文 / 何宇红 | 法国亚洲艺术家联合会(UAAF)创始人
2016年带给了陈俐维特别多的惊喜,真可谓硕果累累。夏天,由法国亚洲艺术家联合会(UAAF)精心策划的“桃花源~陈俐维砌画艺术欧洲巡回展”在法国(巴黎)、德国(科隆)、比利时(布鲁塞尔)收获了极大的赞誉和好评。法国国家美术协会(SNBA)在三个月之后则特意向她发出邀请,来参加一年一度的具有一百五十多年历史的法国国际美术沙龙。暨此让更多的人能够欣赏到这位“自学成才、自创艺术表现手法、风格独特、才华横溢”的台湾女艺术家的作品。
美好的期待是最好的动力,有一些约定可遇不可求。从欧洲回到台湾的陈俐维除了紧张地忙于创作和参加已经定好档期的个展和台湾艺术博览会,尽管有些犹豫但她最终还是听从好友们的劝告(其实更是她自己心底的声音),不辞辛劳再次回到世人向往的艺术之都巴黎。在这个美丽的深秋,她第一次参加和见证了这一著名而悠久的典型的法兰西艺术盛会。
在罗浮宫的卡鲁塞尔厅,这位素人艺术家再次带来的作品着实让人惊艳;并最终在来自二十多个国家的六百多名艺术家的一千多件参展作品中脱颖而出,斩获2016年法国美术沙龙评委会大奖,众望所归。
依然是她的“大地之母”系列,这一次却有些“于无声处听惊雷”的意味。陈俐维娴熟的表现能力不仅体现在材料和色彩光线的运用上,更多地在于她对生活的物像感应和情思寄意。从一颗普通的树干的造型和影印,创作者看到的是满眼的山清水秀和诗情画意。艺术家将她取名“香脸半开娇旖旎”,想必亦是熟读李清照的诗。“雪里已知春信至,寒梅点缀琼枝腻。香脸办开娇旖旎,当庭际,玉人浴出新妆洗”(自《渔家傲·雪里已知春信至》)。洁净的画面上有点点寒梅或雪花,料峭孤枯的枝干下隐隐地透照出两个姿态嫣然的女子,观者似乎能听到她们窃喜和欢愉的笑声和歌声。恰似诗人李清照,艺术家陈俐维一样是一位外表柔弱,内在坚毅的女子。离群独居、坚守自己的内心。
生活的历练之后还能独善其身不随波逐流只为妥妥地保存一份真实的自己。快乐来自创作中,“艺术是我的一种心理疗愈方式”(陈俐维语)。所以艺术家人生的激情和欢畅从对于大自然的写意中表现的淋漓尽致(大地之母)。正所谓“关乎冥冥,听乎无声。冥冥之中,独见晓焉;无声之中,独闻和焉。故深之又深而能物焉,神之又神而能精焉。(庄子《外篇·天地》)。
除了“香脸办开娇旖旎”,陈俐维这次带来法国美术沙龙的还有一幅似乎有别于她其他系列的作品:“樱雀醒春齐开屏”。与她聊过之后才得知,原来这是她在创作花草系列时偶得的灵感。
今年她荣幸地被台北著名的101大楼选中(也是世界最高的摩天大楼之一、亚洲第一擎天大厦)将其作品展示在他们的艺廊空间,陈俐维专门为这个展览创作了巨幅作品“牡丹图”。在创作牡丹图的时候,她突然觉得孔雀在开屏时的那种“壮观的仪式感”与花卉的盛开有很大的相似之处。在这幅牡丹图中,艺术家巧妙地将孔雀切入到争相斗艳的牡丹丛中,犹如一种另类的孔雀开屏,既有趣又有观赏感,同时激发了观赏者们的想象力。
此后,孔雀开频繁地出现在陈俐维的作品中,渐渐地也与她的另一个系列“动物”交叉相应。这幅“樱雀醒春齐开屏”是樱花与孔雀的嬉戏和完美结合。关赏感极强,色彩艳丽夺目,粉紫色的明暗渗透和掌控使作品显得神秘诡异而又轻快温婉。参观者们无一不驻足凝视良久。
最让人惊奇而称道的是,陈俐维没有精历过一天的美术专业培训,四十岁才开始其绘画创作的她似乎跟很多天才艺术家一样非常清楚地意识到自己生下来就是为了画画,只不过她用了比常人稍微长了一点的时间来意识到这一点、得以找到了跟自己对话的方式。蜕变,需要时间和过程,陈俐维用了半生来等待它。
然而天寒地冻之后的春暖花开则更加弥为珍贵和绚丽,大自然所给予的母性般强大的生命力犹如一双无形之手引导着女艺术家厚积薄发的创造力,自成一体的表现手法和风格都让其每一幅作品堪称妙“刀”生花,绝似“神”来之毫。陈俐维透过绘画与身边的一山一水、一草一木对话,充满想象力的画面蕴含着极其丰富的生命能量和爱,处处提醒着渺小人类与大自然间的相互依存关系。至此,陈俐维不仅赋予了大自然以新的意义和情感,而且让自己的人生也开启了一条非凡、靓丽而美妙的风景线。
法国亚洲艺术家联合会主席
旅法华裔作家兼艺术评论家
何宇红
2016年12月16日巴黎
Chen Li-wei received many surprises in a 2016 that can be considered as fruitful. In summer, the Exposition de Liwei CHEN « UTOPIE » organized by the Union des Artistes d'Asie en France (UAAF) received great acclaims and praises in France (Paris), Germany (Cologne) and Belgium (Brussels). Three months later, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA) specially invited her to participate in the annual Le Salon des Beaux Arts 2016, which has over 150 years of history. It will allow more people to enjoy the works of this “self-taught, with self-created artistic expression techniques, unique and ultra-talented” female artist from Taiwan.
