The Heart of the Landscape (Excerpt)
Mr. Zhou Linsheng has worked figure painting and has solid modeling skills. Later, he favored scenery and persistently insisted on landscape sketching. The opportunity that prompted him to mature professionally stemmed from the fact that he had the privilege of meeting a warm-up sketching group organized by Mr. Zhao Youping, Li Tianxiang, Wen Lipeng, Du Jian, Su Gaoli, Li Huaji and other gentlemen in Mancheng, Hebei Province in 1972, and spent more than twenty days with these gentlemen day and night, painting together during the day, listening to advice under the lamp and under the moon at night, and then constantly bringing paintings to the homes of the gentlemen for advice. In 1983, he entered the Central Academy of Fine Arts for further study, and in the process of completing the basic skills training, Mr. Li gradually entered the thinking and pursuit of artistic ontology.
During his work at the People's Fine Arts Publishing House, Zhou Linsheng undertook the compilation of many volumes of the "Complete Works of Chinese Art", served as the executive editor of "China Art" magazine (Cheng Dali was the chief editor), and was commissioned by the Taiwan Fairview Publishing House to edit the "Appreciation of Chinese Famous Paintings" (5 volumes), all the contacts were ancient and modern masterpieces, and the vision would naturally improve; and Mr. Li had a solid literary foundation, and in recent years, the Writers Publishing House and others have published five long novels in a row, and the fertile soil of literature will inevitably nourish his art seedlings. It is said that "kung fu is outside the painting", the painter to a certain time, relying on skilled skills alone can not go up, the front grinding gun to read a few books does not solve the problem, must be soaked in the scroll for a long time, the painting will have a book atmosphere; there is a third factor: Mr. low-key, practical, sincere, not vain, not to show, is a person who sinks into his inner world. His inner world is active and fierce, and he is a person with a strong artistic temperament. It is often said that "painting is like its person", first of all, we must cast the character and personality of the painter, and the painting will have taste, which is true.
Therefore, when Zhou Linsheng paints landscapes, he will not stay at the technical level and will not be satisfied with painting objects. His landscape points directly to the "heart of literature". In the face of the scenery, he must not only convey the vivid and expressive side of the object, but also express his subjective feelings, emotional excitement, and thinking about the events of life. In order to do this, he needs to change the scene in front of him moderately, so that the picture presents the scene in his heart. In the words of the gentleman: "Only from the heart can enter the heart." "Savoring his paintings, there is a strong emotion, and there is a spirit and soul hidden in them.
For example, in the valley, in the dim light of the canyon, the mountains are black, the earth is black, and the stones are black. Only the water that reflects the light of the sky is white; the weeping willows and a gray wet cloud full of tender green are the transition between black and white. The author summarizes the chaotic canyon into simple objects and color blocks, clearly embodying a "ghost" word and conveying a desolate and lonely mood. At the same time, the painter uses the "house leak marks" flowing with turpentine at the time of the draft, which not only has a vivid sense of reflection and swaying, but also causes a sense of trembling and tears in the heart. Good scenery, both physical and expressive and lyrical.
"Summer Wind", "Return" and "Sting" all highly refined and summarized the scenery, and unmistakably expressed a certain spirit and emotion, with symbolic meaning. The lead-heavy clouds in "Sting", the horizontal painting and vertical wipe, the vast land of passion, and the galloping horses shooting into the distance like arrows all tell the story, ambition and passion of their generation at the beginning of reform and opening up; "Summer Wind" is much calmer. Trees, weeds, and lead clouds surged in the wind, and the red dirt road stretched out into the distance. Although there is still passion, there is still a distance, the earth is still vibrant, but it has been shrouded in a faint poignancy, permeated with a little sadness; the posture, steps, and demeanor of the horse in "The Way Home" accurately reflect the mood and emotion that the author needs to express: loneliness and loneliness, as well as a relief, leisure and tired joy. The vast land and the faint sunlight in the painting all appropriately set off this sense of loneliness and joy. I seem to feel that these three paintings are portrayals of the lives of Mr. Three ages.
The literary and lyrical nature of landscape painting is undoubtedly one of the important characteristics of Zhou Linsheng's artistic style. Looking back at his artistic trajectory, it is really because the dual power of literature and painting has been rooted in his heart too deeply and has a long history.
There are also paintings that do not have much literary attribute and tend to be visually expressive. For example, "The Age of Iron and Steel", which shows the steel factory in the 1970s, although it is a landscape painting, it accurately grasps the entrepreneurial era that is both poor and backward, but also full of passion and hope; some of the sketches painted in Sichuan Moxi are such good works. Because of his delicate and sensitive thoughts and keen ability to capture the characteristics and inner feelings of the object, these paintings appear to be familiar with each other, and express strong emotions and rich connotations in horizontal and vertical smears.
Cheng Pei, Ph.D. art historian of the Central Academy of Fine Arts
Gomu, whose real name is Zhou Linsheng, a native of Xiangxiang, Hunan, graduated from the Department of Chinese of Capital Normal University in 1966. In 1984, he graduated from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is a member of the China Artists Association and an editor of the People's Fine Arts Publishing House. He was the director of the editorial office of classical and periodicals and the executive editor of China Art magazine.
Focusing on oil painting landscapes, he has published "Chinese Contemporary Art Masters - Zhou Linsheng Special Edition". The print "Apple and Volcano" was selected for the Ninth National Art Exhibition and was included in the Complete Collection of Modern Chinese Art. In the same year, the oil painting "Summer Wind" participated in the Beijing Fine Arts Exhibition and was selected to be sent to the National Art Exhibition. In 2002 and 2004, he was invited to hold two exhibitions of the couple's art works in IOWA Des Moines, USA. In 2011, he was invited by the Russian Gallery to host a small oil painting exhibition, and his works were purchased; he wrote a long fairy tale "Pig Forward Arch", "The Tale of Animal Feuds in the Sinkhole", "The Fall of an Animal Dynasty", a novel "Confucian Bandit", a long fairy tale "Paper Man Country"; published a film literary script "Tu Teng Festival" and some art papers.
—— Appreciation of works ——
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