2022武汉设计日创意市集·赵丽先：画出生命童话的寓言

「下山——赵丽先艺术展」在杭州上城区的拉姆艺术空间开幕，引来了众多艺术爱好者的关注和参与。作为武汉设计日重要单元「趁热」创意市集的特邀艺术家，CC特别为你带来个展的精彩现场。
下山——赵丽先艺术展开幕现场

赵丽先在开幕仪式上介绍了自己近年来的研学和创作状况，也讲述了创作这个系列的想法。
作为一个女人，一位母亲，她如我们生活中许许多多的母亲一样，天然地爱着自己的孩子，愿意尽自己最大的努力去保护他。如果说渴望解脱的她，心情欢脱如兔，在面对幼子时，她便不自觉地转型为了身形矫健的虎。如这批创作中，反反复复出现的猛兽娇儿，如作品名称中，那一句句的「护婴图」，如陶咏白先生评价她的——这是「来自生命自身的觉悟」的，「童话寓言式」的作品。展览以「下山」为名，是面对一切风雨的坦然以对，是敢于入世的坚定不移。
近两年来，她的关注点有了极大的转变，从之前超然世外的美学追求，到努力呵护当下的所有，她为忠实于自己的心路，毅然抛弃之前业已成熟的审美经验，不惜再次踏上新的探索之途。在中央美院研学期间，经过在版画和综合材料等方面的多样实践和探索，她终于从用色和画面构成的形式上找到了突破口，最终完成了这一令人欣喜的转型，开启了她艺术生涯的新篇章。
本次展览将持续到本月底。

造境心安
Create a world with peace of mind

如果说生命中真有不能承受之重，非母爱莫属。存于世间本不易，某日忽然迎来出于己身的另一生命，有惊喜，更多是焦灼。无数梦想慢慢堆出山一般的愁绪，愁到借用宋代李清照词句:只恐双溪舴艋舟，载不动、许多愁。近观赵丽先作品，脑中不停闪出一组镜头，非洲大草原上新出生的⻆⻢，歪歪斜斜刚能行走，就围来一群狮子，母⻆⻢一边警惕对视逼近的猛狮，一边奋力驱赶自己的小⻢，似乎告诉它：“孩子，快跑！”，然而残忍的自然规律诠释了后面我不愿重复地赘述。《待渡》、《春江花月夜》、《离岸》、《神灵在渊》、《护婴图》几幅作品中均有水的存在，水作为生命的载体，既春波荡漾而悠闲，又澎湃汹涌而恐惧；既幻化彼岸之超脱，又维系此岸之离苦。赵丽先从未追逐光怪陆离之时尚，也不囿于汉画敦煌之古训，而是坚守其心中巨大的螺，⻛格符号信手拈来，山川日月、花⻦兽禽，不同素材随着这个螺在旋转，造出一个母亲极尽己能所能营造的澄明之境，孩子在这里是安详的，豹子老⻁在此凶恶不及猫，波涛在此舒缓宁静如肖邦的夜曲。一个轻轻的声音传来：孩子啊你快快成⻓。蕴含了多少母亲的焦虑，薄雾浓云愁永昼，瑞脑消金兽。在这满满爱意的作品面前，我那些固有的画史知识、⻛格符号、市场价值，又显得多么渺小而单薄。

常天鹄有感于壬寅金秋

If there was an unbearable burden in life, it must be a mother’s love. It is already difficult to live in the world, yet one day suddenly another life comes out from your own body. That goes with surprises along with more anxiety. Countless dreams slowly piled up a mountain of melancholy, so sad that I borrowed the words of Li Qingzhao, a famous poet in the Song Dynasty: I am only afraid that such a small boat cannot hold my sadness. Looking closely at Zhao Lixian’s works, a set of scenes flashed in my mind. A newborn Wildebeest on the African savannah, barely able to walk, was surrounded by a group of lions. The mother Wildebeest was alert to the approaching lions. At the same time, she tried to drive her little one away, and seemed to yell: “Child, run!” However, the cruel natural law explained the details that I don’t want to repeat. “Waiting to Cross”, “Moonlit River in Spring”, “Offshore”, “Spirit in Abyss”, and “Baby Protecting Picture”, all are presented with water. As the carrier of life, water is both rippling and leisurely in spring. It is also surging and fearful; it not only transforms the transcendence of the other side, but also maintains the suffering of this side. Zhao Lixian never pursued the fashion of eccentricity, nor was he confined to the ancient teachings of Dunhuang in Han painting, but adhered to the huge snail in his heart. With symbols of style at his fingertips, the mountains and rivers, the sun, the moon, flowers, animals and birds, and different materials revolved with the snail. A state of clarity was created by a mother’s utmost efforts, where the child is peaceful, the leopard is less vicious than the cat, and the waves are soothing and tranquil like Chopin’s nocturne. A soft voice came: child, you are growing up quickly. It contains much mother’s anxiety. Life is worrying as I see the mist rising from the incense burnt in censer. Looking at this piece of work full of love, my inherent knowledge of painting history, style symbols, and market value seem so insignificant and flimsy.

