初次看见近藤的“禅宗系列”，第一印象是反差中参杂着讽刺。首先入眼帘的是这些暧昧的图像：几近俗不可耐的情色符号：一盘生蚝，直挺挺的棕榈树，姿态撩人的女子。很容易想象，女权主义者大概都会对这些图像加以讨伐抨击。这些色彩斑斓而“不正经”的画，看起来像一个直男百无聊赖时用手指在ipad上的涂鸦。

　　然而我发现很难把目光从画面转移。纵然看似佻薄轻狂，这些跳跃鲜艳的色彩以及流畅不羁的线条背后，隐藏着一丝难以否认的端庄。仔细观察，画面机械僵硬的线条让人联想到早期电脑绘图，然而这些看似“粗糙稚拙”的线条背后是近藤的高超画技和一丝不苟。

　　近藤首先在平板电脑上用手指绘画，营造漫不经心的氛围；然后用颜料和画笔将电子绘画的图像徒手复刻到画布上。达到电脑绘图般均衡的背景色块以及传神地表达流畅而又僵硬稚拙的线条，要求艺术家精确纯熟的手法技巧与执着专注。“也许这种执着来自于我血液中里流淌的匠人精神，” 近藤说，“但是，无论我如何尝试模仿电子图像的精准，我的手始终是人手。笔触中不可避免地总会暴露手绘的痕迹，” 与我而言，这些不完美的笔触非常感人，“这系列的创作过程让我想到如何承服，投降，接纳和欣赏人类的缺憾。这个‘放手’的过程让我得到某种解放。”

　　承服？投降？放手？这听起来越来越“禅”。毫无意外地，近藤随后告诉我他从上幼儿园开始就练习冥想。在学校接受禅宗训练的过程中，他发现，无论怎么竭尽全力地尝试用意志去泯灭世俗的诱惑，他还是没有办法脱离这些“杂念”。与其抵抗和自欺，近藤决定降服和接纳人性和俗世的软弱面。这些色彩鲜艳，漫不经心的画幅便是对俗世欲念的礼赞以及人类处境的思考。

　　有意思的是，这些空洞轻浮的图像背后有种解放人心的“出离感”和“不执着”。这些联想都与禅宗的思想有着千丝万缕的联系和呼应。如此，近藤的禅宗系列，佻薄粗俗的表象埋藏着脆弱与端庄，讨论人性的同时从灵性的思考中获得解放。

　　近藤翔平（1986，日本）是一位在纽约工作和生活的日本艺术家。他的作品多次在中国美术学院美术馆，纽约视觉艺术学院chelsea画廊（美国），Amakei画廊（日本）等国际平台上展出。他是日本三瓦奖的获得者，多幅作品在美国和日本被私人收藏。近藤毕业于日本的宝冢艺术大学，并获得媒体艺术的学士学位，后在纽约视觉艺术学院的纯艺专业学习，获得艺术硕士学位。

​　　Shohei Kondo's Zennish Paintings

　　The zennish series confronted me with layers of ironies and contrasts at first sight; one might frown upon these clichéd symbols of lust, crudely celebrated with the imageries of oysters, erecting palm trees, women salaciously twisting their body in a way that will likely annoy a feminist. They almost come across as weightless ipad doodles from a bored man's fingertips.

　　Yet I found it hard to move my gaze away: lurking beneath these frivolous expressions are traces of almost delightful grace, delivered through sleek lines and purposefully chosen color pallets. When looked at carefully, the inorganic effect resemblant of computer graphic is in fact achieved by Kondo's meticulous focus and his impeccable technique as a painter, (which earned him a position to work for one of the most sought after contemporary visual artists as a side gig.) "That is the stubbornness rooted from the Japanese craftsman mentality." Kondo said, "but no matter how hard I try to be as accurate as a machine, my hand fails me." He is referring to traces of inconsistency from the brush strokes that eventually reveal the human touch. "It is about embracing imperfections and surrendering, which I find liberating."

　　Surrendering to what? It started to sound a bit zen. I was not at all surprised then when Kondo told me that, he has been practicing meditation his entire life, starting as early as in kindergarten. In the course of Zen training, Kondo found himself unable to silence earthly urges no matter how hard he tried. He finally found peace in surrendering to or embracing these desires, as he unapologetically spotlights them in flat planes of vivid colors.

　　The act of attempting to eliminate organic brush strokes on a hand painted canvas is not so different from a futile battle against earthly desires.

　　Ironically, these vacuous images provided a liberating sense of non-attachment and emptiness, which echo zen thinking, according to Kondo. The result is at once vulnerable yet graceful, forgivingly human yet ultimately transcendental.

　　Text by Carmen Ren

　　Shohei Kondo (b. 1986, Japan) is a New York-based artist from Japan. His work has been exhibited internationally, at venues such as  Amakei Gallery (Japan), China Academy of Arts Museum (China), and SVA Chelsea Gallery (United States). He is the recipient of the Sanwa Award (Japan), and his work is part of private collections in the United States and Japan. Kondo holds a BA in Film Studies from Takarazuka University of Arts and an MFA in Fine Art from the School of Visual Arts in New York.