Huang Jinming's art workOne afternoon in 2005, sunshine spread on a lake, quiet as a mirror. I sat in Beijing Art Now Gallery, looking out through a bay window. Auctions at that time were not as flourishing as they are today, and those involved in contemporary Chinese art were relatively calm. Everyone minded their own business, like that darkness before dawn, it seemed that everyone was awaiting a miracle. I can’t remember who brought me the catalogue, large in size with few pages, and told me it contained the works of an artist from Luoyang. Luoyang didn’t seem to be anywhere on the map of contemporary Chinese art. I flip through many catalogues everyday, like the blinking of my eyes, but most of these thick catalogues are only pages bound together, powerless and mute – unable to convey anything. But when I opened this one, even thought it was thin and printed on low quality paper, I felt suddenly washed by a storm, the wind blowing against my face. I almost sank with it. I have no way to describe how I felt at that moment, words are only clamoring, but books are not only pages. I immediately asked my colleague to get in touch with this artist named Huang Jinming, and I flew to Luoyang soon after. At the time, I felt a sense of immediacy, it was surreal, it was almost as though it was only a transient and awkward encounter. I took the earliest flight to Luoyang and Huang Jinming came to pick me up, he dressed casually, without any pretension or arrogance. When I saw the original works, I was shocked! Before this I couldn’t imagine that China had any works like that! I talked to Huang Jinming for an entire afternoon, and I flew back to Beijing the next morning. On my flight back, I felt a sense of estranged accomplishment. Later I showed critic Huang Zhuan some of Huang Jinming’s works. He said that these works were not at all tainted by contemporary art, they were great! In the days that followed, contemporary Chinese art took off into space, the auctions sent prices skyrocketing. Time and time again, I postponed the opening of Huang Jinming’s solo exhibition, I didn’t want the works to be sunk into the ocean of trade after their unveiling. Huang Jinming's art workHuang Jinming began by studying sculpture. Before we met, he almost never participated in exhibitions and didn’t know anyone involved with contemporary art. Furthermore, he never thought about selling his paintings – he only thought about painting, paintings that he put together in that thin and rough catalogue, made with the help of a friend. He thought that even without selling paintings he could become a master, and he was close to becoming one. Masters in his eyes were those of the classical era, like Michelangelo. He was once treated for mental problems, and he’s still taking medication. After his symptoms were treated, he once returned to the psychiatric hospital to teach the patients to paint. He said some things that touched me deeply, “those patients can only use colors to smudge and daub, but if one of the patients is able to paint a blue sky and white clouds, he is close to being checked out of the hospital.” Whose human sympathies can attain such a tender realm?Fundamentally speaking, Huang Jinming’s art belongs to the category of classical art. His use of the brush is purely classical, his composition is symmetrical and stable; he diligently pursues an effect of light, and his heart’s desires are also that of the classical masters. His use of ideas is odd, his thinking doesn’t belong to righteousness or evil, neither right nor left, all seem be to brushstrokes done by a spirit. There is no clear indication what his creativity refers to, the reasons for it. There is certainly no compendium of one hundred whys that might explain his creative intentions. We’ve had long conversations, his thinking is very clear and he expresses himself very logically, rather intellectually. But he credits all his creativity to his disease, he even believes it’s the disease that created him, created his art. This is like a fairytale, I want to believe this is a miracle. Coincidentally, the artist/curator Qiu Zhijie has also seen Huang Jinming’s, and has recommended them to others. His description of Huang Jinming’s work is, “they are awesome, because you have no idea how he came up with them.”Huang Jinming's art workHuang Jinming’s works have a shocking effect, some who have seen them think they are too provocative, some tremble, others have nightmares. In 2006, we participated in the Bologna art fair, the sponsor of the art fair, also the boss of a well-known Italian fashion company, saw Huang Jinming’s work as we were setting up our show, he was shocked and his jaw dropped. He asked me about the artist, and I said it was the first time his work had been shown. He was surprised, and kept telling the translator to tell me it was a miracle, an impossible miracle that had somehow taken place. He bought this painting right away, and told me to tell the artist that he would put that work in the Lobby of a five star hotel, as part of a permanent collection. Because Huang Jinming is passive and subversive, he has become a miracle that cannot be imitated. He did not follow any historical trend, but seems to belong to coincidence, he only respects his own sentiments and the masters’ ideals, being passive is being subversive, he did not choose to step onto the path of quick success. He’s like a pilgrim walking at night with heavy luggage. He has been building his own fairytale, a fairytale that doesn’t belong to any other kind, a fairytale nurtured in his solid yet colorful inner world. A palace like all other historical ones, with traps, intelligence, bloodshed, and Huang Jinming’s love for blood, cruelty and sex brings him close to a group of outsiders – Lucas Cranach, Greco, William Blake, Francis Bacon, Arthur Boyd, Paul Delvaux and others. I believe that even though Huang Jinming’s figures/setting/scenario/mood resemble those of the contemporary, yet he must have been nurtured and enlightened by classical art, especially gruesome religious art and classical legendary paintings. For instance, Castor and Pollux Abduct the Daughters of Leukyppos. Huang Jinming is endowed with the essence of classical masters from his limited knowledge of art history, and uses his own ideas to pass them on. Huang Jinming’s classical characteristics are ambiguous, like the flowing stream three feet under water, close to ice, yet flowing freely. Huang Jiming’s techniques are those of the classical, but it’s difficult to tell which school he has inherited them from, because he does not imitate without understanding or abstraction, rather he digests them slowly and stores what he learns. If one must summarize, I think his art is influenced by classical sculpture, especially by Michelangelo’s sculptures. Perhaps it came from his training. In terms of technique, Huang Jinming has two simultaneous aspects: one is complexity, to the point that he’s meticulously careful with the most minute details; one is crudity, that to ignore everything. These aspects existing in the long term is no doubt a contradiction, but Huang Jinming doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, perhaps it was the side effect of his severe disease, and the long term healing. Often times, talents are outstanding and different from commoners. Huang Jinming's art workIn Huang Jinming’s recent works, he has almost completely wiped away the sentimental elements, and replaced them with a frigid sense of fairytale, his liberal thoughts have freed the brush, the war zone shown on canvas vividly speaks of the unspeakable of our era. It is difficult for us to categorize or explain what these works represent, because we can’t obtain an answer of cause and effect. Huang Jinming’s works are open, open endlessly, like a dragon diving into the sea, a tiger returning to the mountain. In fact there have been a few crucial problems in explaining contemporary art: one is misreading, but who can actually avoid it? And often artists accept misreading. So, what’s the meaning of misreading? Secondly, there are those who use twentieth century or even earlier theories to explain contemporary art, what’s the meaning of that? Thirdly, to categorize art in general, put them into a dead end, what is the significance of that? So I think that sometimes it’s better to look at art with our own senses, and Huang Jinming’s art can provide you that sense of being lost instinctively. How great to be searching!Huang Jinming’s art is vivid and cruel, such vividness and cruelty is a praise to life, it’s positive, with a halo. Huang Jinming’s art is vivid and cruel, but such vividness and cruelty is dissecting and slapping the mundane, a question and evaluation of the surging forward artistic mood and secular social taste. Huang Jinming’s art is glamorous and powerful, it speaks loudly yet criticizes sharply, giving the old sayings and tunes no place to hide. Huang Jinming’s art is nevertheless exciting, such excitement is either accompanied with cursing or ridicule, it’s still disturbing. How long since we have been this excited?! It is not the excitement of being part of an important exhibition or artworks collected by a museum, but a joy of the spirit! How lucky for those who love art!May Huang Jinming’s work sprint madly forward in this time of shepherd songs.