Part 05: From Kandinsky and Zhu Dequn to Liu Youju

Sooner or later, Chinese painting will merge into the flow of world culture. The earlier the artificial isolation state ends, the better.

More than a thousand years ago, our ancestors proposed the concept of 'writing gods by their appearance' instead of 'leaving gods only by their appearance'. More than 800 years ago, we put forward the artistic proposition of "not seeking resemblance in form" and "chatting and writing with ease in the chest", which is very proud of us. In the West, the emergence of ideas such as emphasizing artistic expression was nearly a century after Impressionism. After watching the German Expressionist painting exhibition, someone said, 'Large color blocks, thick lines, and deformation treatment, isn't this the grand freehand brushwork?'? We should inherit this excellent tradition of freehand brushwork well, learn from the original spirit of our predecessors, and push Chinese painting to a new peak.

Chinese traditional culture is a property of the world, such as Egyptian culture, which can also enrich Chinese culture. So I think that an artist should look at the issues of culture and art more broadly, not limited to narrow nationalist concepts, so that art can go deeper and broader. I am quite opposed to those in China who only follow nationalism or local routes, which are too limited and too regional. Art not only needs to be universal, but also cosmopolitan.

In order to gain a global understanding of the development and evolution of abstract art in China and the West, the author selected Western abstract painting master Kandinsky, French art master Zhu Dequn, and Eastern abstract painting master and illusionist painting founder Liu Youju for comparison and research. Although their artistic language and cultural context are vastly different, their works are all abstract paintings and have influenced the direction of modern art in different periods.

（1） Kandinsky

Kandinsky was born on December 4, 1866 in Moscow, Russia, and passed away on December 13, 1944 in Neue on the banks of the Seine River in France. He lived in the same era as Matisse, Malevich, Klee, Picasso, Chagall, and others. At that time, modern art emerged, and reproducible art that imitated nature reached its peak with Impressionism.

The complete disappearance of recognizable figures, horses, and mountain peaks in Kandinsky's "Blue Mountains" indicates Kandinsky's shift from thematic landscape painting to abstract painting, and another sign of this shift is the title of the painting he adopted. In 1909, he used "Improvisation" as the title for his painting, followed by "Composition" the following year, and in 1911, he created "Impression". "Impression" and "Composition" are both musical terms, with the former referring to improvisation and the latter referring to composition. This type of title originates from music and is indicated by numbers, aiming to remove personalized elements and express non specific general categories, in an attempt to achieve the universal effect of philosophy. Kandinsky spent ten years pondering how to express spirit through art, and the result of his contemplation was the publication of "On the Spirit of Art" in 1912. In this classic work on abstract painting, he provided a clear explanation of the above painting topics. Improvisation "is a spontaneous and unconscious expression of inner character and immaterial nature." Impression "expresses a direct impression of nature in the form of a pure picture, while" Composition "is a conscious expression of" slowly formed inner emotions that have undergone repeated, almost scholarly testing and research. He believes that among these three, this type of painting expression is the most important form, which establishes a connection with the concept of "composition" in European painting and also indicates that "composition" has become the pillar of non concrete painting, that is, the cornerstone of artistic spirit.

Kandinsky is a representative figure of modern Western art, and his painting experiments marked a watershed in the transition of European art from representativeness to abstraction. Pursuing the concept of metaphysics and showcasing the vision of rebirth in the future. He carefully selects colors and constructs a symphony of coherent and interactive colors, shapes, and lines, with the aim of stimulating the viewer's spiritual response, that is, unleashing the evocative power of pure painting media. He believes that the artist's inner vision can be transformed into universal language, causing resonance and understanding among all humanity. This is his lofty artistic ambition to achieve.

It is precisely out of this belief that his abstract paintings have never completely abandoned recognizable objects. He hopes to gradually develop a style that is not only accepted by the public, but also understood by them. He said, 'We are still closely connected to the external form of nature and must draw form from it.' However, in the natural form, there is a hidden pictorial structure that can emerge from the picture, which is more suitable for the soul than the eyes, that is, it can oscillate the soul.

1913 was the peak year of Kandinsky's creation, and most of his representative works originated from this year. The theme of the work carries a strong religious color and serves as a carrier for revealing the inner spirit, but he does not negate the pleasure of painting. French neoclassical master Poussin once said "painting is pleasure". Since Horace, people have believed that art serves as an educational function through entertainment. The British empiricist philosopher Locke believed that art is the carrier of knowledge, and that "painting is composed of certain colors and shapes, bringing pleasure to the viewer". This statement can be traced back to the classical period, for example, the Stoic school believed that people in the correct spiritual framework derive pleasure from art as the rational sublimation of the soul.

Kandinsky believes that art can transform the human soul, and he aims to subvert the traditional aesthetic values of materialism, realizing his dream of creating a better and more spiritual future.

（2） Zhu Dequn

Zhu Dequn went to France in 1955. He had already laid a good foundation for his artistic transformation and transformation before going abroad. During his studies and teaching at the National Hangzhou Art College, he had already come into contact with the art of modernist masters such as Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, and Cezanne, and found something in common with him. Zhao Wuji's sensitivity to form brought him closer in nature to these masters. In his works of the 1940s, the modernist tendency in this art is most evident. After Zhao Wuji went abroad, it coincided with the rise of abstract expressionism, and he immediately became involved in this international art trend, which became very natural because he no longer had any obstacles in concept.

