This exhibition focuses on Liu Xiaodong's "Your Friends" series created when he returned to China in the early stage of the epidemic in 2020, as well as related creative manuscripts, diaries and recent documentaries, focusing on the artist's creative practice in recent years. This touring exhibition is also the second solo exhibition held by Liu Xiaodong at UCCA in Beijing after the 2010 solo exhibition "Golden City Kid".
Artist Liu Xiaodong. Image courtesy of UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
In the exhibition, Liu Xiaodong chose writer A Cheng, director Zhang Yuan, Wang Xiaoshuai and other people as portrait models for this series of works, portrait is an ancient subject, in the current diversified art world, painting portraits is more like an adventure, but Liu Xiaodong is still continuing this ancient thing, painting specific and visible people, paying attention to individual life and the growth and change of society. His paintings have a cold lens like a documentary, but also with the artist's delicate feelings about the characters and the poetic expression of life, in Liu Xiaodong's view, portrait creation is the process of exploring a person's heart, but also explores the relationship between the author and others.
"Your friends": This age should be more expressive of others
"Your Friend" is Liu Xiaodong's second solo exhibition at UCCA after "Jincheng Kid". In 2010, the background of "Jincheng Boy" is the northeast industrial zone, the social background of Liu Xiaodong's hometown, this time "your friends" focus on a few people, more specific expression of each person's mental state.
Solo exhibition "Liu Xiaodong: Your Friend" scene. Image courtesy of UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
In September 2020, Liu Xiaodong returned to China from Isolation in New York and officially began to prepare for the solo exhibition "Your Friends". Liu Xiaodong wanted to present a picture of getting along with his friends who spent the second half of his life together, and at first he thought of painting friends he had known for more than 30 years, and finally he painted three people: Ah Cheng, Xiao Shuai and Zhang Yuan. The idea came from the inspiration of Acheng, who has known Acheng for nearly thirty years and has always positioned him as an "older brother like a spiritual teacher". Ah Cheng told him that to paint more than ten is to express yourself, to paint less characters is to express others, Liu Xiaodong feels that he is not young, this age should express more others.
Liu Xiaodong, ACheng, 2020, oil on canvas, 270×230 cm. Images courtesy of the artist
In addition to friends, Liu Xiaodong also hopes to find characters in life that can be contrasted with these three intellectual identities, so he chose his mother and brother in his hometown, plus his wife Yu Hong, which constitutes the basic clue of this exhibition.
Liu Xiaodong, "Mama Brother and Me", 2021, watercolor on paper, 34× 25.5 cm. Images courtesy of the artist
The title "Your Friend" was contributed by Zhang Yuan. Zhang Yuan often put the phrase "your friend" as a mantra, Liu Xiaodong thought, then the exhibition is also called "your friend". The closer the person, the more difficult it is to paint, must be painted very well, Liu Xiaodong said, friends are not good at painting, even if everyone feels like, in his own heart is still not like, the taste is a little wrong need to be restarted. Because I must know what he (she) is like after so many years of getting along, but it is similar to others, so painting portraits is a particularly strict process of facing yourself, a kind of test, "almost can't stand it myself." ”
Creation: The friends who are painted are in familiar places of life
The relationship between the environment and the characters also has a unique relationship in Liu Xiaodong's paintings. In the process of painting Wang Xiaoshuai's work, after the painting was completed, he took it to the studio, always felt that there was a shortcoming, just a cat came to the studio, Liu Xiaodong painted the cat, easy and natural and just right; Acheng's paintings seem to be inadvertently broken carpets, placed outdoors, wind and sun and rain, painted sparsely, the characters and the environment echo each other, complement each other. These details are a perfect reflection of the core characters.
