink art turned to space and to ascending things. How to maintain the texture of ink and integrate human imagination of distant things? Liu Zequn used hyperrealistic techniques to paint the details of spaceships and flying saucers ("Exploration NO.1"), still retaining the solidity of the material, but making it in a dreamy state of fascination, and depicting the overall atmosphere with the misty breath of ink ("Exploration NO.5"), as if this is still a dream, perhaps a daydream, but it retains the secret desire and passion for exploration of unknown things. It is this passion that has a mysterious traction, just like the illusion of ascension of ancient Taoist immortals, restoring technology and the universe to a chaotic state ("Exploration NO.8"), and the inherent ancient empathy between humans and the universe is awakened. Art is not to imitate technology, but to awaken our original empathy with the universe through technology.

Liu Zequn uses the subtlety of ink and the technique of finely shading ink to highlight the call from the magical light in the sky (Exploration No. 3 and Exploration No. 12). Whether it is a spaceship or a flying saucer, they all have the shape of a pyramid and the form of a primitive altar (Exploration No. 6), but they are all shrouded in a mysterious atmosphere of ink. Liu Zequn makes full use of the unique blurring effect of ink materials, or the misty naturalness of Exploration No. 10 (like a new landscape painting), or the transparent sense of technology (Exploration No. 14) (like a new photograph), and the texture of ceramics (Flying Saucer No. 2), all of which reflect the charming artistic appeal.

Starting from the supernatural state of exploring existence, Liu Zequn naturally painted the third series "Life Form". The return of the universe as a whole also requires life forms to return to the original biological form. Perhaps because material technology was strong and hard in the past, the weak human nature is more eager to return to the original life, which is like animals, like the original embryonic form, born again from supernatural abilities. Therefore, these "living bodies" are not just human forms, but appear in the form of animals. However, in the shading and flow of water-based color materials, they have a primitive breathing form, as if they have just been born and are being born. Because of the hardness of the previous "Existence" series, these living bodies are more fluid and changeable ("Living Body No. 4"), which is a kind of misty gas, a kind of initial condensation of the power of the universe, just like the "monkey spirit" of Chinese Taoism ("Living Body No. 5"). The original form of life and its possibility of change are supernatural seeds of vitality, and living bodies are the reproducibility of life seeds.

Liu Zequn's paintings bring an unprecedented imagination and existence to ink art. This is the art of the younger generation of artists who truly face the crisis of the times and the living situation. This supernatural Chinese art wants to rebuild a hidden Taoist temple, a sacred place, to allow individuals to enter the supernatural existence of the universe, into the mixing and wholeness of existence. The artist fully utilized the potential of ink and wash, making it accept the material strength and distant guidance of science and technology, opening up a dream future and awakening the vitality of original life. This is the existence of art and the art of existence!

Excerpted from Xia Kejun's "Liu Zequn's Ink Existentialism"

部分展出作品

 探索 No.2，镜片、水墨、高清喷墨、喷枪，28 x 28 cm，2023

Exploring No.2, Rice paper card, Ink, High-Definition Inkjet, Airbrush

探索 No.3，镜片、水墨、高清喷墨、喷枪，37 x 33 cm，2023

Exploring No.3, Rice paper card, Ink, High-Definition Inkjet, Airbrush

探索 No.5，镜片、水墨、高清喷墨、喷枪，33 x 63 cm，2023

Exploring No.5, Rice paper card, Ink, High-Definition Inkjet, Airbrush

存在 No.4，宣纸水墨，69 x 139 cm，2023

Existence No.4, Ink on rice paper

Existence No.6, Rice paper, Ink, Acrylic, Airbrush

存在 No.9，镜片、水墨、金属颜料、不锈钢、喷枪，68 x 137 cm x3，2023

Existence No.9, Rice paper card, Ink, Metallic pigment, Stainless steel, Airbrush

存在 No.10，镜片、水墨、金属颜料、喷枪，189 x 133.5 cm，2023

Existence No.10, Rice paper card, Ink, Metallic pigment, Airbrush

存在 No.11，镜片、水墨、金属颜料、不锈钢、喷枪，68 x 100 cm，2023

Existence No.11, Rice paper card, Ink, Metallic pigment, Stainless steel, Airbrush

存在 No.12，镜片、水墨、金属颜料、喷枪，68 x 68 cm，2023

Existence No.12, Rice paper card, Ink, Metallic pigment, Airbrush

棘冠，镜片、水墨、金属颜料、不锈钢、喷枪，135 x 72 cm，2023

Crown of Thorns, Rice paper card, Ink, Metallic pigment, Stainless steel, Airbrush

刘泽群，1993年生于江苏泰州，现居南京。毕业于南京大学艺术学院，获硕士学位。现任教于江苏第二师范学院。

部分过往展览：

夏可君，哲学家，评论家与策展人。曾留学于德国弗莱堡大学与法国斯特拉斯堡大学，现为中国人民大学文学院教授。著述十余部，从“无用”出发，撰有《虚薄：杜尚与庄子》《庖丁解牛》《一个等待与无用的民族：庄子与海德格尔的第二次转向》《无用的文学：卡夫卡与中国》《烟影与面纱》《无用的神学》，以及英文著作Chinese Philosophy and Contemporary Aesthetics, Unthought of Empty。以虚薄艺术，余象绘画，虚托邦，以及锦灰堆等艺术概念，策划艺术展览与学术研讨会200多次。