張新權的畫總讓人追溯記憶中的影像。
甚至，也不是記憶中的影像，而是這些影像中儲存的曾經的時光與曾經的生存痕跡。
藝術源於生活，但絕不是照搬生活。在當下的美術創作中，一些人往往把照搬生活理解為藝術對於生活的反映，致使許多作品難於突破日常的視覺經驗，作品成為生活笨拙的形象複製。現實主義精神是偉大的，但現實主義也不等於不經過心靈蕩滌、不表現精神訴求的生活模倣，不能呈現人的心靈與精神的作品，都只會停留于對生活表像的複製與再現。如果説藝術的本質還是在於對人類或個體精神情感的揭示，那麼，藝術的表現方式就不會局限于實錄與實寫。而且，從生活實寫跨越到心靈呈現，或許才是藝術家終生探求的最高境界。
表現精神訴求的方式是多樣的，張新權選擇的是具象表現主義。也即，他的作品總是和現實拉開一定的距離。無論描繪他生活過的《姑蘇系列》，還是呈現他生活閱歷的《上海外灘》《碼頭》和《海魂系列》，他都沒有完全使用寫實主義觀念去告訴人們這裡怎樣，這裡曾經發生了什麼，而是選擇某一場景或某一對象予以不受實寫束縛的象徵與表現。毫無疑問，他筆下的審美對象富有具象性的特徵，甚至也可以説，這些具象本身就是他訴諸精神情感的出發點。但他在呈現這些具象時，又不滿足於謹毛刻畫，而是從一種遙遠的距離予以審視，並從這種距離中進行想像性的抒寫、率性的誇張和直覺式的宣泄。他的藝術創造性便在於選擇什麼樣的對象、設置怎樣的審視距離和進行何種程度的想像與表現。
蘇州是他曾經生活的城市。中國文人筆下的太湖和油畫家筆下的小橋流水，都各盡其妙，風情萬種。而張新權則避開這些畫路，既不表現純粹的文人畫境界，也不像吳冠中那樣以黑白灰的形式節奏取勝。而是從陳舊的影像中獲取創作的靈感與觀照方式。不論《姑蘇滄浪亭》《姑蘇園林》《姑蘇雙塔》，還是《楓橋》《姑蘇往事》和《姑蘇西園》，都剃除了這些名勝的現場感，濾去了條件光色色彩變幻的豐富性，而置其于歷史的時空中，讓久遠的時光洗盡塵世鉛華。他畫面的那些名園佳地，仿佛因歲月長河的流淌而沉去昔日的浮華與喧囂，只淀出空寂與玄思。
如果説描繪蘇州的那些作品是他對於自己生活世界的某種過濾，那麼，《三江師範》和《金陵機器製造局》則完全是從歷史的影像中獲取的他對於時空變遷、人世俯仰的認知。作為曾經傳輸新潮文化與西洋文明的故址，這些建築已不復存在。畫面顯得如此的簡約與乾淨，仿佛一切都濾除了表像，只剩下黑與白的建築物象。但畫家卻在這極其簡約的對比中灌注了自己的情思——大面積近於無的天空已把建築嵌入了歷史，我們似乎可以在建築中尋聞到那個剛剛接觸西洋文明的時代人們焦慮與感奮的呼吸，耳畔似乎還回蕩起“長亭外，古道邊，芳草碧連天”的《送別》旋律。顯然，這些引人回溯與追憶的並不是真實再現了舊時場景，而是畫家對那些建築群彌散出的昏黃歲月感的捕捉，是畫家通過畫筆再造的歷史時空。畫面固然有寫實的成份，但更多的是通過想像與表現的再造，讓人們去追懷和重溫那樣一種歷史的遺存。
當江南無數條散漫的河流匯聚在一起的時候，便有了碧波盪漾、帆影綽約的太湖。而民國時代的川江似乎也被賦予了時代的色彩，無數條散漫的河流都匯入黃浦江而最終漂泊去了海洋。在張新權的創作經歷中，尋著這種審美路向，他的筆觸掠過了外灘的蘇州河，在喧囂而奢華的大上海駐了駐足便漂向大海。從《十里洋場》《有軌電車》到《蘇州河》《碼頭》《信號臺》和《風雲十六鋪》，他描繪了上個世紀東方樂園的繁華與嘈雜，但那近大半個世紀前的熙熙攘攘和今日新外灘的城際線判若兩重世界，讓人分明感到似曾相識的模糊印記。他的這些作品，具有實寫的框架，卻被歲月的筆觸塗抹得漫漶不清了，那帶著藝術家情思與個性的筆觸幾近靈動和灑脫，而靈動中掖著些許的憂鬱、灑脫裏醮著滿筆的凝重。實寫的是往昔的真容，漫漶的是今日的思緒。在具象與表現之間，他的那些畫面交錯著歷史與現實的影像和幻覺。這或許是張新權從此種藝術語言與觀念中表達的幽思與感嘆。
江南散漫的河流也終究逝去了洋場十里的奢華，有軌電車和外灘的汽笛最終都消散在寬闊無比的大海。不知曾有過怎樣的人生經驗讓張新權酷愛表現在海浪中翻騰的艦艇郵輪，但可以肯定的是，審美筆觸的尋繹最終使他從小橋流水的蘇州駛向了更富有個性、更富有激情的海洋，而遭受歷史風雨的海輪或許更能凸顯生命的張力與生存的搏擊。從《致遠艦》《食既》《巡邏艇》到《泊》《商船》《阿芙樂爾號》和《雪龍號》，他既以某些名艦指代歷史進程的轉變節點，也以大體量的海洋貨輪展示某種視覺衝擊。作為歷史的巨輪，海浪翻騰中的《阿芙樂爾號》《致遠艦》象徵著一個新時代的到來；作為鋼鐵的龐然大物，遠洋郵輪仍難敵海洋流體的擺弄與吞掠。前者象徵了歷史征程的艱難險阻，後者則隱喻了人類與自然的奮勇搏擊。他的這些作品一再讓人聯想到海明威對於大海的描述，廣闊無垠的大海與悠遠蒼茫的歷史不斷喚起人類的激情與想像，但在自然與歷史面前人類卻難逃生存與變滅的宿命。
