他作品表白内心的独到之处，在于重新展开了某种对灵魂状态的直接描绘和表达，而这种描述，以往一直是以类比或寓意的方式来表现的。陈心懋以“传统”的笔墨突入了这一“现代”的领域，他画中所展现的心理空间不仅融通了原始与现代的因素，而且沟通了物质与精神的世界、与同龄画家相比，他既不像有些人那样激进前卫，也不像有些那样守旧落伍，而是尊重自己的内心体验，扎扎实实地走自己所选择的道路。

　　丁方《读陈心懋的画有感》载《江苏画刊》1987年第7期

　　如果说从原有的人物写意具象到彩墨构成变象反映了陈心懋对国画用笔、用墨从感性到知性的一种发展，那么陈心懋对现有的实物与平面结合、墨迹与拼贴相接，使笔墨与其他类似画种发生嫁接，则表明了他对中国画应有的文化形态和思维观念发生了从理性到悟性的一种飞跃。

　　纤维语言是这种艺术状态的主角。麻线纤维自由地穿插，团块和油性、丙烯颜料等的胶合和混用，散落、幻化出线性造型在画面处理中的丰富层次和新的形式可能，作为一种生命状态的可示性，其精神涵量优于以住显于纸本笔端的线条结构，因而更能透彻地同和感应现代人们的心理变化。与之相应的是，作者同时在画幅中增添了古文字的样式，因置换了一种新的视角予以品位和体验，使其指代属性淡化而增殖为抽象性的点画符号形式，以隐示画幅空间的文化基调和古今之间的思维心理效应。显而易见，在生命图式、艺术材料和文化指向之间，他企图寻觅到与他风格支点的最佳契合。

　　李超《陈心懋的艺术状态》载《江苏画刊》1988年第6期

　　他的近作扩充了综合材料的运用，如《遗产》系列、《通鉴释读》等。陈心懋拓宽了我们对中国画的认识和理解，强化了符号的象征意义和抽象意识;他由材料试验进入了反思，直探人的生存环境和心灵悸动的艰难之路。

　　高伟川主编《中国当代美术家图鉴》京华出版社1995年

　　抽象与水墨材料，构成了陈心懋创作的两条主线，它们交错进行，相互渗透。前者保留着中国画的笔墨材料，但精神指向是现代人的灵魂返观;后者引入了非传统、非绘画性的材料，但保留着中国画及其所代表的东方审美意念。

　　立足于东西方文化，从传统中国画着手，陈心懋经过了二十余年的艺术探索，已经站到了当代中国艺术的前沿。无论从中国画的角度还是从综合材料绘画的角度来看，陈心懋都是值得我们注意的一位重要艺术家。他的创作，一方面拓宽了我们对中国画的认识和理解，加大了中国画变革的力度;另一方面，也为中国当代艺术对西方艺术的研究借鉴，提供了有益的启示：那就是在国家化艺术语言的背景下，如何凸现区域性民族文化与精神，使之在世界性文化交流中具有不可替代的独特性。

　　殷双喜《陈心懋：走向无声之境》载《艺术潮流》 1995年第1期

　　陈心懋先生以中国实实在在的情景为基础，描绘出人们灵魂深处的颤动。

　　佐藤惠子 载《20+1：中国现代艺术展》 1996年

　　1990年代后，东方方式或中国方式越来越成为一个惹人注意的问题，大部分人都将这个问题引向意识形态内容，而陈心懋将这个问题引向更深远的历史。

　　冷林主编《现实、今天与明天：‘96中国当代艺术》展览文献 1996年

　　陈心懋是一个豁达的古典主义者，就像他的画面，凝重而不沉重。在这个文化失语的时代，他既在试图理解当代规则，也在试图理解传统精神。水墨是陈心懋所受教育的一部分，那是过去时代人的灵魂和材料的一种结合。陈心懋不仅在找新的材料和视觉图式，也在找自己的灵魂。而在1990年代水墨艺术圈中，找材料和视觉图式人多，找灵魂的则寥寥无几。

