由策展人平杰在麻州的世纪庄园策划的《润——文化对话系列展》。平杰说，这种对话的方式，就是“润”。润，与后殖民主义文化观的进入式完全不同，它是柔性的、水性的，同时又是个性的、韧性的，这也是水墨的特性。平杰介绍说，东来山庄是一座十九世纪的英式豪宅，曾是纽约银行首任行长的私家行宫。这是一种与博物馆和画廊完全不同的展示方式，所有作品将被嵌入在一个私人空间，它们将与十九世纪欧式建筑进行对话，相映成辉。参观者就如体验自己的客厅和私宅，品味东方艺术精神的滋润和气场。所有这些作品，都触及到一个共同的母题：能量——笔墨与空间的感知方式。水墨元素NO20160906李纲1962年生于广东普宁，现供职于中央美术学院。他的作品被广东美术馆、上海美术家协会、中央美术学院美术馆等收藏。此次个展将于8月10日开幕。展览地点：430 East St.Eastover,Lenox MA01240,详情参见：www.eastover.com。Li Gang's attitude towards art is nothing short of distinctive. His art hints at a "relax" attitude that seems to have run through the start of his journey in experimental ink to present, as well as a growing sense of "non-action". In facing the tangibly taxing subject of contemporary art with the concept of "non-action", the artist's strategy equates that of giving a double negative answer. Li's personality and temperament underline his work. "Non-action" does not refer to the absence of action. Through his reflection on the nature and value of art, his experiment of ink has entered an abstract state to an extent from the start. In the same vein as Western abstract drawing, his work seeks to build a universe of painting outside of the world of tangible images, giving an "autonomous existence" to painting.水墨元素NO.20130307It is difficult to execute such ideas in ink, since the form of painting carries inherently abstract attributes. However, the form is not entirely abstract, since the expression of its attributes relies on external subjects. There is infinite room to this tradition of "realm",which lies at the heart of the difficulty of experimental ink. Li's "relax" approach lies in his transcendence of the form of ink to reach its structure; it stems from his excluding of the limits and interference imposed on expression by tangible imagery, as the artist reaches the realm of "intangibility" and "non-imagery". Yet his "non-imagery" is not the abandonment of imagery, but the composition of images with imaginary strokes that have no association with or allusion to reality.水墨元素NO.20160516In his work are various orders that are self-contained, and these structures are often referred to as the "elements of ink". In my view, these "elements" are not isolated entities but form a coherent whole in the painting like in a DNA sequence. The birth of these elements is largely spontaneous and random, and yet it has its own organic order. In this context, we can see that Li's work stems from the same concept as those purely abstract paintings， as the artist transforms one’s feelings of the secular world into orders of painting. These orders belong to a mental realm where Li contemplates and where the self-contained structures of his work are born. To an extent, the success of experimental ink lies in the transformation of concept. However, the transcendence of ink and brush remains the essential question for all forms of experimentation, considering the long-established attributes of ink as a medium. The answer is tied to the transcendence of the formula of traditional ink and brush, which creates a new manifestation of the art form that echoes its evolving structure and concept.水墨元素NO.20130910In this regard, Li's work is ground-breaking. If he conveys a "relax" cultural attitude in the expression of his concept, he totally "lets go" of the execution of form and craft. He discards the traditional brush for objects that can be made use to leave traces of ink, blending the imprints of objects and drips, turning "painting" into "structure" to create a new and purer quality for the creative language. The repetitive imprints are symbols of the mind.水墨元素NO.20180101水墨元素NO.20180104水墨元素NO.20180105In gauging an artist's work, one must examine whether it manifests an inherent uniformity and formal expression in its concept and language. Li's art preserves the purity of painting and builds a unique order of the mind, while featuring imprints of daily objects that carry attributes of real life. This combination shapes Li's experience of ink, and shows the possibility of fusing the classical spirit and the randomness of daily life. On this level, his experimen demonstrates the key characteristics of contemporary art. His expression is set for infinite expansion in a rich artistic universe.
Dian Fan/ Critic,CuratoLi Gang, born in Guangdong in 1962, works and lives in Beijing. From 2002 to 2017, he held about 15 solo exhibitions in major galleries in China, galleries in France, Germany and the United States, and 30 group exhibitions in museums, galleries and art institutions in China and around the world.
展出作品水墨元素NO.201510扇F水墨元素NO.20130321水墨元素NO.20130638水墨元素NO.20140613水墨元素NO.20140806水墨元素NO.20140812水墨元素NO.20140814水墨元素NO.20150114水墨元素NO.20151001水墨元素NO.20160208