Write the issue on ground in the sky

　　——Preface for exhibition by Fu Yuxiang

　　Wang Lin

　　The Chinese receives the tradition of harmony between man and nature; throughout history they have the habit of “the world is uneven and howl to heaven”. “Ask the heaven”—a literature by Qu Yuan, many questions in it are actually human thing rather than Heaven. There is a character “Xiang” which means “fly” in his name Fu Yuxiang, probably is also the meaning that his parents let him yearn for the sky.

　　After reading a recent batch of Lao Fu’s works, I feel we are indeed living in an established knowledge construction and the cultural psychology, the significance of art can only occur within and beyond it, and the focus of internal and external connections, I think, is the question awareness of contemporary art.

　　Responding to the infringe that man to nature, the harm that man to the animals and the man problem in the relation between man and heaven, Fu Yuxiang has drawn a large number of works that of the main image are animals. Besides the individual work in which we can see stripped, ripped birds, he did not deliberately exaggerate to the bloody animal mutilations. On the contrary, the writing animals and people often have the same status: with wings of angel, wearing spacesuits walking on tumble cloud and so on. Regardless horror twisted dynamic, or quiet pleasant expression, Fu Yu Xiang made special treatment in almost all the details, imagine combination between people and birds, or abnormal mating between different animals, or confrontation and conflict between aircraft diving instrument and objects. It could be seen that the artist wants to increase the readability of the picture contents, provide an entrance for audience, which entered the experience of the picture its own.

　　Fu Yuxiang takes the major drawing language by the gradual change of monochrome black-and-white; these works are more pure and in place compared with his past works. Its fuzzy sense of wiping smudging or bleeding brought the coordination harmonization and distinctive flavor for the picture, it can be said that it is the heterogeneity use for the effect of ink infiltration. This material conversion brought audience a visual experience of "out-of thinking", it is strange and surprising. During in the shade depth mottled ambiguous changes, Fu Yuxiang obtained a certain freedom during the process of drawing, the picture is smooth and vivid because it is natural and free, it is no longer merely the results of subject association and impression combination. Or, after many years of research and experience, Fu Yu Xiang has bred his personal growth of painting language. To any one of artists this is difficult and elusive.

　　Today, the relationship between human and nature is indeed our doubts. Explore the universe or gene transfer, we do not know what the consequences will result. Maybe we can put into action as the Green Party did, outside society, but we may also be such as Lao Fu be sentimental, lingering in mind. Such emotional tendencies, through the rendering of drawing, diffuse the whole picture, it is not only the concept but also the form, not only present but also different. In contemporary painting area, the reason that realist art is difficult to have the achievement is that, the access from subject to the significance has been walled up by the past inertia ideologies. Art must be different, strange and further alienation to alienation, only in this way can it be kept apart from the dark, really be at presence, and enter the cultural context of present tense. So painting is not only the problem what to paint in picture but how to paint it. To Lao Fu, write the issue on ground in the sky, is a good start. No matter whether there is answer from the sky or not, people on earth would certainly have the response. This response is different from the established knowledge construction and the cultural psychology, and enlightens the initiative spirit; in the provocation, provocative and challenges between art and reality, it makes them be aware, in advance and to update.

　　Responding to recent works of Lao Fu, I wrote the words above as the preface.

　　February 24, 2008

　　Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Peach blossom hillside