　　中国水墨艺术的变革一直纠缠于文化比较的视角和文化出路的方向问题，而陈心懋将水墨作为一种个人问题，这是他的与众不同之处。水墨艺术变革在今天是一种以传统手段从事的当代艺术，这是不用怀疑的，只是这种方式能感染多少人却是未知的。但这种方式感染了陈心懋多年是确定的，他的画在经过变动的古典方式中变得豁达和具有历史洞察力，这是一种具当代性的视角和自我境界。

　　朱其《陈心懋推介词》载《美术文献》总第 18辑 2000年

　　陈心懋将水墨变革进行了二十余年。他创作了《白色》《无声》《史书》等十几种系列。从一开始他就表现出与众不同的独特性，作品的背景、手段、精神、效果都是中国式的，观念意识却是当代的。它没有惊世骇俗的怪异，也没有陈旧僵涩的平凡，它那深刻而又玄妙的东方文化散发着独一无二的艺术魅力，目前，《史书系列》已经成了他的标志性作品。

　　他的画枯寂而又灵动，单调而又丰满，一目了然而又神秘莫测，有一种深思熟虑的不确定性，这种不确定性或许更吻合艺术观赏的真谛?从他诸多的作品中可以感受到比传统中国画概念更为宽泛的意义，画中片言只语的碑文、残缺不全的佛经以及错版中文是画中的一点魂魄，从中可以窥见一些身影，他们是与世隔绝的隐逸者、参悟历史的思想者以及驰骋沙场的战斗者，而他笔下呈现的山水，则散发了随意自在的精神氛围和源远流长的中国画精髓。

　　陈心懋的画建立了一种新的艺术观念，他对汉字的敏感和妙用可能与他从小读古诗习墨字有关，而作为一个画家，墨字既是一种符号也是一种色块，它们是作品的有机部分。

　　最好的艺术作品时能突破国界的，但又是有民族文化韵味作底的，陈心懋作品的可贵之处正在于此。

　　姚育明《墨断史书》载《文汇报》 2001年

　　与其说我在看陈心懋画出的“史书”，不如说在看心界的状态，我看到天心自然的幽渺与坚固;人心有为的进入与脱出。天心与人心浑然成为一体整体的弹性呈现。由此，我感到画家独特的见地和宽容的胸怀;当代与传统，实在与虚幻，随缘与有为，物化与精神，它们一并兼容。

　　姚育明《墨断史书》载《文化报》 2001年12月

　　抽象水墨与综合材料的交错互渗，陈心懋从事水墨新图式探索的主要课题。在他的实验水墨作品中，实物与平面结合，墨迹与拼贴组接。一方面，他使用传统的笔墨材料，却介入现代人的精神生活;另一方面，他引入了多种非传统、非绘画性的材料，却又保留了东方审美理念。之所以说陈心懋是一个豁达的古典主义者，不仅仅是指他对一些具有古典意义的象征符号的借用或固守于这个领地，更重要的是，他以一种开放的姿态看待这些历史陈迹，并将它们融入当下生活的精神领域，从而沟通了物质与精神两个世界。

　　文化比较的视角和文化出路的途径问题一直是水墨画变革的一个纠缠不休的话题。陈心懋以变动的古典方式载托自我心境并以此介入当下文化情境，无疑拓展了我们对水墨图式革新的认识，从而也为我们面对水墨艺术既要保持传统又要承载现代精神意蕴的两难困局时提供了某些实验经验。

