从2004年以来，在中国当代绘画内部有着一个明显的趋势，即一些画家开始以绘画媒介为平台，但试图更多的引入观念和观念艺术的样式，使平面的绘画媒体与时间、空间、现场乃至图像的性质发生多元的关系。我们把这个趋势称为“新绘画”。本次展览的艺术家，杨千在这个趋势中扮演了极其重要的角色。作为新绘画有力的推动者和代表艺术家，杨千一直试图在探索绘画的本体意义上的可能性并不断推延着绘画的边界。

　　早年毕业于四川美术学院的杨千属于早一代的画家，他们深受社会主义现实主义的教育，所以熟谙现实与图像，内容与形式之间的辩证关系。用艺术来表达现实是历史赋予他们的本能。这也是他们成为国际认可的当代中国绘画的资本。但是杨千并没有沿着这条逻辑来发展。20世纪80至90年代在美国生活和学习的体验，使得他更多的接触到了抽象绘画理论以及不同的艺术媒介。这使得他虽然是还在绘画层面上工作，但是却不断朝绘画的边缘迈进。

　　从2005年开始，杨千就不断对于绘画的边界进行思考。他进行了一系列的试验，比如将机械装置和灯光引入到画面，让绘画在展览空间中处于不断变化的瞬间，或者，将观众在展览的空间中的进入转换成导致作品变化的因素。而最新绘画则是用荧光材料，在既定的画面背后隐藏画面，让不同的图像之间形成遮蔽的关系，同时又通过对空间的光线调整，驱除图像的遮蔽。这些对于绘画的“边界性”的思考，在当下的艺术格局中虽不能说是绝无仅有，至少也是凤毛麟角，重要的是他代表了在并不令人兴奋的市场化格局下，艺术家对于绘画的自觉与思考。杨千的这些画面是不同的画面之间的碰撞，是形而下的画面和形而上的抽象之间的彼此改变与干扰。

　　杨千的“双重绘画”其图式和理论来源在西方其实很普遍，但在中国是很少被谈及的概念，即现代主义绘画中的“层次”(layer)的概念。“层次”的概念则开始和作品所存在的“场域”结合在一起。通过展览场域的光线的改变，绘画的层开始显现，图像开始被篡改，而我们对于绘画的统一印象则开始分裂。双重绘画更多是对早期绘画中“层次”地拓展。在摄影和绘画结合中，层次的概念用来颠覆图像的一致性，从而形成对于文化的指向意义，而现在双重绘画则颠覆观众看待绘画的“视点”。面对这些不断改变的作品，我们发现图像的根基开始在动摇，图像在一个统一画面中彼此冲突。杨千的“双重绘画”把层次概念拓展由原来的静态推进到动态。

　　在这个名为“重叠”的展览中，杨千试图在新绘画的形式演进逻辑之外，发展出更多观念与社会层面的东西。比如，在《QQ之一》中他试图用灯光的变化来暗示互联网络世界中，人们身份的不确定性;在《旋转的立方体》是电子游戏和现实政治图像的替换，以表达现实反恐政治中的游戏性和复杂性;《残片》则是在表现现实社会中，因为科技和社会原因身体的非客观性;《祖母的床》则是用光线、文字和图像的替换来折射身份、性别政治以及文化血脉(家族史)之间的关系。

　　如果我们仅仅只是在这些看得见与看不见的画面中的对抗与冲突中寻找艺术家对现实的观点和判断，无疑会简化这些作品的意义。因为杨千所涉及的问题不仅仅是现实，同时还有绘画的创作方法论的问题。这些双重绘画的来源也是双重的，它们的来源更多的是对绘画本身的思考和现实的刺激的双重作用的结果。

　　回溯这些绘画产生的背景，我们发现，杨千的绘画在一个更大的现实环境中还有着更深层的意义。当代绘画已经成为商业资本循环的一部分，商业循环对于绘画的要求是以明确的符号和技术作为可识别的品牌要求。它使得我们对绘画的图像和符号的“统一性”形成迷信。而毫无疑问杨千的双重绘画所颠覆的就是我们自身对于图像、知识和符号系统的“统一性”的迷信。“双重绘画”是对绘画边界的一次刻意模糊，也是对于绘画的一次“出走”，它的观念性不在于消解绘画，而在于驱除体制对于绘画的遮蔽。同时，它的双重性还体现为对于图像的客观性的怀疑与消解。也正是从这个意义上说，它们是观念与绘画，图像与认知，现实与艺术之间的重叠。

　　2007.7

　　Since 2004，there was an apparent trend in the field of contemporary Chinese art where some painters began using the medium of painting as a platform to draw concepts and modes of conceptual art，in order to create multiple relationships between the two dimensional medium with time，space，the exhibition site or even the nature of images. We call this trend “New Painting”. The artist for this exhibition，Yang Qian，has played an important role in forming this trend. As a promoter and representative artist of “New Painting”，Yang Qian attempts to explore the possibilities in the nature of painting and is constantly expanding these boundaries.

