HOW展览 | 「博伊斯在中国：2013-2025回顾展」即将开幕

“达达主义”取消了艺术和生活的边界后，非艺术、反艺术极大地拓展了“艺术”的可能性。但“达达主义”在价值观方面的虚无，直到约瑟夫·博伊斯（Joseph Beuys, 1921-1986）才被明确地填补了。“杜尚的沉默被高估了”、“人人都是艺术家”、“社会雕塑”等激进话语背后，是坚定的信心和温暖的盼望，与博伊斯的超验信靠息息相关。

博伊斯洞察到了现代性“祛魅”的后果：高扬理性与科技，却让人丧失了灵性。于是他宁愿向死去的兔子解释绘画，和荒原狼朝夕相处，来反照现代人的症候。他在美学方面尽情激进的同时，在精神上则与远古的灵媒遥相呼应，让“社会活动家”和“文化巫师”等身份融为一体，并用爱与救赎来抵抗非理性的幽暗解构和放纵癫狂，让断裂的现代性和过去、未来接续起来。

博伊斯当年的很多言行被世人贬斥为痴人说梦，但事在人为——在激情、勇气和智慧的驱动下，他把很多“不可能的妄想”变成了真切的事实。他对爱与救赎的温暖信靠，有效驱除了虚无、绝望、冷漠、低迷、颓废的迷雾，即使那些充满盼望的种子要在冻土中艰难地经历漫长岁月，但在预定的日子里依然奇妙地破土而出、开花结果、蔓延四方。历经波折的《7000棵橡树》，在博伊斯过世一年后（1987年）栽种下了第7000棵树苗，如今，棵棵大树荫庇后人，感动人心。

上：约瑟夫·博伊斯在1982年德国卡塞尔发起的《7000棵橡树》艺术行动，图源网络
下：2021年的卡塞尔城市景观，图源网络

作为杜尚之后最有影响力的艺术家之一，博伊斯对中国当代艺术界也影响深远。从1980年代开始的越来越广泛的传播，让博伊斯被更多的国人知晓。1990年代以来，激情开拓的中国艺术家们用种种巧妙的方式介入社会，或用惊世骇俗的行为刺激常规成见，博伊斯的理念和行动作为范式或隐或现。

昊美术馆在十几年前系统收藏了博伊斯的几百件作品和文献后，持久而有序地传播着博伊斯的艺术成就和生命能量。既和中国多家美术馆、美术学院开放合作（中央美术学院美术馆、深圳海上世界文化艺术中心、武汉芷美空间、四川美术学院重庆当代美术馆、广州美术学院大学城美术馆），也在本馆举办了《见者的书信：约瑟夫·博伊斯 × 白南准》和系列项目《我与博伊斯》等。

文明如流水，艺术无国界，敬天爱人的精神转化为生动感人的美学能量，是可以普世流传的。博伊斯深厚绵长的理念和勇敢坚韧的行动，以及恣肆奔涌的美学，在他有生之年已成为当代艺术的标竿和范例。在世界秩序剧烈调整，熵增加速的今天，艺术的能量似乎越来越衰减，艺术的受众似乎成为了沉默的黑洞。这时回顾博伊斯的言行，推敲他在特定的时代、社会中如何激活和释放艺术的大能，在当下可以产生更丰富的启发。

??左右滑动查看更多

《博伊斯在中国》系列展览回顾??

In his time, many of Beuys's statements and actions were dismissed as some na?ve dreams. Yet through passion, courage, and intellect, he turned many "impossible fantasies" into reality. His faith in love and redemption dispelled the fog of nihilism, despair, apathy, and decay. Even when seeds of hope must lie dormant in frozen soil for years, they would eventually break through, blossom, and spread. His legendary project 7000 Oaks, though unfinished in his lifetime, saw its 7000th sapling planted in 1987, one year after his death. Today, the trees he left behind continue to shelter and inspire generations.

Top: 7000 Oaks, an art action initiated by Joseph Beuys in Kassel, Germany, 1982. Image: online source

Bottom: Street in Kassel with Beuys's oak trees, 2021

As one of the most influential artists after Marcel Duchamp, Beuys profoundly shaped contemporary Chinese art. Since the 1980s, his ideas have begun to circulate widely in China. In the 1990s, pioneering Chinese artists intervened in society through bold, provocative actions and performances and engaged the public in active dialogues, keeping Beuys's legacy vibrantly alive.

More than a decade ago, HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) systematically acquired hundreds of Beuys's works and archival materials, making it the museum's mission to share his artistic vision in China. The museum collaborated with major Chinese art institutions, including CAFA Art Museum, Shenzhen Sea World Culture and Arts Center (SWCAC), Zhi Art Space Wuhan, Chongqing Contemporary Art Museum of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, and University City Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. HOW Museum also hosted exhibitions such as Lettres du Voyant: Joseph Beuys × Nam June Paik and the ongoing series Me and Beuys.

The flow of culture and art is like water — without borders. Beuys proved that with reverence for nature and love for humanity, the power of art will endure. Through his far-reaching ideas and courageous actions, he stands as a pinnacle of contemporary art, continuing to enlighten the world we live in. Today, as artistic energy wanes and audiences turn into silent black holes, it is more urgent than ever to revisit Beuys — to reclaim the power of art through his intellect and enduring legacy.

??swipe for more??