　　皮道坚主编《中国水墨实验二十年1980-2001》黑龙江美术出版社  2001年

　　在我看来，自1990年代末至今尤其是2001年以后对陈心懋来说是一个非常重要的时期，它标志着艺术家对中国艺术传统的内在精神、对现代性的思考有了比较深刻的结论性的看法，并在作品中表现为他个人的艺术语言与风格的成熟和从未有过的自信。从1980年代中期初次尝试水墨抽象开始，陈心懋的“中国画”“改革”已经过了二十年的漫长而苦苦求索的历程。如果我们粗略地将它分为三个阶段的话，那么85年至90年代初可视它为它的初创时期。在这近十年里，陈心懋虽然从未放弃过水墨宣纸这些传统的媒介的使用以及对中国绘画传统的追求，但在媒介革命、图式变革与视觉冲击力的增强方面他仍有着十分明显的企图与特别的关注，并为之付出了极大的努力。那时，与他的同代人一样，在来不及思考与消化的情况下，西方现代艺术的各种信息随着国门打开蜂拥而至，但是那时能真正看到原作的机会还是很少，资源主要来自质量优劣不齐的印刷品，但对他们来讲依然是那么新鲜、名就的艺术家群体，将发现不少人至今仍然停留在醉心图式更新、材质实验的水平，然而这对陈心懋来讲已成为一个阶段性的过去，他已在前面走得很远。他的艺术语言与技术之成熟、老练和随心所欲已让他不必再踌躇于外部形式的选择与它们的限制，是否“中国画”或是否“现代”也不再成为困扰他的话题，这使他有可能放开手脚去表现画面背后的他对“中国画精神”的思考与理解。目前我们还无法判断或评估今日的陈心懋离他自己所设定的目标还有多远的距离，以及他可能被理解与接受程度，但有一点是可以肯定的：他的发展空间未可限量。

　　朱旭初《陈心懋的中国画精神》载《上海美术馆通讯》 2002年第3期

　　心懋的作品很难确切地说属于什么“画种”，人们把他划为做“材料”的一类，这是当代艺术中的常见现象。艺术家如何利用媒材已经毫不重要，很多当代艺术家热衷于某种模糊的和闪烁的东西，在表达上也非常自由，力图通过各种手段获得特殊效果。因此，评价心懋的作品，不应该着眼于新颖和创造的概念——在当代，任何平面的架上的艺术，还能新颖和创造到哪儿呢?——当然，相对于传统中国画而言，他似乎“新”到了太过分的程度，但是，心懋本人没有把自己安放在这么一个位置上，这一点，几乎是他特别该受到赞赏的地方，他的“当代性”追求在整个上海艺术家中显得极是特殊。 

　　心懋的许多作品仍在利用中国传统艺术的元素，有一度甚至显得稍稍有些拘谨。或许这也是存在决定意识的一个方面，不少走红的艺术家都在形式上借住传统符号作为简便的手法，在老外面前打“中国牌”，在国内的观众面前打“文化牌”，显然成了一条捷径。传统艺术中的某些元素已被用滥了，用俗了，很快就会变成了一种掩盖想象力和创造力贫弱的偷懒办法。艺术上的突破和创新需要现成的台阶，因为任何突破和创新都不可能是海市蜃楼，我们常常看到譬如托古改制、移花接木、借尸还魂等等，将传统艺术的某种元素按照现代方式重新排列，不失为可靠的办法。心懋的优点在于，他迅速理解任何一种简便之法的可疑之处，在果断的尝试中获得真正属于自己的感受，他的某一部分作品已经超越了自我，超越了人们对他的初步印象——当然，艺术表现着艺术家的全部存在的可能性，即使就此一点，正如他本人所说，每件作品其实都是对自己的挑战，我知道，心懋对自身要求不低，而艺术是他人生质量的标高，他时时都渴望着朝更高的尺度跳跃。

