In the summer of 2018, I went to the Zao Wou-Ki solo exhibition at Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris after my studies at the Conservatoire Américain de Fontainebleau. Of all the impressive paintings in the exhibition, I was deeply attracted by a middle-sized work, which was titled “Nous Deux.” This painting was finished in 1957, the same year of the artist’s divorce from Xie Jinglan (La lan), his first wife. My first impression of the painting was a strong feeling of closeness; not a closeness between myself and the painting, but a closeness within the painting itself. The apparently unconstrained brush-strokes for the massive Chinese calligraphy-like patterns, as well as the symbolic scratches give a feeling of the relationship with a high-leveltrust and understanding. But after I saw the seeping reddish “mist” out of the black patterns, everything seemed clear to me, and my emotion towards this image turned immediately into distress, helplessness, and dissatisfaction. Like the despair that seeps out from an imaginative sweetness, but is, in fact, an oppressive shell, the falling black patch confirms this foreboding atmosphere once again. As Dominique de Villepin described, “The primordial couple is united by nothing else but the blaze of the in-between and the weight of a darkness that falls down from the top of the canvas.” This piece reflects the painting "Nous Deux" from the aspects of texture, brush-stroke, density, and many other kinds of visual information. Additionally, it's a fantasy of my understanding/reinterpretation to Zao Wou-Ki's inner world while he was working on the painting.
Selected Past Performances:
2018年夏天，我在巴黎现代艺术博物馆参观赵无极个展时，被一副名为《Nous Deux》所吸引。这幅画完成于1957年，同年艺术家与第一任妻子谢景兰离婚。我对这幅画的第一印象是一种强烈的亲近感； 但不是我和画作之间的亲近，而是画中的“内容”透露了一种亲近的体验。 那些看似奔放的笔触，中国书法般的巨大图案，以及象征性的划痕，给人一种高度信任和理解的关系的感觉。而当我看到黑色图案中渗出的红色“雾气”后，一切又变得不一样了——我的情绪立刻变成了苦恼、无助和不满。从幻想的甜蜜中渗透出来的绝望，但如同一个压抑的外壳——坠落的黑色斑点再次证实了这种不祥的气氛。画作《Nous Deux》的肌理、笔触、空间等多种视觉信息得以于这部音乐剧场中重现。 此外，这也是我个人对赵无极在创作这幅画时内心世界的过度理解与幻想。
部分过往演出：