　　A graduate of Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts，Yang Qian is a painter of an earlier generation，with his socio-realist-rooted education，Yang is well aware of the dialectical relationship between realism versus imagery，and content versus form. To convey reality through art was an instinct given by history. It also has become their capital for international recognition in contemporary Chinese art. However，Yang Qian did not follow such logic for his development. His experience living and studying in the U.S. from the eighties’ to the nineties’ provided him with a broader range of contacts with theories in abstract art and different art mediums. Such experience not only assists his work in painting，but also pushes him to step towards the boundary of the two-dimensional medium.

　　Since 2005，Yang Qian has been constantly reflecting on the boundary of paintings. He carried out a series of experiments，for instance，he drawed mechanical installation and lights onto his images，giving an effect to these paintings to be in constant flux at their exhibition space; or incorporating the audiences’ participation at the exhibition to factor for changes in the artwork. And his most recent work involves florescent material to conceal images behind the forefront ones，creating an overlapping relationship among different images. Meanwhile，in adjusting the lighting of a space，the covering becomes minimized. Such deliberation on the “boundaries” of painting might not be the one-and-only in today’s artistic realm，but is definitely one of the few. Most importantly，he represents those who are not excited by the market fever，but is still conscientious and thoughtful towards painting. Yang Qian’s images are collisions of differences. It is a mutual exchange and interference between the concrete image and metaphysical abstraction.

　　The composition and theoretical origin of Yang Qian’s “double painting” are in fact commonly found in the West，yet，is a rarely explored concept in China，that is，the concept of “layers” in contemporary art. The concept of “layers” thus becomes incorporated with the “environment” of the artwork. As the lighting in the exhibition space changes，layers found in these paintings become more apparent，and the images are tampered，thus our preconceived ideas of painting began to be challenged. “Double painting” in fact further expands on the “layers” of Yang’s earlier works. With the combination of photography and painting，the concept of layer was used to subvert the uniformity of the image，which implies its relevant cultural meanings，whereas “double painting” subverts the audience’s “point of view” on painting. In front of these constantly shifting artworks，we realize the root of images has been shaken，and the imagery is conflicted in one uniform composition. Yang Qian’s “double painting” elevates the concept of layer from stillness to motion.

　　In this exhibition titled Overlapping，Yang Qian aims to develop further with concepts and the relevant sociological aspects beyond the practical logic in the forms of “New Painting”. For example，in QQ，he attempts to suggest the unstable identity of people on the internet through altering lights; in Spinning Cube，the exchange between computer games and actual images of political events is used to convey the strategy and complexity in actual anti-terrorist politics; Shattered pieces expresses irrational ideas of the body caused by influences of technology and social factors in real society; Grandmother’s bed applies an interchange between lighting，language and images to reflect the relationship among identity，political gender and cultural heritage (family lineage).

　　If we only seek for the artist’s opinion and judgment on reality from the antagonism and conflicts found in the seen and unseen of these images，would ultimately reduce the significance of these works. Because Yang Qian does not only involve issues of reality，at the same time explores creative methodology for painting. The origin of these “double paintings” also did not come single handedly. Their origins are outcomes of the dual functions from reflecting on paintings itself and the provocations of reality.

　　Looking back on the background in producing these paintings，we notice that Yang Qian’s paintings embody profound meanings under a broader realist background. Contemporary art has already become part of the capital in commercial circulation，and the requirement for an identifiable brand is its distinct symbolism and techniques for this commercial circulation of art. It causes us to become superstitious in the “uniformity” of images and symbols of art. Without a doubt，Yang Qian’s “double-painting” subverts our superstition of “uniformity” with our own ideas of images，knowledge and system of symbols. “Double painting” intentionally blurs the boundary of painting - a runaway from painting，its concept is not to dissolve painting，but resides in eliminating the hindrance on painting from an existing system. At the same time，its duality also reveals one’s uncertainty and dispelling of subjectivity of the image. It is also in at this level of meaning that they overlap between concept and painting，image and acknowledgement，reality and art.

　　Zuly 2007

作者：皮力