　　李小山《用心去做》载《江苏画刊》2002年第10期

　　在一篇《创作自述》中，艺术家陈心懋明确写道：“中国画确有一万个好，但它在任何时代总须有人将其‘拓展’。这‘拓展’的人基本上是铺路石。至于‘拓展’到何种程度为大家都叫‘正好’则是很难是当代人的事。”(引自《美术文献》总第18辑，第39页)这足以表明他对水墨艺术进入当代是充满信心的，他也甘当一块铺路石，要不然他决不会用十多年的时间专心一致地进行实验水墨的探索。现有资料告诉我们，陈心懋对实验水墨的探索是从一步步解构传统水墨技法相融合，以使水墨画能够适应新的审美需要。熟悉艺术史的人都知道，类似追求在当时的实验水墨界是一种时尚，而这又与赵无极、刘国松抽象水墨画展的引进不无关联。随后，也就是在1988年，当创作《有文字的构图》时，也已经开始在作品中大胆引入物质性材料，如麻纤维、石膏粉、橡胶、塑料等，结果创造出了一种色泽沉黯、稳定，但效果十分丰富的浮雕式水墨画。这种具有“越界”性质的艺术探索使他一下子走到了水墨艺术的边缘，成了水墨界的“最前卫”。我猜想，或许那种认为“水墨画飘浮柔软的特征使它在当代艺术中显得可有可无”的说法在一定程度上刺激了他。同时，他仍然希望坚守水墨画民族身份性。我认为这也正是他在从事综合材料探索时始终不肯放弃水墨的原因。 

　　从世界艺术史的角度看，陈心懋面对的艺术问题其实源自西方立体主义画家——如毕加索及近代西班牙画家塔匹耶斯。因为他们都在努力解决将平面性绘画与综合材料相结合的  题;从而改革水墨画的角度与当时特定的社会风气来看，陈心懋的尝试则是为了用非水墨的材料克服水墨的柔软特征，以增加画面的硬度与张力。更加重要的是，由于各种物质媒介在我们文化的上下文中已经携带有特定的文化含义，所以将各种媒材引入水墨画，还可以加大水墨艺术表达观念的力度。但有一点陈心懋也许还没有意识到，即当他在国际艺术语言前景的推动下，突破“单纯描绘”的传统观念时，他已经无形将“触摸感”这一因素带入了水墨艺术的表现中。

　　我们知道，“触摸感”这一概念在艺术的历史上一直是针对欣赏雕塑作品而言的，事实上，优秀的雕塑作品，常常以其体量与材料美感诱使观众去触摸它，特别是到了现代，雕塑家们根据“不同材质可以对人们施加不同心理影响”的心理学原理，越来越强调对材质固有特性的有效利用，以致使其在现代雕塑中逐渐扮演着越来越重要的角色，如今，雕塑家们的这种创作经验已为一大批非雕塑家所援用。为了强化心理表现，更新视觉效果，进而满足现代人丰富的视觉感受，他们正在把各种新材料与新手段引入平面性的绘画作品中，在这方面，一些中国油画家走在了前面。像尚扬、许江、周长江、石冲等都进行过类似的探索，也取得了很大成就。

　　很明显，陈心懋的艺术追求就根植在上述的艺术史背景之中，不过，在追求将水墨与物  材料相结合的过程中，陈心懋并没有简单转换西方的综合材料艺术，而是试图用具有中国特色的材料、符号来对传统文化及现实文化进行深刻反思。我觉得，这在全球化前景下，参与国际性交流是很有益处的。正如大家所见，在他的作品中，中国文字、印章与残碑始终占有十分重要的地位，而且它们还被融进麻与石膏浆的交织凝固之中，有一种火山岩浆冷却后的古文物感。完全可以说，在他的作品中凝聚着漫长的时间概念：《史书系列》与《遗产系列》是陈心懋近年创作的作品，这些作品强调肌理、材料、构成在画中的突出地位，强调水墨表现与各种材质的协调，即融通了原始与现代的因素，也沟通了物质与精神的因素，故给人以全新的视觉感受，其表现方法肯定是传统水墨画所无法取代的。这也正是学术界越来越重视陈心懋作品的原因。

　　鲁虹《越界的实验：关于陈心懋的水墨材料艺术》 2002年

　　解构历史权威也是陈心懋在这次展览中的作品的主要目的。陈心懋的《史书系列·错版》所显示的是未完成、局部涂污、有意错印的木板印刷品，经典著作的残迹或线索以补污损的影像和碎片的形式呈现出来。墨的使用进一步增加了文本与视觉形象之间的含混：这个材料被相互抵触地使用，既用来复制文本又用以使文本模糊，有时形态各异、随意渗散的墨迹甚至湮没了文字。

　　巫鸿《作品与展场：论中国当代艺术》岭南美术出版社 2005年

　　Review

　　The distinctive characteristic of inner world expression in his works lies in his new and direct description and expression of soul; and this kind of description was usually expressed by analogy or moral before. Chen Xinmao invaded this “Modern” field with “Traditional” brush and ink, and the psychological space in his paintings does not merely integrated primitive and modern factors, but also connects physical and spiritual world. Compared with the painters of his age, he is neither as radical or avant-garde as some people, nor as conservative or superannuated as the others, but a painter who respects his inner experiences and adheres firmly to the principles he has chosen.

