吴强，陕西宝鸡人，少年时即耽迷艺术，东寻西觅，广学众长，一九七九年考入中央工艺美术学院，主修装潢艺术设计，成绩优异，毕业后留校任教，又因乐于实业，离开学校，创建北京展视会社，奋斗十几年，在同业中已卓有声誉。

　　艺术与设计，同宗而有异，互为因果。设计趋近社会，功利的得失直接而实在：艺术则偏向虚渺，其间的快乐含蓄而内敛。艺术与设计于吴强或时有轻重，而两相融合，长短互补，固而乐此不疲；且艺术与设计，思维与表述的方式或有不同，将此用于彼，将彼用于此，

　　更常有意外的表现。固而乐此不疑。

　　吴强画山水，亦画花卉。应是乡情所系，故其山水多以哺育他生长的黄土高原为题，点划间每见石鲁、赵望云、何海霞诸家笔意，抹不掉长安画派的韵致。长安画派五十年代曾风风火火于中国画坛，其浑厚坦露的风格，与贴近生活的现实性，仍影响着今日的中国画坛。

　　吴强画花卉似是另一番情景，其笔下的梅与荷均呈冷峻清冽的样式，牡丹与菊花则幡然有别，性近乎花而丰腴瘦俏不一，足见其情趣的多样性。花卉之道，是一险途，白石之后，无出其右者。

　　艺术家有多种类型，有从一而终者，有不断变幻者，孰是孰非，世无定论，但一段时间，专注一类，锲而不舍，穷其究竟，则会事半功倍。

　　吴强将其近作，结集付梓，瞩我为序，于是写了这些。

杜大恺

1997.11.8

　　Wu Qiang, born in Baoji, Shaanxi Province, was in love with arts in his teenage, traveling around to learn from the best masters. In 1979, he was enrolled by China Central Arts and Crafts Institute and majored in the courses of decorative arts and designing. With excellence of his study, he was assigned to teach at the Institute upon graduation. Later on he quit the job and started his own business by establishing Beijing Exhibition and Visual Arts Corporation. He has gained a good reputation in the business circle after more than ten years' outstanding performance.

　　Developed out of the same origin, arts and designing favor respectively different. Designing is more close to the society with direct and realistic material gains, while arts prefer to reach spiritual joyfulness with implicit and quiet flavor. Focusing efforts on gearing the balance between them in the past days, however, Wu Qiang has never been bored with the fascination to arts and crafts as both of them are always of complement to each other. In addition, he retains chasing after these two lovers also because their different forms of expression and thinking have always helped each other create marvelous works.

　　Wu Qiang depicts both mountains-and-waters and flowers. Perhaps with ardent homesickness, his mountains- and-waters paintings and flowers paintings selected Loess Plateau as the theme, sensing the salient feature in the works by Shi Lu, Zhao Wangyun, He Haixia (contemporary celebrated artists) and others, and possessing the romantic flavor of Chang'an (Eternal Peace, an old name for Xl'an) school of painting were hot in the Chinese painting society of 1950s, and their vigorous and sublime style as well asthe realistic reaches still affect the Chinese painting circle of today.

　　The flowers paintings by Wu Qiang, nevertheless, appear, in a quite different manner. His plums and lotus are depicted in fresh and cold strokes, while peony and chrysanthemum are painted gracefully rich or delicately pretty, displaying a versatility of artistic interest and aesthetic taste. It is well acknowledged that it is difficult to make a success for a flower painter. Wu Qiang has eventually acquired his fame in the very few outstanding followers after Qi Baishi, great master in this field.

　　Artists may be divided into various types in terms of their devotion to the styles. Some of them explore their whole life into one way, while others change with the fashion, Although it is an another to-be or not-to-be question for the artistic critics to judge good or bad, I believe that he/she shall achieve some contribution if he/she keeps on exploration with perseverance on one venture and in one period.

　　Wu Qiang has chosen some of his recent painting works and is about to put the collection into publishing. I am honored to be invited to have the aforementioned words.

Du Dakai

November 8, 1997

作者：杜大恺