正如绘画的历史被称为“人物画的历史”，从古代到中世纪的文艺复兴，再到巴洛克可可之后的近现代美术，可以说离开人物画就难以解说世界美术史。

具备对人物的理解和表现力是成为画家的基本条件。长期以来，表达人物的训练是熟练掌握绘画基本功的方法。将人物的感情、肢体动作、表情、服装等与人物的真实性一起用于表达人的内心，这种能力是画家的价值。由此，人物画也对画家提出造型表达能力。如果仅止步于将人物的形态描绘得近乎真实，那只是一种技能，表达人的内心并与大众共悟才是这个时代恢复人性的重要艺术活动之一。

对袁小楼而言，人物画就是根据东方最高思想的创始者佛祖、孔子、老子、苏东坡等提出的“无念无想”即“空”进行的分解工作。水的形态随着物体的变化而变化，作家同样追求随物赋形。通过观察客观事物的本质描述或构造事物形象，这是标准的创作规范，是依据作品体裁进行的自我展示，在讴歌创造性自由精神的过程中揭示了世界和人生的天然道理，这也正是“水流的形态”。在这里，作家在世界上首次提出了运用“流动技法”（Flowing Tec）的随物赋形理论根据。可以说，这是从“空洞”到“充满”的再次复活。

一袁小楼和老子

老子思想中的“两者同出异名”，是指“有和无其实出自同一根源，只是称谓不同”。这意味着作家在作品中意图展示的人物背景既有也无。连接有和无的符号正是表达“流动技法”的“线”（line）。大部分作品中，“线”或表达速度感，或表达方向性，或发挥平衡性作用，但在这里表达的时间性更为加强烈。从过去到现在的流动，就是表达时间的“水平线”或“垂直线”。因此，通过这条“线”，可感受到同一时代性。它让人们忘记了对作品主题来源的疑问，共享了此时此刻共聚同一空间的时间性。作家将石彩的水流升华为“线”。

很久以前，在东西方被广泛使用的画法“异时同图法”是指在同一画面内表达两种以上的时间。就像作品中的人物互相产生共鸣或交集一样，观众和作品中的人物也进行了同化，东洋美学的双重结构在作品中得到实现。

一袁小楼的哲学

色即是空，空即是色。无心、无用、无我的“文脉共生”成为作家的生活哲学。在以老子的“无”为基础的玄学上，作家追求达到无我境界，抛弃一切念头，以玄、赤为中心表演色彩的魔术。对作家而言，对新材料（彩石、宝石）的渴求成为连接历史故事（Story Contents）和“流动技法”（Flowing Tec）的创始，这不由让人们想象连接有和无、空间与空间、时间与时间“线”（line）的诞生。

后记

首次遇到袁小楼的作品，受到很大冲击。“流动技法”（Flowing Tec）和石彩、矿物、宝石等，凸显出现有美术界难以看到的挑战精神。作家努力将最具中国性的故事（Story Contents）推向世界，并在这一时期从最宝贵的东方美学体系中推出新的美术思潮，进而升华到宗教高度。

他是色彩的魔术师，是“线”的魔术师，是“无学”的仙人，是世界艺术家。

我真心祝贺袁小楼朋友......

希望你今后得到更大光荣和更多祝福。

​美术学博士  韩国美术馆馆长  朴善宇

To “Fill” and to “Empty” without Intention

Portrait Art of YUAN Xiao-Lou

Just as the history of painting is often called the “history of portraiture,” it is difficult to explain the history of world art without referencing portraits—from ancient times through the Renaissance, and from Baroque to modern art.

Understanding and representing human figures is a fundamental skill for any painter. For a long time, depicting human figures has been a way to master the basics of painting. The ability to convey emotions, physical movements, expressions, and clothing, while simultaneously capturing the authenticity of the human figure, marks the value of a painter. Consequently, portrait painting demands a high level of form and expression from artists. Merely depicting a figure realistically is a technical achievement, but expressing the inner self and connecting with the public is an important artistic activity that resonates with the human spirit in the current era.

For YUAN Xiao-Lou, portrait painting is an exercise in the "emptiness" or "void," proposed by the founders of Eastern philosophical thought such as Buddha, Confucius, Old Master, and SU Dong-Po. Just as water takes the shape of its container, the artist seeks to adapt his form to the object. By observing and describing the essence of objective things, or constructing the image of these things, YUAN adheres to a standard of creative norms. His works celebrate the free spirit of creativity, revealing the natural principles of the world and life, which he refers to as the "shape of flowing water." Here, for the first time in the world, the artist introduces the "Flowing Tec," a theoretical basis for adapting form to its environment, marking a revival from “emptiness” to “fullness.”

YUAN Xiao-Lou and Old Master

Old Master once suggested that “both originate from the same source but have different names”; that is, “being” and “non-being” arise from the same origin, differing only in name. This means that the background of the figures depicted in YUAN Xiao-Lou's works can be perceived as either present or void. The symbol that connects being and non-being is the “line,” which embodies the "Flowing Tec." In most of YUAN's works, the “line” may express a sense of speed, direction, or balance, but here it more strongly represents temporality. The flow from past to present is represented by horizontal or vertical lines that express time. Therefore, through these lines, one can feel a shared era. They allow viewers to forget the origin of the work’s theme and share the temporality of the moment in the same space. The artist elevates the water flow of mineral pigments into a “line.”

Long ago, a painting method widely used in the East and the West, known as the “simultaneous depiction of different times,” referred to expressing two or more moments within the same image. Just as the figures in the work resonate and intersect with each other, the audience also becomes assimilated with the characters in the work, achieving the dual structure of Eastern aesthetics within the artwork.

Philosophy of YUAN Xiao-Lou

To fill is to empty, and vice versa. “Cultures converge” with a heart free of desires, uselessness, and selflessness has become the life philosophy of creators. Based on Old Master’s metaphysics of “non-being,” the artist strives to reach a state of selflessness, abandoning all thoughts, and performing a magical display of colors centered on black and red. For the artist, the desire for new materials (pigments, minerals, and gemstones) becomes the origin of connecting historical story contents with the flowing tec. This evokes the imagination of the birth of a “line” connecting being and non-being, space to space, and time to time.

Postscript

Encountering YUAN Xiao-Lou's works for the first time left a deep impact on me. The flowing tec and the use of mineral pigments, gemstones, and other materials showcase a spirit of challenge rarely seen in contemporary art. The artist endeavors to bring the most story contents of China to the world and, in this period, to introduce a new artistic trend from the most precious system of Eastern aesthetics, elevating it to the height of religion.

He is a magician of colors, a magician of “lines,” a sage of "non-stereotypical," and a global artist.

I sincerely congratulate my friend YUAN Xiao-Lou...

I hope you receive even greater honors and blessings in the future.

Dr. Park Sunwoo

Doctor of Fine Arts,

Director of the Korean Art Museum