Dun Huang Mogao Grottoes

​--the paintings of Sally Huang Wong

　　I have not yet journeyed the Silk Road crossing the deserts and the mountains to stop at the oasis that is Dun Huang； an oasis to refresh the weary traveler not only with its waters， but in the company of a Thousand Buddhas carved and painted over a thousand years， moments of pause and reflection in four hundred and ninety two temples.

　　The frescoes are often copied as a rigorous meditative discipline to learn to draw and to paint and to closely examine the wonders of the polychromic compositions. Sally looks deep into the images distilling their structure and sensibilities into the lyrical lines of gesture. Often， the brush strokes have a delicacy and gentle tactility as they lightly graze the campus； they are， however， not intricate fine lines but bold in their width and clear in their intention. The figures are always in motion， even in moments of slumber or meditative calm， motion of thought， motion of memory， motions of journeys as yet to be discovered.

　　The dynamic fluidity is most apparent in the horses and in the flowing ribbons. It is the constant movement that leads the viewer from one painting to the next， and references the many cultures and traditions that have contributed to the caves and temples as both source material and as visitor.

　　In admiring the past and in recalling histories， mythical， factual， and fictive， the works attempt to move forward with an infectious almost na？ve optimism and enthusiasm for the promises of the future. Often the figures are childlike in their simplicity as Sally attempts to strip bare the characters to their essential qualities and elemental conditions.

　　Might it lead from figural representation or re presentation to abstract compositions where the gestural strokes become fields of colour and the paint in its thickness and texture remembers the varied landscapes of the journey and the dim light of the caves. The artist is searching for colours，colours not only of heritage but of emotions，colours that like flowers might bloom only for a moment or last forever.

　　And to questions of scale： do small canvases lead to large murals， to small sketches， even collected notebooks of sites only of the imagination and emotion. I look forward to her future work.

　　My late father travelled to many places in a long and pleasured life. He never travelled the Silk Road， the Great Caravan Route， a journey he always desired. He would have found pleasure in Sally Huang Wong‘s paintings as do I. The calm refreshment of the oasis is as simple as pausing to step into the stories and the space of a painting. The gift of an artist is to share， and she has shared a great deal.

　　David J. Lieberman artist architect

　　Professor John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture Landscape and Design University of Toronto

敦煌莫高窟

--黄莎莉的画作

　　不知你是否旅行过丝绸之路？当你穿过沙漠、越过高山，最终到达一片水草茂密之地时，这片绿洲便是敦煌了；这片静谧的所在不仅用连绵的水域冲刷了旅行者周身的劳顿，更用上千座有着上千年历史的佛像雕塑和画像，让你可以处在这四百九十二座庙宇间，身获半刻休憩，心却云游天外。

　　这些壁画通常是被作为一项十分严格的冥想惩戒而被完成的。在整个绘制过程中，那一笔笔勾勒、一点点上色以及近距离地去审视这些色彩拼接后形成的奇迹般美丽的图画，让被惩戒者在专心且虔诚的绘制中能够净化心灵、修养心性。莎莉认真的审视每一幅画的结构和充盈在精心勾勒的肢体线条里的情感：通常，画笔都是用一种仿佛清风拂过草坪的精美而轻柔的触感作画，然而在这些作品中，你看不到错综且精致的线条，取而代之的是粗放且目标明确的画风；人物也仿佛都带着动态，哪怕是在安静睡眠中或在平静冥想中的人亦是如此。你可以从每一个静止的画面中看到动态--思想的动态、回忆的动态，如是等等。

　　不能忽略的是，动态的流动性最常体现在奔跑的马群和飘动的丝带上。而这种动态巧妙的让观者可以很自然的把目光从一幅画移动到另一幅上，画面中蕴藏的文化和传统也在这流动的神态中将旅行者带回了画面中那个纵马驰骋、衣带飘飘的年代。

　　为了缅怀过去、回忆那段神话的、真实的、虚拟的历史，这些作品用一种极富感染力的饱含着近乎天真的乐观和对于未来承诺的热情，试图将历史向前推进到现代。画作里的人物都有着孩童般的纯粹，正如Sally所做的，她要试图剥光角色，来让我们看到人物最本质的模样。

　　这种绘画手法已不仅是比喻之类，她是将其抽象化，用色彩的厚度、质感、渲染，来描绘人物、记录旅行中的风景及昏暗的灯光下洞穴。艺术家一直在寻找的那些色彩，不是代代传承下来的色彩，而是有感而发的色彩，是那像只开一瞬或永开不败的花一般的色彩。

　　就这样，小小的商旅队伍，带来了一幅大型壁画，以及一张张小草图和一本本充满了想象和情感的见闻笔记。如此，我对Sally未来的作品充满期待。 先父曾在他漫长而又快乐的人生中旅行过许多地方，但他从未经历过这段他总是渴望踏上的伟大的商旅之路。他应该也像我一样，从莎莉的画作中体会到了各中趣味。这片绿洲带来的片刻宁静，就如同进入画中故事里的世界并在其中驻足。艺术家的天赋是分享，事实上莎莉确实与我们分享了许多。

　　David J. Lieberman艺术建筑师

　　多伦多大学建筑学院景观和设计专业John H. Daniels教授