　　By DING Fang Comments on Chen Xinmao's Paintings, printed on Jiangsu Pictorial in July, Volumn 7, 1987

　　Chen Xinmao's traditional Chinese paintings developed from concrete portraits of freehand brush work to constructive abstraction of color ink, which reflected that he experienced a development from sensibility to sense in terms of his brushwork and ink use; and he combined existed objects with plane, connected ink marks with collage, and grafted brushwork with other similar types of paintings, which showed that he has experienced a leap from sense to wit with regard to his understanding of the proper form and concept of traditional Chinese painting .

　　The language of fibers is the main character of this art form. Linen fibers are interwoven freely; pieces are glued and combined together with oily and acrylic colors and other materials, which create rich layers and new possible forms by liner shapes in paintings. As a presentation of life, the content is more profound than those liner structures drawn on paper; therefore it is more corresponding to the psychological change of modern people. Furthermore, the author added old Chinese characters on the paintings; which, as a new perceptive approach, weakened the characters' attribution as symbols, but strengthen their image as abstract signs, so as to indicate the cultural mood pervading in the paintings and the psychological effect from ancient to modern. Obviously he was trying to find the point that is most harmonious with his style, among the life modes, artistic materials and cultural directions.

　　By LI Chao The Artistic State of Chen Xinmao, printed in Jiangsu Pictorial, Volumn 6, 1988

　　he adopted more combined materials in his recent works, for example the “Heritage” series, “An Analysis of Zizhitongjian” and so on. Chen Xinmao extended my perception and understanding of traditional Chinese paintings and strengthened the symbolic meanings and abstractive sense of signs; after his experimentation on materials, he began to introspect and explore straightly and hard onto the road towards the living environment and mind palpitation of human-beings.

　　By GAO Weichuan Chief Editor of Illustrated Handbook of Chinese Contemporary Artists,Jinghua Press, in July, 1995

　　Abstraction and Chinese ink, which are interwoven and interpenetrated, are the two major themes of Chen Xinmao's creations. The former one keeps the materials, brush and ink of traditional Chinese paintings, while indicates a return of the soul of modern people; the later one introduces the materials that are non-traditional and not used for paintings, while keeps an oriental perception of aesthetic represented by Chinese painting.

　　Based on eastern and western culture, and started with traditional Chinese paintings, Chen Xinmao has reached the leading position after his more than 20 years' exploration in art. No matter in terms of traditional Chinese paintings or paintings of combined materials, Chen Xinmao is a very important artist who shall draw our attention. His works, on the one hand extended our perception and understanding of traditional Chinese painting, and enhanced the innovation of it; on the other hand, they also give valuable inspirations for Chinese contemporary artists to study and draw lessons from western arts, that is how to highlight original and national culture and spirit in a background of international art languages so as to make them irreplaceably unique in world culture exchange.

　　By YIN Shuangxi Chen Xinmao, Toward the Realm of Silence, Printed in Art Trend, Volumn 1, 1995

　　Based on real situation in China, Mr. Chen Xinmao depicted the vibration deeply inside the human soul.

　　By Keiko Satou Printed in 20+1, Exhibition of China Contemporary Art, in 1996

　　Since the 90's, the Oriental Mode or Chinese Mode has been more and more attractive, and most people regarded it more as an ideological problem; however, Chen Xinmao led it into a more profound history.