In Liu Xiaodong's view, the subject of the painting is not only himself, but also his friend. He wants his friends to be more natural and relaxed in a comfortable environment. Therefore, the scenes of each person in the painting are the places of life that they themselves are extremely familiar with and accustomed to. Liu Xiaodong painted Zhang Yuan in his home, and Zhang Yuan directly nestled on the sofa. Zhang Yuan likes to drink coffee with wine, and often his face turns red as soon as he drinks. In the process of painting, Zhang Yuan often sat and sat, and he slept with his head down, and Liu Xiaodong would not wake him up at this time. When Zhang Yuan was asleep, Liu Xiaodong painted other places, and after a while Zhang Yuan woke up and continued to sit well, and Liu Xiaodong continued to paint. "Zhang Yuan is a very happy person, humorous, loves to tell jokes, and he also has characteristics and is good at painting."
Liu Xiaodong, DaYuanzi, 2020, oil on canvas, 150×140 cm. Images courtesy of the artist
When painting Wang Xiaoshuai, there is a big "hot pot" in front, and Liu Xiaodong often throws the paper of the pen into the "hot pot". Wang Xiaoshuai is the earliest friend That Liu Xiaodong knew, the two of them went to school at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, they were together at the age of fifteen or sixteen, Wang Xiaoshuai was one session lower than Liu Xiaodong, the relationship was particularly good, and the time for the two people to fall in love was almost the same, "We are in love together, and the four people often go out to play together." Later, Wang Xiaoshuai was admitted to the film academy, and Liu Xiaodong was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts. When Wang Xiaoshuai was studying, Liu Xiaodong liked to go to the film school to play with him, and Wang Xiaoshuai simply used Liu Xiaodong and Yu Hong as the main actors and made his film debut "Winter and Spring Days". Liu Xiaodong said that in that movie, he remembered that he was walking around, "At that time, people in the film school watched films like Antonioni and the New Wave, and were influenced by the writers' and authors' films, so the requirements for actors did not need dialogue, just walking around." ”
Liu Xiaodong, Xiao Shuai, 2020, oil on canvas, 260×220 cm. Images courtesy of the artist
In this exhibition, there is also a group portrait of everyone together, Liu Xiaodong painted himself in the shadow, "Everyone is jumping out, need a person in the shadow, I am more suitable, but also observing them." "The people in the picture are all friends who grew up together, they play together, they grow up and play again, they support each other and influence each other.
As the most familiar person in life, how to paint his wife Yu Hong, Liu Xiaodong has been thinking for a long time. Liu Xiaodong has painted her at different life nodes, how to paint this time, where to paint appropriately, Liu Xiaodong has been conceiving, and later he felt that the courtyard in the studio of the two was very good, simple, with the red wall as the background. Yu Hong is very easy to draw, her face Liu Xiaodong has painted many times, and she knows how to draw. The factors of this painting are very small, only one person stands in front of the wall, Liu Xiaodong hopes to find something shaky to form a contrast, so he adds a tree shadow to the picture, reducing the texture of the hard state on the wall, and the whole painting comes alive.
Liu Xiaodong, Yu Hong, 2020, oil on canvas, 260×220 cm. Images courtesy of the artist
There is also a painting of Yu Hong and her daughter Hong Bao'er lying together in the exhibition, in which the two lie on their sides, which in Liu Xiaodong's view is the posture of "tigress protecting the cub".
Liu Xiaodong, Yu Hong and the Red Child, 2020, Oil on canvas, 152×213 cm. Images courtesy of the artist
The painting of his mother and brother was in October 2020, when Liu Xiaodong returned to the northeast, the weather was just right, and the morning sun was clear and bright. Liu Xiaodong used to start painting in the afternoon, but he felt that the morning light in his hometown was too unique, and his brother did it in the clear morning sun. Painting the mother is in the afternoon, there is also light in front of the room, the mother leans on the house to bask in the sun, the whole person is warm. "My mother protects the calves, and she doesn't move to let me draw, and I feel so sad."
