我认识张伟的时间很短，因为工作认识了他，见过他两三次，到过他的画室，跟他谈了两个钟头的话。这就是我跟张伟本人接触的全部，可以说我们还很陌生。在他的画室，我看到了部分作品的原作，他还送我一些他的画册，使我对他的作品有个较完整的概念。然而，我已被他的画作所感动了。
之后，张伟的画不时就会在我脑海里浮现。两米乘两米的画幅不小，时而是两三个大大的脸孔，时而是动作夸张的年青人。传递出来的不是震撼感而是亲和力，让人觉得离画中的主人翁是那么的贴近。色彩可说是浓重的，一大块一大块鲜艳的色彩，但并不产生强烈的冲击，而是单纯，平和，一如天地的原本，自然的原本，我越来越喜欢这种氛围。张伟的作品似乎能营造这样一个精神空间，那里是美的，那里是平和的﹑坦率的，那里充满生命力。
中国艺术界经历了后文革和改革开放等激烈的变革，中间涌现出一批开中国当代艺术先河的艺术家。他们从伤痕里走出来，又迅即面对物质文明的冲击。在这历史的激流中他们努力寻找﹑辨认，试图理出方向，找回本质。其间常伴着悲哀﹑失落，常觉迷惘和委曲。苦苦的求索，在哲学的高度上徘徊，力图划出生命的坐标，剖开人文细致和繁杂的肌理。他们作出了卓越的贡献。可是，阅读着这样一批批作品，或使人感到份外沉重，份外艰辛，或使人感到荒诞和滑稽。虽然这都没离开现实，而正因为这就是现实的一部份，使我们这些还要活下去，还需继续面对每一天的人们越发困惑和疲惫。突然面对张伟的作品，令我觉得一如深深地吸入一口氧气，仿佛沐浴在一片阳光之中。
有别于大部份画家，张伟简单地，坦率地把一个最最永恒的题材——“生命”结合到当代的内容里。他总在画青年人，在他的画里，到处都可看到当代的标志。他告诉我们，在这大时代里，年轻人就是这样一代代地生活过来。他们充满同样的激情，憧憬和生命力。他们既是现实中的青年，也是每个人心中极需保持的童心，更是人类经过种种历练中，最令人开怀，最令人兴奋的部份。很多年前张伟的作品里就总带着阳光，或洒遍画布，或在某处淡淡一抹，不断地传达出这样一个暗示——这就是来自大自然生命之源的元素，支撑着人类，艰辛而又鲜活地在自然史中走了过来。
早在上世纪八十年代中创作的“海风”，张伟的风格已经显露出来。强烈的阳光，把沙滩照得刺眼的亮，沙滩上背光的两人，以充满动感张力的姿态，奔向深蓝色的海洋。背光的身影几近黑色，只在肩膀﹑手臂和身躯上的高光，具体地告诉我们，力量来自自然，自然充满生机。接下来的作品中，张伟的阳光越用越活，96年创作的“平淡的主题”中，在没有直射阳光的情况下，还是让人感到安祥入睡的少女，是睡在明媚的午后。之后，这种阳光无处不在，在“游戏”﹑“风景区”﹑“香港早晨”﹑“吸引”等作品中，明快的画面上，这种象征生命的光总在该出现的地方出现，在或淡或浓的色彩对比中跳跃。
新世纪到来之际，在社会风气越发虚荣浮躁时，张伟却变得更为沉着。我猜，也许是张伟真的把自己融入到围绕着他的学生之中，不再注意争权夺利，不再关心得失沉浮。沐浴在青春的风中，享受着童稚的喜悦，充满活力地在生命的海洋里游弋。这个时期的作品，光已不是外在的东西，而是和生命结合在一齐。象“阳光下”﹑“好心情”﹑“青春档案”﹑“美丽年代”等，光一如是从身体内往外散发出来，特别是在那些童稚的脸上，份外明媚，份外温暖。
我看到张伟最近期的作品是03和04年的几幅，此时的生命之光似乎已沉入到人物的心底里。在“我们的未来不是梦”和“好好学习，天天向上”两作品中，画面十分平静，青春蓄积着能量，似在迎接，似在等待。我似乎还看见未知和偶然，也许有一丝丝的困惑，但并不影响对未来的期盼。脸上的光华少了点奔放，多了点含蓄，淡淡的阴影，遮盖了部份脸面，部份身体，暗示了光明和黑暗不可避免冲突。桌面上细碎零乱的物品，是所谓当代的符号，充其量在人的一生中，或人类的历史中扮演匆匆过客，只有生命在生生不息。04年创作的“花样年华”这样的意境更为突出，画面更为清淡，还蕴涵着一种超越性的喜悦。
我几乎完全通过张伟的作品去认识张伟，并且我确信这就是张伟其人。画家清楚地表达出他的乐观随和，他那镇定和勇气。面对诱惑﹑失落和疯狂﹑浮躁，他如一股清泉，使你宁静，他如一抹阳光，让你温暖。艺术也好，人生也好，这不就是那最跟本的命题，也是中国最古老最永久的命题吗。老子的一句话突然浮现在我脑海中，就用这句话作为文章的结尾吧：“上善若水，水善利万物而不争，处众人之所恶，故几于道。”                    

2008年1月13日

　　I have only known Zhang Wei for a very short time. I' ve met him two or three times for work in his studio and talked with him for a couple of hours. That has been all my contact with Zhang Wei. In this sense, we are merely acquaintances. However, in his studio, I saw some of his original works, and he sent me some of his painting albums. In this way I got a complete overall impression and I was really touched by his work.