Zhu Dequn is a painter, but the inspiration he has brought to people goes far beyond painting. The relationship between middle school and Western learning has been debated for a century. Regarding this, Zhu Dequn sighed and said, 'No matter how good it is to say' all westernization ', it is just a cultural chain; There is only one cultural chain with lofty ambitions to make Chinese culture lead the world trend in the 21st century; Why is it so foolish not to learn the wisdom of student life, but to combine two chains into a double helix that can mutate infinitely?

Zhu Dequn's abstract art has new connotations and forms. He takes the life of all things in nature as the theme, and constructs a heavenly artistic realm with the symphony of light and color. His works are filled with the dense atmosphere between heaven and earth, jumping with colors and light spots on the elegant spatial background, full of psychedelic scenes and lyrical poetry, and also full of harmonious movements between humans and nature, shining with the brilliance of human nature. Most importantly, he combined the ideas and concepts of Eastern culture, the formal language of traditional Chinese painting, and the strengths and weaknesses of Western abstract painting, forming an abstract style with Chinese artistic spirit and connotation, reflecting a creation that transcends time and space and cultural boundaries.

Zhu Dequn's abstract paintings are full of flowing light and colorful colors, filled with the rhythm of light and elegant water. The brushstrokes and lines express the painter's subtle and rich sense of the natural world. Compared with other Western abstract paintings, Zhu Dequn's works have the advantage of incorporating Chinese freehand brushwork style, expressing the human heart palpitations corresponding to nature in a seemingly casual but repeatedly honed freedom.

In the development stage of Zhu Dequn's abstract art, from the red tone of the 1960s and 1970s to the blue-green tone of the 1980s, the content of his works shifted from the traces left by real things for the palpitations of the soul to the new formal structure opened up by abstract imagination for the spiritual space; The formal language has gone from being light and elegant, emphasizing changes in ink color and brushstroke, to finding rhythms and rhythms that correspond to the flow of natural life. While rich in Eastern charm, it has also added rich and profound cultural heritage and foreshadowed the trend of evolution.

From 1995 to 2005, Zhu Dequn's art further integrated traditional Chinese art with European millennium art, bringing about a sudden and brilliant transformation. It showcased time and space, lines and colors, everyday and extraordinary, natural scenery, and cosmic imagination, one by one, in the process of appearing and disappearing, rising and falling, center and edge, pause and transformation, collision and harmony in various elements, Interpreting the movement traces between calligraphy and blocks as more magnificent and grand spiritual phenomena, the plane and limitations of painting are broken through by more realistic tactile sensations and rich associations, thus carrying the human soul and releasing ideals through art.

Zhu Dequn's recent works consist of ink paintings and porcelain vases. From reviewing the relationship between Zhu Dequn's art and traditional Chinese culture, we can appreciate how painters have received early training in Chinese painting and calligraphy, and how these factors have undergone the baptism of heterogeneous cultures and evolved, and have rediscovered new vitality when returning to the source.

（3） Liu Youju

A great painter who can create a style of painting is inevitably someone who can constantly surpass themselves and have rich education. Liu Youju gathered the pulpit, critics, calligraphers, and painters together. He spoke out with righteousness and denounced the shortcomings of the times, demonstrating the indispensable character of a conscientious cultural scholar.

Van Gogh believed that "painting is not about trying to record what I see, but about casually using colors to express my emotions." This is the same as what Wang Guowei saw: "Everyone's works have their own emotions

Why did people from the Ice Age depict exaggerated and concise ancient images on cave walls and rocks in Spain and southern France with such astonishing and captivating charm? This needs to be traced back to the origin of art. Among North American Native Americans, artists are quite astute in observing natural shapes while ignoring the real shapes we focus on. They believe that only grasping one shape feature is sufficient. In modern times, Cezanne strives to achieve depth without sacrificing the vividness of colors, and to achieve an orderly layout without sacrificing depth.

Therefore, he decisively sacrifices one point - the correctness of traditional contours; Gauguin once delved into the indigenous communities of the South Pacific, striving to harmonize his art with the local "primitive" art. Therefore, he simplified the outline of the image and was not afraid to use large strong colors. The above examples are all to illustrate that great artists who can create a style of painting always dare to boldly abandon and ignore things that are insignificant to the desired effect in order to achieve their desired goals and effects. They pursue the expression of the inner world and personality of the creative subject, thus bringing their works closer to the spiritual essence of art.

Liu Youju's illusionist paintings respect and surpass traditional reproduction rules, making wise cutting choices. The visual shape of the drawn object is deconstructive, and the colors are bold and strong, thus closer to one's artistic ideals and the spiritual essence of art. The artists in the modern art movement are constantly pursuing the most essential things that European art has produced, lost, and repeatedly restored in the long-term search process - strong expressiveness, clear structure, and straightforward and simple techniques. Looking forward along the artist's concepts and thoughts, Liu Youju's illusion paintings will appear natural and full, and he will begin to understand his extraordinary aesthetic concepts and high technical, spiritual, and emotional content, discovering the perfection of the order formed by his visual elements. Understand his strong aversion to the one-sided, stereotyped, and popularized images he copies back and forth, and recognize his innovation in artistic forms and unique expressions full of spiritual connotations.