張新權的作品總是跳出再現現實而站在一個遙遠的距離中審視事物的流變。過去式，是他觀照事物的一個基本審美方法。過去式，既讓他從現實中剝離而出，也使他從容地在“過去”之中尋求他的“自我”。因而，“過去式”也便成為他“表現性”的重要創作基點，正是從這種“過去式”中他找到了自己的藝術語言和訴求途徑。過去式，使他的作品都成了老照片和舊影像，而作品的魅力正在於對於這種影像不動聲色的敘述與追溯。
如果説，當代藝術的許多作品都不遺餘力地追求繪畫的圖像性，那麼張新權則努力把這種圖像和人們記憶中的影像與表現主義的潛意識結合在一起，從而增添了架上油畫當代視覺文化的審美經驗。
——中國美協理事、中國美協理論委員會委員、《美術》雜誌執行主編/ 尚 輝
2011年6月29日于北京22院街藝術區
Depiction and Tracing of Images
Zhang Xinquan’s paintings always remind us of images in our memory.
Or maybe, not images in our memory, but images that store the past time and existing traces.
Art originates from life, but never imitates it. In the current production of paintings, some artists often mistake art that imitates life for art that reflects life, which leads to the fact that many works can’t go beyond the daily visual experience. Works merely become awkward imitation of images in life. Realism is great, but it doesn’t necessarily mean imitating life images without any cleansing of souls or without any spiritual appeal. Works that can’t present human souls and spirits are merely copying and reproducing images in life. Since the essence of art is to reveal the spirits or emotions of human being as a whole or as individuals, the representation of art will not be confined to loyal recording and imitating. What artists should pursue as a lifetime goal is probably to span from imitating life images to presenting human souls.
Ways to present spiritual appeal could vary, and Zhang chooses concrete expressionism. That is, his works always draw away from reality. He never tells people what it was like or what happened here with realistic style, no matter in “Gusu” series or in “The Bund in Shanghai”, “The Wharf” or “Sea Soul” series. Instead, he breaks through restraint to depict and characterize a scene or an object. What he depicts is undoubtedly characterized by representationalism, from which his spiritual appeals stem. When he depicts, he is not confined to portray details, but to survey it in the distance, wherefrom he depicts imaginarily, exaggerates willfully and works off his emotions freely. His artistic creativity lies in his choices of objects, the distance to survey, and the extent of imagination and expression.
