我与蔡兵先生在上海美协共事三十余年间，率真、友好相处，可谓知己，同时，也见证了他勤奋的艺术探索历程。

　　蔡兵生于上海，在海纳百川、多元化的大都市里—开放、前卫，可以容兼并包各种艺术表现形式，也是展示都市文化，开拓艺术创作的良好平台。

　　今年是他从艺创作50周年。他早期从事版画艺术，佳绩颇丰，首创“玻璃彩印版画”，获中国专利局发明专利。70年代起，立足于“现代中国画”研究和“融派”艺术的开创。他以时代的需要和活跃的创作热情，把现代文化与传统文化的审美意识融为一体，同时保持着时代感和张力;自我忘情的倾注于从中西文化元素中寻找现代观者的审美契合点;勇于尝试和挑战自我，为蔡兵“融”艺术开拓出新的生命力。它融于古今中外，为现代人传递作品的深度和广度;它融于大众，艺术是人类不可分割的领域，审美无需国界;它融于作品，驾驭于东西方文明的艺术载体与碰撞。因而蔡兵的现代中国画“融派”艺术，自成一格、巧于一体，令人耳目一新。

　　蔡兵还善于速写，速写本不离身，每到一处，兴致一来即挥手而成，因此积累了大量的速写画。他美术创作的灵感，多得益于这些来自现实生活的速写画。他常常根据速写画稿进行艺术提炼和再创造，所以几乎每幅作品都洋溢着现实生活的风土人情和生活气息。

　　著名画家刘文西见到蔡兵的作品后，欣然题字：“您热爱生活，尊重生活，作品就有生动感，亲切感和新鲜感”。蔡兵的作品通过观察社会，用智慧的精神价值，达到天人合一，现代与传统共存的和谐认同。其发扬博大精深的人文精神，使作品具有笔墨、彩色、构图、形式上的冲突，碰撞和张力。

　　他的展出作品在国内外为人称道。1985 年的作品《夜歌》获上海市美术一等奖，并获首届上海市文学艺术奖;1991 年的《新的崛起》获上海市美展优秀创作奖;1993 年首创“玻璃彩印版画”获国家发明专利证书;1999 年被中国版协评为80、90 年代“优秀版画家”称号，并获“鲁迅版画奖”;2001年《繁华的南京路》获日本第51回美展“秀作奖”;2002年《银装映红》获日本名古屋市教育委员会奖;2004年的《上海东方明珠》获全国当代书画展优秀作品一等奖以及其他多种奖项和荣誉。

　　值得注意的是，自20世纪70年代起，蔡兵孜孜不倦倾力于现代中国画探索和创作“融”艺术。蔡兵现代中国画已取得为人瞩目的成就。美术界前辈吴冠中先生说：“油画要民族化，中国画要现代化。”蔡兵晚年所专注的就是“中国画要现代化”。

　　蔡兵的“中国画要现代化”，他跳出中国画的传统笔墨构图和题材。这里的“跳出”并不是指拒绝中国画的一切传统，而是有所选择地吸收中国画传统的有益部分。蔡兵就是吸取了文人画中注重写意和抒发感情之长为自己所用，来进一步描绘现代生活题材。蔡兵的现代中国画运用的是传统中国画的毛笔作画和中国画传统颜料，并完全在传统中国画常用的宣纸上作画;同时，还融入了蔡兵善于速写的特点，增加了线条的流动性，并吸取西洋画印象派的色彩浓而明快对比的跳跃性以及融进蔡兵原先擅长版画讲求画面的整体性，并力避构图的雷同，构成其富有现代审美情趣和风格特色的现代中国画，达到画面的丰富、厚实，彩与墨的多幻变化。

　　艺术作品应有时代的发展基础和超前意能的社会责任，用现代意识和观念挑战现实以及心灵的直觉，描绘心中的感受。他的作品视角冲击力强烈，一下子能抓住人的审美眼球。正像著名画家程十发赠蔡兵先生墨迹所题：“‘神韵不凡有灵气’——蔡兵画友留念壬申冬月程十发赠”。

　　这次在中国美术馆将举行“蔡兵现代中国画展”，展出作品约八十幅左右。蔡兵的现代中国画作品，被收进中央文献出版社的《建国60年60家》画集、中国文史出版社的《蔡兵艺术》专集等，都标明蔡兵“现代中国画”。当然蔡兵先生创作的现代中国画，在美术界如果若有点争议，倒是好事情。因为艺术探索是无止境的，就是要在不断探索，有争议的反复思考实践中，求得日益提升和完美。何况，蔡兵是位艺术家中勇敢的实践求索者。然而，这种求索是可贵的，是值得赞赏和尊重的。蔡兵先生的艺术探索，向我们提出了一个重要的课题：现代中国画的探索和思考。

　　(本文作者系著名美术评论家、研究员、《上海美术志》常务主编、《中国美术大辞典》编委)

　　Mr. Caibing and I have been colleagues at Shanghai Artists Association for over 30 years. We are getting along well with frankness, knowing each other as confidants. Meanwhile, I witnessed his determined pursuit in art.

　　Caibing was born in Shanghai, where the high level of tolerance to various kinds of artistic styles and the diversity of the metropolis result in its openness and trend-setting role. All this displays the metropolitan culture and provides an excellent platform for artistic creation.

