Angelique Shidi is an enigma. In the friends circle, she is very young, but she always seems to bring about surprises. I often hear her arguing in high or low voice with someone, about literature, philosophy, gem…. She is able to engage in discussions on various topics of no apparent relevance. However, nobody would have associated her with “painting”.
　　One day, I passed by the office of Xu Jiang the artist, who was clearing up a pile of paintings. He stopped me and asked me to comment on the watercolours in his hand. The paintings were actually quite appealing with unrestrained colour, big brushwork, obscure imagery, and colours penetrating the void… Xu Jiang told me proudly that Angelique Shidi produced them, and it was him who taught Angelique Shidi how to paint.
　　In terms of the use of colour, Angelique Shidi’s painting may fall into three categories. Firstly, pictures of ink with colour wash produced with a technique resembling Chinese painting. Sometimes yellowish brown or azure colours are added to the inkwork, sometimes vivid green or purple are embellished. Brushworks with different water content mixes ink with the colour and renders a picture that is both void and solid, and both still and dynamic, as if embodying every imagery and all the majestic air of the world. Her series of The Vague, Flooding Strokes, Brushing Storm, Dreamy Summer Night, Between Behind Beyond, The Melodious Chime and The Unaffected Soul belong to this category. Secondly, pictures engendered with intersecting large, wet and strongly contrasting colour blocks. The dazzling flowery colours and the unrestrained brushwork produce a sense of pursuing the utmost resplendence, as in The Appeal, The Spring Call and The Immediately Remote series. Thirdly, pictures of obscure imageries, yet having a distinct tone with close colour tones. Sometimes a purple tone, and sometimes brown, the picture is like watching a landscape in a fog and produces a mystic atmosphere. The paintings in the Tranquility and Cross-Sensing series convey such an air.
　　Angelique Shidi’s painting comes from her personality. Never did I see her very sad or very pleased. Sometimes active and sometimes quiet, her frankness and candidacy could be easily noticed. She does not hide her feeling, always acts at her will or mood. Her character is totally presented in the brushwork, colour and paper, and painting gives her pleasure. The persistence in her disposition drives her to meticulous composition in painting. It is most appropriate to use the phrase “painting as the person” to comment on her.
　　Angelique Shidi accomplishes the “right fruit” in painting in a very short time. The so-called “right fruit”, in my humble opinion, can be accounted for with two Chinese words with identical pronunciation: pinwei. The first term refers to the height of artistry, while the second means the ability for aesthetic appreciation. In the way of art practice, artists often get lost in those two terms, as they are essentially associated with the talents and efforts and obsession of an artist. The relationship between the two terms is also relevant to one’s sustained cultivation. Angelique Shidi’s painting is in fact the interpretation and narration of the imageries of the gem in her memory that was born and tempered in the cosmos. She has a very broad vision, a cute understanding of the laws and principles of the world, and a good aesthetic sensibility, which form the basis for her comprehension of art. Another important factor for her success is a number of painting masters whom she by traditional rituals acknowledges as tutors, and who gradually become her friends, and hence pass to her in everyday friend exchanges the almost mystified “secrets” in painting. With these extra-painting opportunities and gifts, and with her free and unrestrained character, her achievement is only natural.
　　I dare not conclude on the height of Angelique Shidi’s painting, because her painting is an enigma in which she is fascinated. In her world miracles are always gestated and more enigmas generated. I cannot help but wonder where this enigmatic painter will lead us…
　　　　Song Jianming Vice President and Professor, China Academy of Art 
 

作者：Song,,Jianming