　　By LENG Lin Chief Editor of Reality, Today and Tomorrow: Chinese Contemporary Art in 1996

　　Chen Xinmao is an open-minded classicist, like his paintings, which are dignified but not somber. In this age of culture aphasia, he is trying to understand modern rules and at the same time trying to understand the spirit of tradition. Chinese ink painting is one education Chen Xinmao has received, that is a combination of materials and the souls of people in the past. Chen Xinmao are not only looking for new materials and visual schemas, but also searching for his own soul. However, among the artists' groups in the 1990s, the ones who were trying to find materials and visual schemas were a lot, while the ones who were trying to find their souls were very few.

　　The innovation of Chinese water & ink paintings is perplexed in the question of the view point of culture comparison and the path of culture development, however, Chen Xinmao takes it as a personal question, which is unusual. The innovation of Chinese ink paintings today is no doubt to create contemporary art in a traditional way, however, as for how many people would be influenced by this way is unknown. Anyway it certainly has influenced Chen Xinmao for many years, in that his paintings are turning to be more magnanimous and with a perspicacity of history in a developing classical way, which reflects a contemporary viewpoint and ego.

　　by ZHU qi A Recommendation of Chen Xinmao, Documents of Fine Art (Series), the 18th Collection, in 2000

　　Chen Xinmao has been executing the innovation of Chinese ink paintings for more than twenty years. He accomplished more than ten series, such as “White”, “Silence”, “Historical Records” and so on. The works showed an unusual characteristic from the very beginning for their Chinese background, method, spirit and effect, however with very modern concepts. Neither weird to startle or shake the convention, nor mediocre for being outmoded and rigid, the series of “Historical Records” fascinates with its profound and oracular Chinese culture and has become Chen's representative work.

　　His paintings are dull but inspiring, simple but rich, clear but mysterious, in which there exists a deliberated uncertainty; and this uncertainty is probably just closer to the true significance of artistic appreciation? Compared to traditional Chinese paintings, his large amount of works implies more comprehensive meanings. The epitaph fragments, incomplete sutra and mixed Chinese characters are the soul of the paintings, from which we catch some shadows that are hermits who are remote from the world, thinkers who understand history thoroughly and fighters who are rushing about on horseback in battle fields; and Chen's landscape paintings give a spirit of freedom and present the long standing and well-established essence of traditional Chinese paintings.

　　Chen Xinmao's paintings established a new art concept, and his sensitiveness and ingenious uses of Chinese characters are probably related to his experience of reading traditional poetry and practicing Chinese characters in his childhood; however to a painter, inky characters are not only symbles but also color blocks, they are indivisible parts of art works.

　　Best art works can break national boundary, but are still based on an aroma of national culture, which is just the reason why Chen Xinmao's works are valuable.

　　by YAO Yuming Broken Ink of Historical Records, printed in World Artists

　　I would say that I was reading Chen Xinmao's state of mind rather than the ﾒHistorical Recordsﾓ he painted, in which I saw natural tranquility and solidness of the Heaven and promising invest and withdraw of human mind. The heaven and human mind were presented flexibly as a whole. Thus I feel the unique insight and leniency of the artist, contemporary and tradition, reality and illusion, inactivity and endeavor, materialization and spirit, they were all embraced.

　　By YAO Yuming Broken Ink of Historical Records, printed on Wenhui News, in December, 2001

　　To interweave abstractive Chinese ink and combined materials, was the main theme of Chen Xinmao's exploration for new forms of Chinese ink paintings. In his experiments of water & ink paintings, objects were combined with graphics, ink marks were connected with collages. On the one hand, he made use of traditional brush and ink, while with a modern spirit involved; on the other hand, he introduced various materials that were non-traditional and not used for paintings, while kept an oriental perception of aesthetic. The reason why we regarded Chen Xinmao as an open-minded classicist lay in that he not only borrowed symbolic signs with classical meanings or defended this field tenaciously, but more importantly, he regarded these relics with an open attitude and integrated them into the spiritual part of contemporary life, which linked up both of the physical world and spiritual world.