By Chang Tianhao, in the golden spring of 2022

赵丽先在开幕现场与来访的观众们交流

赵丽先的“切换与奔跑”
Zhao Lixian’s “Switch and Run”

作为赵丽先多年的闺蜜，我很荣幸地在她新展来临之际被邀来说点什么，我并不是艺术评论者，所以对赵丽先的作品不可能从学术的角度谈的深入而具体，仅从同为艺术创作者的角度浅谈一下我的感受与认知，另一方面，我也想从生活角度，聊聊赵丽先面对她的生活与创作、现实与梦境之间的“切换与奔跑”。

我眼中的赵丽先是一个不折不扣的“战士”。如此说的原因是出于一个巨大的内外表现的反差：她外表柔弱，语速平缓，待人处事给人一种安静之感，与坚强刚毅的面对生活的磨难和屡次挫折的她极不相符。

外表平静下的她内心对艺术、哲学、宗教、文学的探究永远是那样热情。她在对未知领域的学习过程中会发问、反思、研究，在对于灵性的、形而上的问题反复研究和探讨之后，最终投入自己创作当中。她在我心中一直都是善于思考的，在读书、思考和艺术创作行动上都是非常勤奋的。她的工作和生活是颇为忙碌的，但只要能抽出一点散碎时间就会进行一切有关于创作的事情，比如眼下有几天完整时间她就选择画大画，如果只有一天时间就用来画小画，有半天时间就画水彩，有一个小时就画小稿构图，就算坐地铁都在思考画面问题。这样日复一日年复一年的发力，使她作品的品质不断提升，并且画面从表现手法到呈现出的气质都极为引人注目。

比如赵丽先此次展览的作品《我奔向梦境时天晴了》系列作品，我非常喜欢：画面看似梦境，但那个黄昏是有温度的，小兔子的奔跑，预示着生活是有美好的前方和不为人所知的另一面的……在守护婴儿系列画作中，夜晚静寂无边，那些马背上、小船中熟睡的婴孩被神灵所守护，一缕霞光洒下，世界呈现出一片祥和景象，空间和氛围的呈现如此妙哉，但在寂静中却隐藏着躁动，那是属于赵丽先的“不安”，林中山后那些狮子老虎并非安然无事的坐卧，而是蠢蠢欲动打算向山下走去、奔跑……画面处理如此浪漫，把观者带入具有大情怀的虚幻世界，就是这样的现实与梦境，他们之间即切换又融合，猛兽的动感给安静的画面带来矛盾与不安感，而恰恰是这种矛盾深深的感动了我！

赵丽先用色大胆，笔触豪放从不拖泥带水，黑色宽宽的线条既有力量又有来自于中国传统绘画所传承的墨色精神，大面积的群青和钴蓝与黑色线条结合凸显画者气势，笔痕绘画感十足、气息酣畅淋漓！这是女性艺术家极为罕见的特例。

无论现实与梦境是否需要割裂，还是梦境与虚幻结为一体，我都希望赵丽先一直可以自我切换，并且像她画中的动物一样奔跑不已……

傅瑶于北京
2022年10月

As Zhao Lixian’s close friend for many years, I am honored to be invited to say something before her new upcoming exhibition. I am not an art critic, so it is impossible to discuss her works in depth and specific from an academic point of view. As an art creator, I would like to talk about my feelings and perception. On the other hand, I also want to talk from the perspective of life, about her “Switch and Run” between her life and creation, reality and dream.
In my eyes, Zhao Lixian is an out-and-out “fighter”. The reason for saying this is because of a great contrast I see in her: she is weak in appearance, speaks slowly, and impresses people with quietness, which is very inconsistent with her adamancy and fortitude toward hardships and repeated setbacks in life.

Calm as she may seem, she is always so enthusiastic in exploring the art, philosophy, religion and literature. She would ask questions, reflect, and research in the process of learning about unknown areas. After repeated research and discussion on spiritual and metaphysical issues, she would finally devote herself to her own creation. In my mind, she has always been a good thinker and is very diligent in reading, thinking and artistic creation. She’s quite occupied with work and trifles, but as long as she could spare a little time, she would do everything related to creation. For example, she is working on a big painting when she has a few full days these days. And she would try to draw a small painting if she only had one day, paint watercolors with half a day, and a small draft composition with an hour. She even thinks painting layout when taking the subway. Such efforts day after day, year after year, have continuously improved the quality of her works. Her paintings are extremely eye-catching from the way of expression to the temperament they present.

For example, I’m extremely drawn to Zhao Lixian’s exhibition series “The sky is clear when I run to the dream”: the painting looks like a dream, but the evening is warm, and the running of the little rabbit indicates that there is a bright future and another unknown side in life. In the painting series of Protecting Baby, the night is endless, the sleeping babies on horseback and in the boat are guarded by the gods, a ray of sunshine sprinkles down, and the world presents a peaceful scene. The presentation of space and atmosphere is so wonderful, but there is agitation hidden in the tranquility. It speaks to Zhao Lixian’s “uneasiness”. Instead of sitting idly by, the lions and tigers in the forest are about to move and run down the mountain. It’s such a romantic picture that the viewer is brought into an illusory world with great feelings. It is such a reality and a dream that are being switched and merged. The sense of movement of the beasts brings contradictions and uneasiness to the quiet picture. It is such contradiction that deeply moved me!

Zhao Lixian uses bold colors and her brushstrokes are robust and never sloppy. The broad black lines have both strength and the spirit of ink color passed from traditional Chinese painting. The combination of a large area of ultramarine blue and cobalt blue and black lines highlights the artist’s vigor. The brush marks are vivid and full of joy! This is an extremely rare exception for female artists.

Regardless of separating reality from dream or merging dream with fantasy, I hope that Zhao Lixian can always switch herself and run like the animals in her paintings.

Fu Yao in Beijing
2022.10