After seeing his works, Zhang Wei' s paintings appear constantly in my mind. The impression left by the series of  2m×2m pieces is not a small one. In these you can see two or three big faces or sometimes some youngsters with exaggerated actions. What you can read from these works is an affinity rather than being overwhelmed, which makes you feel closer to the heroes in the paintings. The color is dense and glorious, but it doesn' t create a sense of strong impulse. Rather, it is a pure and peaceful world, as original as the universe and nature. That' s the essence of Zhang Wei' s works, in which you can always read beauty, peace, openness and vitality. The more I see of his works, the more I like the atmosphere they create.
During the intense transformation in the time after the Cultural Revolution as well as China' s reform and opening up to the world, a large number of modern artists from older generations emerged in Chinese art circle. They have gone through the hard times of the Cultural Revolution and then all of a sudden they have to face the shock of modern materialistic civilization. During this historical torrent, they searched for the right direction, accompanied by feelings of sadness, depression, confusion and misery at the lack of an outlet for their talents. They attempted to define their painting with profound philosophy, drawing out every aspect of life along with the delicate and complicated nature of humanity. It is impossible to deny their great contribution. However, what we mostly see presented in these works is examples of the hard life in either serious or ridiculous forms. Though that was real life, it makes people more and more confused and tired because we have already lived the hard life and/or read about them. So, when I first saw Zhang Wei' s works, I felt like I was bathing in the sun. The peacefulness and purity of his works is like a stream of fresh air, from which you can take a deep and relaxing breath.
Different from most artists, Zhang Wei simply and with frankness integrates the most eternal subject… "life" into modern content. He has always painted young people. In his works, modern symbols are everywhere. He tries to tell us through his work that in this era, generation by generation, how young people lead their lives. They are all full of the same passion, hope and vitality. They are the young people of reality; they are the youth and childlike innocence everyone wants to hold; they are the most cheerful and exciting expression of the experience of a time in life we have all been through.
For many years now, sunshine has always been a part of Zhang Wei' s painting. Sometimes it fills the canvas and sometimes it is only a slight brush stroke. It constantly expresses the implication that it is sunshine, the element of nature, which is the origin of our life that supports a human being as it passes throughout the history of nature. He shows the nature of life is long and tough, but can also be alive and vivid.
As early as his work The Ocean Wind in the 1980s, Zhang Wei has developed and exhibited his own style of painting. The beach in this image radiates with dazzling light in the strong sunshine. With their backs to the light, two men are running towards the dark blue ocean with a vigorous and dynamic posture. The figures are almost black against the light. Only the highlights on the shoulders, arms and bodies express the specific idea: ‘Power is from nature and nature is full of vitality' . In his following works, the application of sunshine becomes more and more vivid. In Ordinary Subject, even without any sunshine, viewers can still know that the girl sleeping soundly is resting in a sunny afternoon. Sunshine is almost everywhere in Zhang Wei' s work. In the works like The Game, Beauty Spot, The Morning of Hong Kong or Attraction, in the lucid and lively pictures light is symbolized and is always skipping between light and dark colors.
Since the turning point of the new century, people in society have become more and more fickle and full of vanity, but Zhang Wei has become more and more imperturbable – sticking to his values. I guess maybe he has simply devoted himself to life with his students and has paid no attention to power and profit or the ups and downs in life. He has always been bathing in the wind of youth, enjoying the happiness of being childlike and swimming in the ocean of life with vitality. In his recent works of this past decade, the light of sunshine has no longer shown up as an external form, but has rather been combined with life itself. In the works such as In the Sun, Good Mood, Files of Youth and The Beautiful Times, sunshine was emanates from within the essence of the bodies. When you see the light on the young and innocent faces, you can sense the radiant and enchanting warmth of the sunshine.
The most recent works I saw were the ones painted in 2003 and 2004. During this period, the light of life seemed to stem deeply from the heart of the heroes. In the works Our Future is not a Dream and Studies Well and Make Progress Everyday, the pictures are really quiet and calm. Youth seems to be storing up the energy, welcoming and waiting for the future. I can also read the feeling of unknowingness, the unexpected and maybe a little bit of confusion，but all of these do not affect their longing for the future. There is more implied than what is seen in the openness on the faces. Some light shadows cover parts of the faces and bodies, which implies that the conflict of light and darkness in life is inevitable. The messy and small items on the desk are symbols of modern times, which can only exist as passers-by in our life or history. This suggests that only life continues to reproduce endlessly. In the work Blossom Age c. 2004, this kind of artistic atmosphere is more evident. The picture looks more delicate and light, containing a sense of delighted transcendence. 
I got to know Zhang Wei mostly through his works, and I believe that this is Zhang Wei, the artist. He clearly expresses his optimism, amiable attitude, calm and courageousness. Faced with the lure, depression, madness and fickleness of the modern society, his works are like a limpid spring that brings you peace, or a light of sunshine that brings you warmth. Not matter what we are talking about, art or life, is not this the most basic topic, the most ancient and permanent topic in China? It suddenly reminds me of a famous saying of Lao-tzu: "The highest virtue is like that of water. It benefits all the creatures, but does not scramble for anything; it goes to the lowest places where everyone detests. This virtue is almost like the highest Law of nature--Dao."