　　The viewpoint of culture comparison and the path of culture development is a perplexed topic in Chinese painting innovation. Chen Xinmao took a developing classical way to carry his own mind and introduced it into contemporary culture, which no doubt extended our understanding of the innovation of Chinese ink paining model, and provided some real experiences when we are facing a difficulty of keeping tradition and delivering modern spirit as well in water & ink paintings.

　　By PI Daojian Chief Editor of 1980-2001, the 20 years of Experimental Chinese Ink Paintings

　　In my opinion, the period from the 90's up to the present, especially after 2001, has been a very important time for Chen Xinmao; it is a sign that the artist has formed a profound and conclusive opinion on the inner spirit of Chinese art tradition and modernity, which are reflected in his works for his mature language and style of art and his unprecedented confidence. Since his first trial on abstractive Chinese ink paintings in the middle 80's, Chen Xinmao has been “innovating” and exploring “Chinese painting” persistently for 20 years' long. If we divide this period into three stages, the time from 1985 to the beginning of the 90's could be regarded as the primary stage. In the almost ten years, he never gave up traditional media, water & ink and rice paper, or stopped pursuing the tradition of Chinese painting; however, with regard to media reform, innovation of schema and to strengthen visual impact, he still showed his interest obviously, paid close attention, and made great effort.

　　At that time and as those of his generation, he did not have enough time to think and digest the various information about western modern art swarmed into our country with the opening policy. However there was little chance for them to view the original art works at the time, and their references were mainly published ones of different qualities. However, even these were still new to them. Famous artist groups may find that some are still engrossed in the innovation of schema or experiment of materials; however for Chen Xinmao, it has been a passed stage, because he has been walking far ahead of this. His art language and skill are so mature, sophisticated and free that he does not need to worry about the selection of form or any restriction of them; and the questions such as if it is “Chinese Painting” or if it is “Modern” will never perplex him anymore, which makes it possible for him to present freely his thinking and understanding of “the spirit of Chinese Paintings” hidden behind the paintings. Now we cannot determine or evaluate how far is the target that Chen Xinmao has set for himself at present, or how much he can be understood and accepted. However one thing is certain: he is facing a greatly promising career.

　　By ZHU Xuchu Chen Xinmaoﾕ s Spirit of Chinese Painting, Shanghai Art Museum Report, Volumn 3, 2002

　　It is difficult to say what kind of painting Xinmao's works belong to. Some classify them into the kind of “material”. It is a common phenomenon in modern arts that what to use as media is not a question. Many an artist is keen to explore something less exact, with blurs or glimpses. Freedom of expression is used to gain effect. Xinmao's work cannot only be valued on the basis of new concepts. Of course, contrasted with traditional painting, his style has gone far but he does not try to do so purely for the sake of effect. His search for a modern approach distinguishes him amongst his Shanghai artist contemporaries.

　　In most of his works Xinmao still makes use of the elements of traditional Chinese arts, which at times seems a little overcautious. It may be an aspect of his ideology. For quite a few artists often pick up the traditional elements just as a shortcut to gain their fame by being traditional culture before Chinese or at the same time as Chinese tradition before foreigners. Some elements have been overused and exhausted so as to become a lazy excuse for their pale imaginativeness and weak creativeness. Breakthrough in art needs real substance. We often see people rearrange some elements according to a fashion by “grafting one wig on another” or “reviving in a new guise”. But Xinmao's strength is in quickly finding the dubious elements in any new method and to develop his own ways to express his feelings. Some of his works have gone beyond himself, beyond the impression he originally gives us. Art symbolizes the existence of the artist. He says each work of art is actually a challenge to the artist. For him, I know art is an elevation of quality of life which often seduces him to climb to a far higher altitude.

