It is a great pleasure for me to write that this is the fourth exhibition of Li Huayi’s paintings we have held in the past seven years - one in New York and three in London. Souren Melikian’s review of the first London show in November 2007 in the International Herald Tribune, ‘A Master’s Ethereal Visions, inspired by East and West’, described it as ‘one of those miracles one hopes for without really believing that they can happen’.

　　The eight paintings in the present exhibition are Li’s latest work and again demonstrate those qualities that appeal both to the most refined and knowledgeable collector and the visitor who may wander into the gallery here and see the paintings for the first time. They are immediately accessible and at the same time reference a long tradition of Chinese ink painting that has occupied scholarly connoisseurs for centuries. The subject matter is evidently the natural world of rocks, trees, mountains, water and mist. This world is presented, however - particularly to those accustomed to viewing paintings of nature through the lens of the post-Renaissance Western tradition – in stylized, almost non-naturalistic fashion. This is despite the actual geography of certain regions of China being faithfully reflected or, in the rock and bamboo paintings, their forms being minutely recorded. Some aspects of the subject matter are brought to the fore, even exaggerated, others purposely obscured or left ambiguous. Li Huayi’s technique is similarly a combination of the free – the wash of watery ink that is habitually the starting point of each landscape – and the controlled, in the detailed brushwork that completes the vision.

　　I would like to thank Dr Michael Knight, Asian Art Museum Foundation Curator Emeritus and Kuiyi Shen, Professor of Art History, University of California, San Diego, both long-time admirers of the artist, for the truly informative essays they have written specifically for this exhibition, Professor Shen providing both his Chinese and English texts. I am also grateful to Yi-Hsin Lin for translating Dr Knight’s essay into Chinese.

　　This exhibition would not have taken place without Daniel Eskenazi who had many discussions in Beijing with Li Huayi on which form it might take and how the artist might find fresh sources of inspiration. As always, Daniel has designed and typeset a catalogue that is a worthy record of a beautiful exhibition.

　　Giuseppe Eskenazi

　　我十分荣幸地书写此章，因为这次是本公司第四次举办的李华弌画展，在过去七年之中，相继而行，一次于纽约，三次在伦敦。2007年11月第一次伦敦展，由SourenMelikian先生主笔的简介，刊登在《国际先驱论坛报》上，标题是：大师的空灵愿境，灵感来自东西方，文中描述画展为‘难以置信它的存在，可它是一个奇迹，一种希望’。

　　这次展出的八幅画，均为李先生近作，再次证明其画作的特质，既能对文雅饱学的收藏家产生吸引力，也有意外的惊喜来触动那些漫步进入画廊的访客。他们可以一览无余，从中领略悠久的中国水墨画技法，也正是数百年来文人墨客鉴赏之所在。

　　画里题材多为大自然中的石头，树木，山峦，水流和雾霭。天地宏观，万物有序。然而，对于习惯用正宗文艺复兴的眼镜来衡量自然画法的西方人，这种表现形式大多属非自然风格。画展中有忠实反映中国某地区的地理特征，岩石竹林画是被精细模仿绘制的。题材中的一些方面是要突出表现的，甚至采用夸大渲染手法，而有些部分则刻意抽象化或含糊略过。李先生的绘画技巧，很像是一种自由与控制的结合体，每幅山水画都惯于用潇洒肆意的泼墨方式开始，而以细腻缜密的笔触来完成全景。

　　在此，我要向亚洲艺术博物馆基金会名誉馆长MichaelKnight博士和沈揆一教授，表示衷心的感谢，他们都是李先生长期的崇拜者，专为本展联手合写的论文，信息丰富，内涵严谨。沈揆一教授还提供了中英对照文本。我同时要谢谢林逸欣先生，他为Knight博士的论文所做的中文翻译。

　　这次展览之所以成行，DanielEskenazi厥功甚伟，他多次到北京找李华弌洽商具体细节，选择展览的形式，帮助艺术家寻找新的灵感之源。如同往昔，Daniel主持图录的设计与排版，执着地将美丽的瞬间载入永久。

Giuseppe Eskenazi

作者：Giuseppe,Eskenazi