Whether Chinese painting or Western painting, the essence of art is the same, which is why Picasso's Little Rooster and the Eight Great Birds also gain worldwide recognition and love. It can be seen that under the profound tradition of Chinese calligraphy and painting, Liu Youju's paintings also conform to China's traditional aesthetic orientation. One of the major characteristics of Chinese painting art is the use of "figurative depiction of emotions, and transformation to capture the essence". The Eight Great Historians in history have been praised by the world for their highly personalized portrayal of images.

From Liu Youju's works, one can feel the artistic conception of Chinese landscape painting, but it is not traditional Chinese landscape painting; It has the taste of Western watercolor painting (including watercolor and acrylic painting), but it is not strictly a watercolor painting. His paintings contain "Chinese elements" everywhere, and in them, we can see familiar elements. This makes his paintings detach from tradition and have a strong sense of modernity, regardless of the "momentum" of the distant view - composition, color, charm, and artistic conception, as well as the "interest" of the close view - resemblance, delicacy, and vivid illusions and illusions. This gave his illusion painting art a broader spiritual realm.

Artists are all striving to find a truly individual art, to find something that is almost invisible and they believe has artistic essence. Modern art sprouts from these pursuits, no matter how "crazy" these artists may be, they are all artists trying to break the deadlock they find themselves in. Just as the current situation of Chinese painting is, if Chinese painting persists in adhering to the old brush and ink procedures, it is like continuing to draw realistic Bible stories with the same procedural concepts as Western painters, always adhering to them and forever following them; But if we don't talk about pen and ink at all and are not proficient in its techniques, then what is Chinese painting? Liu Youju recognized this current situation. As an inheritor of traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting and a current independent and innovative painting style, he found a breakthrough point that can solve conflicts, and a new era of Chinese painting style and spirit that innovates the use of ink

In Liu Youju's paintings, the full composition boldly uses colors and ink to render, overlap, and infiltrate effects on rice paper. The use of color strength, contrast between cold and warm, coordination, and ink blending techniques fully mobilizes the different rhythms of various lines such as curvature, thickness, lightness, urgency, and slowness, cleverly grasping the moisture saturation of each painting, creating a hazy, dreamy, seemingly non-existent, and also real and illusory artistic picture, Forming a strong visual impact, the viewer not only feels slightly confused and confused, but also has a strange and mysterious sense of freshness.

The author believes that Liu Youju's illusion painting is an "impossible method" of artistic painting. He strives to find a fit between law and freedom, necessity and chance. The use and "paraphrasing" of abstract painting language and techniques make his paintings imbued with rational norms that are different from those of academic painting, the shaping methods and principles of oil painting, and the thinness and introversion of traditional Chinese painting, But it injects an unknown atmosphere and tension into the limited space, maximizing the release of emotions; In practice, he perfected his own style. The patterns in his writing are characterized by the "mental image", and in a free expression, they are reflected in a grand and powerful sense.

Faced with the unrestrained and romantic "illusion painting", we cannot but express our admiration and admiration for the painter's creativity, expressive ability, and poetic sentiment.

Reading works, it is not difficult to find that painters do not directly state their connotations and meanings when dealing with works, but rather engage in transformation and deduction between concrete and abstract, virtual and real, dynamic and static, and existence and nothingness; In the painter's world, all of this is not just a technique, but rather the level of the work itself, and even the fundamental essence of the work as art. Nevertheless, in the painter's works, a deep emotion is conveyed, striving to explore the mysteries of human experience, and the more indescribable this mystery is, the purer and more precise its meaning and connotation become.

The most rare aspect of interpreting Liu Youju's illusory paintings is the universal value of modern art and the spirit of Chinese art presented in his works. Boder believes that modernity is half of art, and the other half is eternity. This eternity is the spirit of Chinese art, the unique spirit of Chinese art, which I believe can be unchanging, eternal, and eternal, He is also desperately emphasizing the permanence and eternity of art. Because today's Chinese painting is indeed greatly influenced by Western art, it is unrealistic to simply emphasize Chinese colors, but it is still possible to emphasize Chinese gods. For example, Zhao Wuji's paintings, his oil paint, are all shaped, but it does not hinder him from expressing the Chinese spirit and artistic conception in his oil paintings.

World culture and Eastern and Western cultures share different paths, such as the works of Van Gogh, Monet, Ivy League, and Shi Tao, which are completely similar in spirit. Impressionism and the six techniques advocated in our Chinese painting are not fundamentally different. True art is global and belongs to all humanity. Good works come from cultural inheritance and are a metaphysical expression of spirit. The 20th century Western abstract art itself was a product of Western artists shifting their horizons to the East. Therefore, we can confidently applaud "Eastern Abstract Painting".