Wonderous expectation is the best motivation. There are agreements that can only be obtained by chance, but not by force. After returning to Taiwan from Europe, Chen Li-wei had been busy creating her new works and participating in the scheduled solo exhibition and the Art Expo Taiwan 2016. Despite some hesitation, she eventually listened to the advice of her friends (in fact it was also the voice deep down her own heart) and tirelessly returned to the world yearning Capital of the Arts – Paris. In this beautiful late autumn, she attended and witnessed this famous and long-standing typical French art event for the first time ever.
In Carrousel du Louvre, this amateur artist once again brought along amazing works which stood out from over 1,000 art pieces of more than 600 artists from 20-plus countries and indisputably won the Grand Jury Prize of Salon des Beaux Arts 2016.
It is still her "Mother of the Earth" series, but this time there is some sense of “hearing a sudden clap of thunder in a quiet place”. Chen Li-wei's skillful expressive ability was not only evidenced in the use of materials, colors and lights, but also in her sense of image and metaphor of emotion toward life. From an ordinary form and photocopy of a trunk, what the artists saw was an eyeful of beautiful scape and poetic splendor. The artist named the art piece “Spring on the Southern Rivershore”, and we assume that she should be familiar with the poem of Li Qingzhao: “Falling snow signals faithful Spring's round the corner, I know. Bright stars of plum blossom up on the crystal branches show. Still in half-bloom, blush the fragrant, young tender faces, Mid-courtyard, after bath a fresh dress Jade Lady embraces” (from “Falling snow signals faithful Spring's round the corner”). There is a little bit of plum blossom or snowflakes on the clean scene, and under the steep, solitary and withered branches there hazily appear two girls of sweet posture. The audiences can seem to hear their laughter and singing of joy. Just like the poet Li Qingzhao, the artist Chen Li-wei is also a woman who looks weak outside but is determine inside. She leaves others and lives alone just to stick to her own heart.
After all the experiences in life, she can still adhere to her principle and not to follow the crowd because she wants to properly preserve her true self. Her happiness comes from creating. “Art is a psychological healing method of mine”, said Chen Li-wei. Therefore, her passion and joy toward life are most vividly expressed in her art pieces of nature (Mother of the Earth). It is what can call: “He sees where there is the deepest obscurity; he hears where there is no sound. In the midst of the deepest obscurity, he alone sees and can distinguish various objects; in the midst of a soundless abyss, he alone can hear a harmony of notes. Therefore where one deep is succeeded by a greater, he can people all with things; where one mysterious range is followed by another that is more so, he can lay hold of the subtlest character of each. (Chuang-tzu “Outer Chapter – Heaven and Earth”).
In addition to the “Spring on the Southern Rivershore”, Chen Li-wei also brought along her works from Salon des Beaux Arts 2016 as well as a piece that seems different from her works of other series: “Purple rain”. After talking with her I learned that she was accidentally inspired while creating Flowers Series.
This year she has the honor to be selected by the famous TAIPEI 101 (one of the world's tallest skyscrapers, and the tallest building in Asia) to exhibit her works in their galleries. Chen Li-wei specially created the huge-sized “Pure fair” for this exhibition. When she was creating the “Pure fair”, she suddenly felt that the sense of "spectacular rituals" when a peacock is fanning its tail had great similarity with the full-blooming flowers. In this “Pure fair”, the artist cleverly merged the peacock flaunting into the blooming peony plexus – as if it is another type of peacock flaunting, and the result was both interesting and ornamental, all while stimulating the imagination of the viewers.
Since then, peacock frequently appears in Chen Li-wei's works and gradually cross-corresponding with her another series, “Animal”. This “Purple rain” is a perfect combination of cherry blossom and the play of peacocks. It has a strong sense of ornamental and is both colorful and eye-catching. The light and dark of the pinkish orchid colors and its control make this piece look mysterious, lively and gentle all at the same time. The visitors would all stand staring at this piece for a long while.
The most surprising and commendable thing is that Chen Li-wei did not go through a single day of professional fine arts training. Starting painting after the age of 40, she seems clearly realized that she was born to paint just like many other genius artists, just that it took her a little longer to figure this out than most others did and to find a way to dialogue with herself. Transformation takes time and process, and Chen Li-wei spent half her lifetime to wait for it.
However, the flower blossom after a long and freezing winter is meant to be even more precious and magnificent. The god-given strong vitality of maternal nature guides the female artist’s profound creativity just like a pair of invisible hands. Her self-contained expression techniques and styles make each and every work of hers looks delicate and seems to be of superior inspired . Chen Li-wei dialogues with the surrounding mountains, rivers, grass and woods through her paintings. Her fully imaginative works contain very rich life energy and love, reminding us all the time about the interdependent relationship between us, the tiny human, and the nature. All and all, Chen Li-wei not only gives the nature a new meaning and emotion, but also opens up an extraordinary, beautiful and wonderful scenery for herself.
President of Union des Artistes d'Asie en France
Chinese writer and art critic in France
Yuhong HE
December 16, 2016 in Paris