　　By li xiaoshan Do It Heart and Soul: Some Words on Chen Xin Mao's Paintings, Jiangsu Pictorial, Volumn 10, 2002

　　In his statement, Chen Xinmao argues that “although it's true traditional Chinese ink paintings are wonderful, ink painting it self should be “expanded” to change with the times. The person who “expands” is paving the path for those in the next generation. To judge if this “expansion” is proper is not within the ability or scope of our generation.”(from “Art Critic Documentary”, Page39, Issue18).This statement evidences his confidence that not only does ink art have a valid and rightful place in the con-temporary field, but also that he is willing to be a paving stone in this process of “expansion”. An examination of the artist's statements and work shows that Chen Xinmao's exploration of the medium of ink art involves a process of gradually deconstructing the traditional form. He began in 1985 to mix the techniques of occidental abstract art and traditional Chinese ink painting. The resulting works were oriented towards a contemporary aesthetic while simultaneously reflecting to a degree traditional ink painting. Visually they were closely related to Zhao Wuji and Liu Guosong's abstract paintings of the same era. Further exploration pushed him to the edge of ink art, to become a revolutionary pioneer in ink painting circles. Despite this “crossing the borderline” Chen Xinmao's work nonetheless retains those characteristics that are identified as inherent to the medium of ink painting. This evidences his hesitancy to abandon his basis in ink art despite moving towards more mixed-media works.

　　From the vantage point of the historian, the problem Chen Xinmao faces mirrors that of occidental cubist artists such as Picasso and Spanish artist Antonio Tapies. They too sought to resolve the issues involved in combining co-planate painting with mixed-media. Similarly, Chen Xinmao uses “non-ink” materials to conquer the soft characteristics of ink painting, creating an image that is at once both strained and more powerful. Furthermore, due to the cultural associations that are necessarily made with the medium of ink painting, the addition of other media to the artists works allows him to broaden its connotation. There is however one point that even Chen Xinmao himself may not have foreseen. Whether intentionally or not, by breaking the traditional concept of “pure ink paintings” with the introduction of new media, he has welcome the idea of texture and touch into what has previously been seen as a uniquely 2 dimensional art form.

　　The invitation to touch has of course most habitually been associated with the medium of sculpture. Sculptures, through the use of volume and texture, have often sought to seduce he viewers to touch them. Sculptors themselves are obliged to recognize the tactile properties inherent in their choice of material and in so doing decide when and how to use these characteristics. This dialogue between artist and medium is of course as old as art its self whether consciously engaged in or not. In order to emphasize he mental expression, renew the visual effect, and satisfy viewer's visual needs, numerous contemporary artists art using an assortment of new media and methods to enrich the expression of co-planate paintings. Many Chinese oil painters are also exploring the progress possible through the breaking of the multi-media barrier including such artists as Shang Yang , Xu Jiang , Zhou Changjiang, Shi Chong.

　　Looking at Chen Xinmao's art it is obvious that it is rooted in the above-mentioned context. Chinese literature, seals, and fragmentary epigraphs play an important role in his artworks. These are melted and woven into hemp and plaster, endowing the artwork with a texture like that of a cultural relic covered in cooled lava. However, in the process of combining ink and “non-ink” materials, Chen Xinmao does not transform occidental mixed media art directly but attempts to use materials and symbols with Chinese characteristics to celebrate the relationship and influence between raditional and contemporary art. The concept of endless time is also examined in his recent works “History Book Series” and “Heritage Series”. These artworks emphasize the effect of texture, material, and composition in painting, and build up the relationship between material and mental ingredients, giving the viewer a brand new visual experience. This unique mode of expression reveals something traditional ink painting is unable to show an audience, which is one of the reasons why Chen Xinmao's work is garnering increasing attention in academic circles.

　　By Lu hongExploration of Crossing the Borderline: On Chen Xinmao's Chinese Ink Artworks

　　To deconstruct authority on history is another major purpose of Chen Xinmao's works in this exhibition. His “Series of Historical Records-Mixed Edition” presents unfinished, partly stained and purposely misprinted wood prints; the remains or clues of classic works are displayed as stained images and fragments. The use of ink strengthen the ambiguity between texts and visual images: this material is used in a conflict way; it is used to copy text but also makes the text blur. Sometimes the various and scattered ink marks permeate into and even cover the characters.

　　By WU Hong Art Works And Places for Exhibition: On Chinese Contemporary Art, Lingnan Fine Art Press, 2005