Liu Xiaodong, "Old Mother", 2020, oil on canvas, 150×140 cm. Images courtesy of the artist
Life: "It is better for painters to talk less and paint more"
Narrative is the most basic function of realistic painting. In Liu Xiaodong's creation, we can see the poetic expression of ordinary life. From the end of the twentieth century, Liu Xiaodong left the studio to sketch in various parts of China and all corners of the world, from Jincheng in the northeast of his hometown to Kinmen in the south of China, from Taihu Lake to the steep Three Gorges Reservoir area in the southwest, he painted the sides and moments of China's urbanization process.
Liu Xiaodong always insists on painting and painting figurative paintings on the spot, and he feels that "people" are the most wonderful existence in creation. To do exhibitions abroad, Liu Xiaodong's realistic works still pay attention to "people", not only the painting style is realistic, but also contains the spirit of realism behind it. Liu Xiaodong's solo exhibition at the 2016 Art Gallery at the Palazzo Sastroucci in Florence, Italy, depicted the refugee problem facing Italy that year, and in 2020, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Dallas, usa, he focused on the border issue.
In 2020, Liu Xiaodong created a batch of watercolors on paper during the epidemic quarantine in the United States. Because the epidemic was stranded in the United States, he simply picked up a paintbrush and painted new York in the midst of the epidemic - the citizens under the streets, parks, and intersections. Because he caught up with the epidemic, various factors determined that it was reasonable for him to paint watercolors. Liu Xiaodong stayed in New York for nine or ten months, from winter to autumn, at that time he wanted to paint some small works, stay in the house all day, always have to do something, the conditions are limited, it is impossible to paint oil paintings in a small house, "It is still good to paint some watercolors, every day always feel that I can spend the past." During the epidemic, everyone was bored at home, and the same was true in the United States, and they couldn't come and go, so they couldn't find something for themselves to do. ”
Liu Xiaodong still retains a fixed habit of life, generally a few days a week morning he has teaching tasks, the afternoon has never passed the class, so he developed the habit of painting in the afternoon. Even if there is no class in the morning, Liu Xiaodong will not paint, even if he sleeps lazily, does the chores of daily life, and tries to free up the afternoon time to paint or think about painting.
"Painting is a logical relationship, not just painting the nose and mouth, the things on the side are very useful." Liu Xiaodong to a self-portrait of himself as an example, self-portrait almost halfway to the void, Liu Xiaodong painted to the half of the feel finished, painting bad, because the number of paintings is too many times after it is particularly unhappy, and finally did not want to throw, the background is aggravated, the front becomes better, "Sometimes the painting is not good, such as the nose, into the local more and more painting is not good, change the way of thinking, the other places are aggravated and brightened, it exists again." ”
Liu Xiaodong, Self-Portrait in the Kitchen (Black Ink), 2021, Ink on Paper, 31×31 cm. Images courtesy of the artist
Referring to the recent happy things, Liu Xiaodong said that he went to the Summer Palace a few days ago and was very happy, "Many people skate on the big ice rink in Kunming Lake, and I rarely see so many people." Every skater seemed happy and I was in a good mood. ”
Liu Xiaodong, who has rarely been exposed in public in recent years, said that he said too much, easily appeared greasy, and occupied media resources, which was not good. "I think it's better for a painter to talk less and paint more." He does not like to express his works in words, but hopes that everyone can get their own interpretations from his works, and this blank space is also the charm of art.
【Dialogue】
Liu Xiaodong: Only by staying focused and relaxing at the same time can we paint more like it
Beijing News: For so many years, you have been insisting on realistic painting, painting so many characters and portraits, compared with the "Golden City Boy" 10 years ago and this time "your friend", what is the difference in creative feelings?
Liu Xiaodong: I hope to be able to paint a little more restrained, a little more honest, a little more crisp. Unlike "The Golden City Kid", in fact, I am not painting a group portrait or a general public image this time, and I am also a few people around me, drawing two of their combinations. Because this is an exhibition, if you only paint their portraits, you feel that there is still a lack of atmosphere in which they are together. So for the sake of the integrity of the exhibition, I think it is necessary to paint two collective portraits of them in one piece. I try to paint as sincerely as possible, at least in a divine form. These people who want to paint are very picky people, they all understand art, there is no need to engage in so many forms of exploration in them, honestly say a sentence completely, and state the sentence clearly.
