神秘的来客——陈承卫英国伦敦个展

                                                                                                                                   Unexpected  guest——Paintings by Chen Chengwei

For artists, the painting of a self-portrait is in no way as simple as a drawing exercise. A self-portrait is an artist’s mirror, and it proves his/her existence. The emergence of the self-portrait during the Renaissance signified the rising status of the artists in the field of the liberal arts. It implied artists were no longer being considered only as craftsmen, but as autonomous creators of ideas turned into visual artworks. In an era without photographic media, a self-portrait could only be achieved by those with the expertise to evoke a likeness. Self-portraits acted as the artists’ autobiography within an image, tracing their styles as well as personalities and recording the ebb and flow of their lives

.陈承卫作品

Chen Chengwei seeks to know and discover himself through self-portraiture. Vincent Van Gogh once wrote to his brother, Theo: “If one day I can paint my self-portrait well, although it is hard, then I can easily paint portraits of the other men and women in the world.” Yet, it is never easy for people to paint themselves, for no one can see themselves clearly. However, a self-portrait not only allows the artist to practice the finer techniques of their craft but it also probes into the psychology of images; it is the external manifestation of mental activities through self-observation. When artists can seize their hidden selves by depicting specific traits - the slight upward curve of a lip, a shy light in the eyes, or an eyebrow with a hint of gloom - they can begin to find these hints in “other men and women in the world”. For this reason, Chen Chengwei insists on painting self-portraits.

Chen Chengwei exhibits this bravery through his continuous development of the self-portrait. He sees his “Autobiography” and “Republic of China” series as an act of self-exploration. Chen’s early work depicts a direct self-display reminiscent of Rembrandt and the “Autobiography” series stands as a salute to this master of the Baroque Period.  Echoes of Rembrandt’s compositions and emphasis on psychological insight can be seen in this series, adding drama and character to the artworks.  Rembrandt’s series of self-portraits bravely record his sorrow, sadness, freedom, and dignity. Chen Chengwei strives to create a similar mood through his direct gaze and bold touch. By placing himself as a player in historical scenes, Chen utilises both lighting and layering as symbolism so to add drama to his work. The most prominent of these contemporary ‘history’ paintings is Chen’s depiction of Eileen Chang’s novel 'Red Rose, White Rose'. Using pictoral iconographical elements that mirror the symbolism in the novel, Chen uses these images to exhibit his mastery of the art.

陈承卫作品

陈承卫作品

陈承卫作品

陈承卫作品

陈承卫作品

对于艺术家来说，自画像的绘画绝不像绘画练习那么简单。自画像是艺术家的镜子，它证明了他/她的存在。文艺复兴时期自画像的出现标志着艺术家在文科领域的地位日益提升。它暗示艺术家不再被视为工匠，而是作为创意的自主创造者变成视觉艺术品。在没有摄影媒体的时代，只有那些具有唤起相似性的专业知识的人才能实现自画像。自画像作为艺术家在图像中的自传，追溯他们的风格和个性，记录他们生活的潮起潮落。

陈承卫试图通过自画像来了解和发现自己。文森特梵高曾写信给他的兄弟西奥：“如果有一天我可以很好地描绘我的自画像，虽然很难，但我可以很容易地画出世界上其他男人和女人的肖像。”然而，它是人们从不容易自己画画，因为没有人能够清楚地看到自己。然而，自画像不仅允许艺术家练习他们的工艺更精细的技术，而且还探索图像的心理学; 它是通过自我观察进行心理活动的外在表现。当艺术家可以通过描绘特定的特征来抓住他们隐藏的自我 - 嘴唇略微向上弯曲，眼睛里有害羞的光线，或者带着一丝阴郁的眉毛 - 他们可以开始在“其他男人和女人”中找到这些暗示。世界”。因此，陈承卫坚持画自画像。陈承卫通过自画像的不断发展展现了这种勇敢。他将自己的“自传”和“民国”系列看作是一种自我探索的行为。陈的早期作品描绘了一种让人想起伦勃朗的直接自我展示，而“自传”系列则是对这位巴洛克时期大师的致敬。在这个系列中可以看到伦勃朗的构图和强调心理洞察力的回声，为艺术作品增添了戏剧性和个性。伦勃朗的一系列自画像勇敢地记录了他的悲伤，悲伤，自由和尊严。陈承卫通过直接的凝视和大胆的触摸，努力创造出类似的情绪。通过将自己置身于历史场景中，播放器利用照明和分层作为象征主义，从而为他的作品增添戏剧性。这些当代“历史”绘画中最突出的是陈对张爱玲小说“红玫瑰，白玫瑰”的描写。使用反映小说中象征意义的图像图像元素，陈使用这些图像来展示他对艺术的掌握。

陈的对自我的探索和描绘的承诺巩固了他在自画像的经典中的重要性。这次展览标志着陈的职业生涯中的关键时刻。他使用传统的欧洲技术来描绘整体中国主题，这标志着他是一位真正的国际艺术家。在画廊和艺术家致力于鼓励真正的全球艺术环境之后，他在阳光艺术中心的出现更加合适。

                                                                                                                                           自序

这次伦敦的个展《神秘的访客》有别于我以往的其他个展，在作品的筹备上，我进行了很多的筛选。此次展览作品涉及风景，静物以及人物，有不同时期的自画像，有大民国系列的作品，也有超现实主义的作品，内容上更加的丰富。从画面中能看出，我试图在致敬很多大师，如伦勃朗，弗洛伊德，巴尔蒂斯，玛格丽特，库尔贝，莫兰迪等等。我在运用精湛油画技巧的同时，观念和思想并没有被怠慢。我希望每一幅作品都能够传达我内心所要表达的想法，同时它们又源于我的真实生活和感受。画面在动与静的方面也做了很深的研究。我将中国的戏剧与哲学思想融入作品中，也将中国的民国的元素融到作品里。我擅长将戏剧性与神秘感进行融合，营造一种独有的视觉感受。这些作品将从信仰，神秘感，自我反思，观念，生活的思考，梦幻世界，性，美感等诸多方面进行了深入的解析。

这是我第一次到英国举办个人画展，我希望观众能够看到一位东方神秘主义艺术家是如何观察世界和思考人性的。

                                                    2018年8月3日

陈承卫