He used to live in Suzhou, a city that is affectionately portrayed by Chinese literators and painters about its Taihu Lake and picturesque bridges and streams, but Zhang tried to evade painting these. Literati painting is not his style, nor does he paint in rapid rhythm with blacks, grays and whites like Mr. Wu Guanzhong. Where he gets inspiration is those timeworn images. Either in “Canglang Pavilion in Gusu”, “Classical Gardens in Gusu”, “Two Pagodas in Gusu”, or in “Fengqiao Bridge”, “Moments in Gusu”, “West Garden in Gusu”, he removed the presence of these monuments, deprived them of the baffling richness of colors, just to place them in the historical sense. Vanity and uproariousness were washed away from those gardens and monuments, and only solitude and meditation were left in the paintings.
While those paintings about Suzhou is a leach of his life, “Sanjiang Normal College” and “Jinling Machine Factory” reflect his recognition of the changes of time and space and the ups and downs of life. As the sites to spread new culture and western civilization, they’ve already disappeared in history. The whole painting seems to be concise and neat, simply with black and white buildings themselves, without any presentation. But there the artist devoted all his emotions – the architecture is integrated to history by the endless sky. We could even sense the anxious and indignant breath of those people who barely exposed to western civilization. We could even hear the rhythm of “A Valediction”: Beyond the distant pavilion, beside the ancient road, fragrant green grass stretches far into the sky…… Apparently, what evokes retrospection is not the emersion of the original scenes, but the artist’s observation of the architectural complex through times, or the historical time and space created by the artist. Realism could be found in the painting, but more is the recreation with imagination and expression. It’s just for people to review the existing history.
When the rambling streams and rivers gather in the regions south of the Yangtze River, there forms the rippling Taihu Lake. Rivers of the Republic of China period seemed to be endowed with characteristics of the times, to witness that all the rivers converged to the Huangpu River and finally to the ocean. Along the aesthetic orientation, his paintings touched the Suzhou River in the Bund, and reached the ocean after a halt in the metropolis Shanghai. Either in “The Metropolis Old Shanghai”, “The Tram” or “The Suzhou River”, “The Wharf”, “The Signal Tower” and “The Shiliupu Wharf”, he depicts the prosperity and pandemonium of the eastern paradise in the last century. But the hustle and bustle in that century, compared with the totally different new Bund, left people just a vague impression. His works, with some realistic sense, are covered by historical marks. His strokes, full of passion and personality, are quite refreshing and free, integrated with melancholy and dignity. Wandering between representationalism and expressionism, his works are interwoven with images and illusions in history and reality. Maybe that is the meditation and exclamation of Zhang Xinquan in his artistic language and concept.
The rambling rivers eventually washed away the vanity of the metropolis, and the siren of the trams and vessels in the Bund finally vanished into the vast ocean. We have no idea what kind of experience aroused Zhang’s affection for the vessels that ride the wind and waves, but definitely, his aesthetic pursuit drives him to a more passionate and individual ocean from the picturesque streams and bridges in Suzhou. The weathered sea crafts might as well manifest the tension of life and struggle to survive. In “Zhiyuan Vessel”, “Second Contact”, “The Patrol Vessel”, “Lying at Anchor”, “The Merchant Ship”, “The Aphrodite” and “Xuelong Vessel”, he depicts the turning point of history with those distinguished vessels and demonstrates visual shocks with gigantic cargo vessels. As historic vessels, “The Aphrodite” and “Zhiyuan Vessel” withering in the waves stand for the arrival of a new era, but as gigantic steel ships, they will still be turned and swallowed by the ocean. The former symbolizes the hardships of history and the latter metaphors human’s struggle with nature. His works repeatedly remind people of Hemingway’s description of the ocean that the boundless ocean constantly arouses human’s ambition and imagination, but in face with history and nature, humans doom to survive and then vanish.
Zhang’s works always draw back from the reality to investigate the changes of things in the distance. The preterit is his aesthetic basis to reflect things. The preterit deprives him of the reality and drives him to pursue his ego. Therefore, the preterit, where he finds his artistic language and appeal, is the basis of his expressive painting. The preterit turns his paintings into old photos and images, where lies the spell of narration and retrospect.
Many contemporary works spare no effort to pursue the images of paintings, and Zhang strives to combine these images with expressionistic subconciousness, to add more aesthetic experience to the visual culture of the paintings.
-- By Shang Hui, Director in China Artists Association A Commissioner in the Theoretical Council of China Artists Association Executive editor-in-chief of Art magazine
June 29, 2011 In Beijing 22 International Art Plaza