In the past 100 years, the influence of western realism on Chinese art has mainly been reflected in figure painting. This is related to the decline of figure painting since Tang Dynasty, as well as to the characteristics of figure painting and the reading expectation prescribed by this characteristic in a long historical period (from ancient times to the invention of photography in the 19th century). Realism, which was once a overwhelmingly revolutionary power, and then a dominant mainstream mode, and finally the concepts and techniques that the art world is accustomed to, has the importance and influence that can not be ignored in the creation, appreciation and acceptance of Chinese art. How to understand realism and how to interpret and present the truth one understands is the core issue that a painter has to face.

　　As the motion of Way is to transform into the opposite, we may perhaps draw the conclusion that the value, height and originality of the character painters depend on, on the one hand, the understanding, adherence and control of realism, and on the other, the examination, breakthrough and sublimation of it. For character painters, realism is an insurmountable premise, which is not only the land for the growth of all things, but also the law obstacle that puzzles the subject. In Li Keran's words, it takes us a lot of effort to master the tradition and a lot of courage to transcend it. There is an infinite possibility between replacement and establishment. This also provides a basic method and perspective for us to interpret Mr. Shi Liang's paintings.

　　Precocious maturity is the common character of genius. Shi Liang completed the technical maturity in his twenties and showed a deep understanding of classical realism. Created in 1986, Somewhere is amazing in color, rhythm and effect handling. Rich, soft, deeply charming and absolutely with no elaborate feeling, this painting is undoubtedly a strikingly brilliant work. In 1988, Shiliang completed three representative oil paintings: Looking back, Tranquility and Zhuangmei. If there are still some traces of art history in Somewhere, these three works are object-centered, whose profound and delicate strokes, prudent and positive interpretation, wistful and mysterious atmosphere, are quite enough to proclaim the birth of a young genius. This also marks the first stage of Shi Liang's oil painting, which I call "the object period".

　　Since 1991, Shi Liang has gradually begun to reflect on and alienate from classical realism. Delicate, balanced, appropriate, everything is impeccable, but the overall feeling is depressing and dreary. When everything was under control, Shi Liang suddenly discovered a fatal danger-the alienation of the subject, or materialization. He began to seek his own artistic life, and to find things that can really ignite himself in various ways. This process is long and arduous. On the one hand, Shi Liang strengthens the reproduction of the spiritual world of the object, on the other hand, he tries to express his internal needs in an implicit way, such as empathy, irony, refining, perception and so on. By 1995, the image of the object had already emerged, and Shi Liang entered a new stage of art life.

　　With the image being a new source of inspiration, we are often filled with sudden revelations when reading Shiliang's paintings. One day we break through the crucial state of Buddhist contemplation, the beauty looks like jade and the sword shines like rainbow. Shi Liang once quoted this couplet of an ancient poem to describe the anguish and ecstasy in the evolution "from object to image". This bittersweet experience, as one of his own deep feelings, is often projected into his work, which is also a fact that we can easily ignore when we read Shi Liang. Shi Liang is obviously not a aesthetician in the ivory tower. His strokes involved all kinds of human states, faced with great effort and boldness, and tried to analyze every subtle change in human nature and emotion, from sunshine to gloom, or even to desperate night.

　　The "Perplexity" series and the "Don't do anything improper" series, which were created in 2008, are a case in point. Bright, spicy and hilarious, this series of works are dealing with a certain scene of performance art, and the complexity of semantics and the uniqueness of thinking are very different from the general subjective creation, which has obviously risen to the height of "Statue".

　　The Statue established by Shi Liang is the product of interaction between the internal needs of the subject and the inherent attributes of the object. He endows the Statue with independent, perfect and self-sufficient aesthetic character, which is super realistic mixed with moderate abstraction. There is a Gothic sense of mystery and loneliness about Shiliang's Statue, which is usually extremely beautiful and simple.

　　This batch of urban works face up to the grotesque, embarrassment and tonal nature of contemporary life, and have a kind of pungent and brave meaning. But the overall feeling is full of vitality and passion, so it is not appropriate to simply label critical realism to them. Recognizing the grotesque and embarrassment of reality, without simply evading or negating, may be a kind of respect and praise for the essence of life. The superb realistic techniques, metaphors and irony make this batch of works have a sense of disharmony, which is unforgettable.

　　The Baroque composition often used in Shi Liang's paintings, with its condensed schema, striking momentum, vigorous passion, proclaims the academic root of the painter. At the same time, it also implies his artistic orientation to a certain extent: to carry out his own creative practice within the traditional system. In fact, it takes more patience and conscientiousness to break through the barriers of the ancients in an implicit and steady way than to act as a bold and self-important radical in art.

　　Shi Liang's artistic concept made him reject vulgar realism at the very beginning. Worldly themes, gimmicks and the monotonous poetic subjects will not have any place in his artistic world. In his opinion, art should grasp and care the external world in an artistic way. And only in this fashion can it achieve the true self-realization.

　　Shi Liang is sensitive and pure, and what he admires most is Velazquez and Freud. However, his paintings often reminds me of Nabokov, which seems ostensibly far-fetched and irrelevant, but Shi Liang is indeed the painter of painters, just as Nabokov is the writer of writers. Concise, profound, integrate, his works are always full of aristocratic flavor and philosophical connotation, and always let people have the enthusiasm to explore and deduce.

　　As a precocious genius, Shi Liang is one of the leading figures in Chinese contemporary art, and his artistic concept and practice have a profound impact on contemporary Chinese art. He has been thinking about the possibilities and limitations of art itself. What he often says is that art is not absolute, but its possibilities are infinite, and artists should seek infinity from their limitations, thus proving the essence of painting by painting. In artistic practice, in the continuous exploration of "from object to image and then to Statue", in the everlasting and repetitious process of the daily situation, the theme of the times and the life experience, the pure expression of life experience is of paramount importance.