2012/05/19 (Sat) All the Raw Water

All the Raw Water 

Assessment of Sanzhi’s Paintings 

 

Mian Bu & Wang Yitong 

 

 

Sanzhi is a tremendously passionate artist. In him one sees a poetic sense of innocence, and a strong faith towards Chinese calligraphy. These are the qualities we find in Sanzhi’s artworks, whether seen from an Eastern or Western perspective. 

 

One argument in Western art history concerns whether there is, in fact, “pure abstraction” in art. Due to the connection between perception and conception, one will automatically begin to recognize familiar “visual symbols” in pictorial abstractions, and that even the process of “abstraction” is merely a process of “more to less” in visual representation. Sanzhi’s work does not point towards reduction in visual representation. He does not strive for formal abstraction, but an abstraction in concept and, perhaps even in consciousness, that expresses the essence of various senses. This is much like the manifesto of abstract expressionists. That is, to express through subjective means of the artist using colors and forms, rather than to describe or to imitate the natural world.

Kandinsky and Malevich in the early twentieth century, Pollock and Basquiat in the mid-twentieth century, as well as de Kooning in the late twentieth century, have all made such similar attempts, among which Sanzhi’s abstract art is perhaps most compatible with that of Jackson Pollock. In both artists’ works, within various colors and forms emerges a certain structure or totality. This structure or totality does not seem to be so composed and rational as appears in Mondrian’s later work, but has a certain sense of romance. It is a structure that manifests itself organically. In a way, Sanzhi’s paintings are lighthearted and dynamic like the Koans in Zen Buddhism——unexpected and playful——the artist does not explain nor does he care about whether there is so called “profound philosophy” behind these pictures. The viewer, besides appreciating the paintings, might only make a playful attempt to read deeper within. 

 

Again, Sanzhi and Pollock are similar in their manner and/or method of painting. The artist “syncs with” the paintbrush almost intuitively, allowing the paint to act freely on the canvas, thus leaving direct and bold expressions. Sanzhi combines Western abstractionism and Chinese ink painting, while the core of his artist creation lies in his faith towards his personal cultivation and intuition, as well as his faith towards the process of art making. 

 

In his artworks, there are colors that are light and heavy, the combination of which can be translucent or opaque. The lines and shapes seem still at a first glance, however, with the blink of an eye, these forms begin a constant play of moving and changing. Material assembles and disperses, while sounds and smells accumulate and swirl. Through means of abstraction, Sanzhi acquires the essence of various senses, so as to transform a picture into an environment in its totality, bringing into life every rock and every leaf, every flower and every tree, mountains and rivers, lands and oceans. This environ then returns to its most basics, that is, for instance, impressions of a child’s smile, the lover’s breath, the taste of food, and the confusion of dreams. Interestingly, Sanzhi’s paintings and his photographs share similar compositions and perspectives. This is perhaps because his heart and sight lie in the same place. When he paints, he stands, kneels, squats and lies on his canvas——it must be a blissful experience living amongst many such mini-universes. Picasso once said, it took me forty years to learn to paint like a child. For Sanzhi, too, the progress of aging is the path to returning to the state of a child, as his artistic expressions evolve into unbiased “perfection”. 

 

 

 

 

Mian Bu 

Poet, Founding Member and Art Director of Being 3 Art Gallery 

 

Wang Yitong 

Major Art History of Franklin & Marshall College 

Art Director of Being 3 Art Gallery