　　Up to now, Caibing has been in the field of art for 50 years. In the early years of his career, he was working on printing art and achieved great successes. As the inventor of Colored Glass Printing, Caibing was awarded the Patent of Invention by the State Intellectual Property Office of P. R. China. He has been absorbed in the research of modern Chinese painting and in the creation of artistic Integration since the 1970s. Owing to the demands of times and the active creative passion, he integrated contemporary culture and traditions without the loss of the sense of modernity and the artistic attraction. Absolutely bent on his search for the appreciators’ esthetic commonality between China and the western world, he rose to the challenge and made every effort to explore new elements in artistic Integration. This conception, giving rise to the profundity and scope of artistic works, is a perfect combination of the ancient and the contemporary and of China and other cultures. Its inseparable relations with the public reveal the fact that art is not complete without the bonds with mankind. Likewise, out of the crashes between the eastern and western civilizations does it find its way right into the artistic inventions as the carrier of various cultures. The modern Chinese paintings by Caibing, for the mentioned reasons, are an arguable symbol of artistic Integration which opens a new horizon by its unique style.

　　Sketching is Mr. Cai’s another strong skill. Whenever his irresistible impulse arises, Caibing will get down to the work. These accumulations of his sketching which found their source from the real world serve as the invaluable inspiration of Cai’s artistic productions. He often continues his work on updating and recreating these inventions and all of them completely symbolize the local culture and living surroundings in real life.

　　On seeing the works by Cai, the renowned artist, Liu Wenxi, excitedly commented with the following autograph, “You love your life with sincere respect. Your creations are filled with vividness, accessibility and novelty.” Cai’s productions, created through his careful observation of society with wisdom, make it a presence that modern lifestyles and traditions coexist harmoniously with mankind and nature tightly bound together. The humanities spirit embedded in these works results in the crashed of strokes, colors, picture-composing and forms, along with the collision and flexibility.

　　His works put on display have received admiring applause from home and abroad. In 1985, one of his works called Songs at Nighttime won first prize of art in Shanghai, as well as the Prize of Literature and Art in Shanghai at its first competition. His New Flourishing Power won the prize of Excellent Creation at Shanghai Artistic Exhibition in 1991. He was awarded the National Patent of Invention for his creation of Colored Glass Printing in 1993. In 1999 he got the title of the Eminent Printing Artist of the 80s and 90s from China Printing Association and won the “Luxun Printing Prize”. The Busiest Nanjing Road won the 51st Excellent Prize in Japan in 2001. Silvery Dress Stained Red won the Education Committee of Nagoya in Japan. And his Oriental Pearl in Shanghai won first prize in the National Contemporary Calligraphy and Paintings Exhibition in 2004. In addition, Cai has attained many other prizes and honors.

　　What is well worth mentioning is that Cai has devoted all his time and energy to the research of Chinese paintings and the creation of artistic Integration. His contemporary Chinese paintings have already achieved admirable accomplishments. The senior artist Wu Guanzhong once said, “Paintings should be nationalized while the Chinese painting must be modernized.” In his late years, Caibing mainly focused on the modernization of Chinese painting.

　　Cai abandoned the traditional picture-composing manner and theme, which was the first step to the goal of modernization of Chinese painting. His abandonment is not ever an exclusion of all traditions of Chinese painting, but a flexible choice of the positive parts. Cai extracted the merits from the literati’s works which largely paid attention to ideas and emotions in order to further depict the subject matters in life. He applied the Chinese painting brush, colors and traditional Chinese art paper in his work. Additionally, Cai’s strength on sketching appeared in some paintings: lines were added to the painting for fluidity, intense color for vibration which was learned from the impressionism of the West. Seeking to avoid copycats, Cai integrated the integrity of printing which he used to excel in and produced the modern Chinese paintings with contemporary esthetic features and styles. That led to the richness of the pictures and the diversity of color and ink.

　　Artistic works should, based on the social development, bear the responsibility of foreseeing the future. The inner world of mankind must be fully depicted while the newest ideas and ideology are permeating through these works. Generally, Cai’s works dash out strong visual impact that can immediately capture viewers’ attention. As the appraising remarks made by the famous painter Cheng Shifa, “’Magical fascination emerges in his wonders.’ --- by the friend’ Cheng Shifa in winter, 1992.”

　　Caibing’s Modern Chinese Painting Exhibition, where about 80 works will be on display, will be held at National Art Museum of China. His modern Chinese paintings, labeled as Contemporary Chinese Painting, have been listed into the collection 60 Artists During the 60 Years After China’s Foundation by Central Party Literature Press and Caibing’s Art by China History and Literature Press. Undoubtedly, there may exist some controversy over Cai’s contemporary Chinese paintings in the field of art. As the pursuit in art is an endless exploration, these arguments, along with the related insightful introspection, are necessary and indispensable for the improvement and perfection in art. Conceivably, Cai is among the many dedicated ambitious artists in pursuit. Their endeavor to move forward is invaluable, praiseworthy and respectable. Correspondingly, Cai’s artistic exploration has assigned us a challenging task: further studies and consideration over contemporary Chinese painting.