Beijing News: You said that you hope to be able to draw a little more introverted, can it be understood that not so many techniques are used?
Liu Xiaodong: Yes, this kind of technique is another matter for me, and the technique has to be solved by itself. Whether it is a simple background or a complex background, for the skill, the simpler the more difficult, the more things the better to draw, the fewer things the more difficult to draw. I just want to find a way to honestly explain and draw them. Like you said, Zhang Yuan is too much like his strength, the transmission of this energy should be particularly focused, but also particularly relaxed, too tight easy not to be like him, if not focused to reach his taste. Compared to my previous creations, the difficulty is that it is difficult here, you have to stay focused and relax at the same time to draw more likely.
Poster of the documentary "Your Friend", image source: Yang Bo
Beijing News: When you paint now, you will feel more relaxed than your creative state 10 years ago?
Liu Xiaodong: You should learn to relax. At the same time it is a very focused thing, you can relax the brushwork color, but the whole process is focused. I hadn't thought about it before, but at a certain age I found that concentration is really a very important element, and in the process of painting you will suddenly reach a state of self-forgetfulness, which is the best time. That kind of "self-forgetfulness" is a state that you can only achieve after you have been focused for more than an hour and a half, two hours.
Beijing News: In the past few decades, the pace of social changes has been very fast, in your opinion, what changes in the mentality and state of young people who are now studying painting or art compared with your generation when they were young?
Liu Xiaodong: In terms of talent, every session has talented children, and every session also has people who are not suitable for this line of work and who accidentally walk into this line. There are those who are in the wrong line, and there are those who are like fish in the water. Who is suitable for this, who is not suitable for this, can not be generalized, you now feel that he is not suitable, maybe in a few years he will rise, art has miracles. Art tortures people because it has miracles. This miracle is determined by many aspects, and it is the first, as well as opportunities, changes, and social choices. And I think that young people's love or acceptance of art is much higher than before. Many young people are used to going to the art museum to see the exhibition, and now the audience of the art museum is young and trendy, and many people in the art museum are no less than the people in the cinema, and entering the art museum has become a new social trend, which is very good, which was unimaginable before.
Beijing News: What themes will you have now, are you in your conception or do you still want to continue to create?
Liu Xiaodong: If there was no epidemic, I would have wanted to go to Macau to draw casinos. I think there's a kind of "human drama" in the casino, and I've always preferred a little bit of drama in everyday life, which is very interesting.
Beijing News: When you are usually fine, will you watch movies at home?
Liu Xiaodong: First of all, I don't know how to use computers, and now movies need to be rummaged through in the computer to find them. In the past, I saved a lot of DVDs and DVDs, and I almost watched them, and I didn't know where to buy them. Like this time I participated in the Pingyao Film Festival, I felt that it was an eye-opener to see what kind of movies young people all over the world are making, and I saw a lot of excellent films in less than a week, which I thought was remarkable. The film is truly fascinating, and it's refreshing that young people do give the most enthusiasm and creativity. I also didn't expect them to shoot so well, very good.
Beijing News: Do you feel anxious about age?
Liu Xiaodong: People will get old, don't struggle too much, just be afraid of struggling until the old age, an old man has to be a young man, this must be deformed. When you are young, you have more strength and better explosiveness, and when you are old, you can slow down a little and be a little more concise. Creativity and physical strength are certainly better at a young age, but drawing is a special profession, and unless you are a genius, even if you die in middle age, you are still a great genius. As an average person, old age still needs to reach a peak, and what you paint when you are young is more meaningful. Therefore, when the painter generally reaches old age, it is the time when all his talents and energy are really tested, and "old age" becomes particularly important. In youth, everyone has creativity, everyone has physical strength, everyone will have a lot of things to express, and when they are old, can they still express something? The difficulty increases.
Liu Wei, chief reporter of the Beijing News
Senior Editor Tian Kaini Proofreader Wu Xingfa