The basic way to research on fine art history isinduction, that, it is practical for the researcherson fine art history to demonstrate the upgradingfrom individual concept s to general concept sthrough a reasoning process from part to wholeand from exceptional to common. Therefore, whenthe researchers are facing with contemporary artphenomena and creations by contemporary artists,they will chronically adobt induction to gain certainpopular conclusion.
　　Actually in the work target ting at practicalcontemporary art, the researchers have alreadybeen faced with more and more challenges intheir fixed ways of thinking. Take Chen Shuxia forexample. She also participated in group exhibitionsincluding “World of Women Artists” (Art Galleryof China Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1990)and “New Generation Art” (History Museum ofChina, Beijing, China in 1991) that marked thenew art trend and creation direction, and was alsolisted in the roster of“ Artists of New Generation”and“ Contemporary Female Artists”, she was stillmore a painter only belonging to herself, highlyholding the flag of “Naturalism”. Therefore,when the “art storm” early in the 90s became farand far away then past by, the incisive writing offemale artistic critics began to criticize severelythe overmuch school color in the their art andeven thought that Chen Shuxia’s creation was not“classics of female art”.
　　Actually, her creations have neither been praisedfor up-to-date, nor flaunted for “her own way”,but the painter just intentionally enhances theindividual spirit of art exploration through her“consciously or unconsciously missing the focus andthemes the public concern”. Meanwhile, puerility,wisdom and imagination integrates in her andfinally form a kind of mild and elegant paintingstyle combined with sharp and direct observation,which is really special and hard to classify incurrent society chasing for fashion and changingstyles.
　　As benefit from the art environmental and wholeatmosphere of her parent school China CentralAcademy of Fine Arts, Chen Shuxia’s creationcontains a kind of fairly premature characteristic.Actually early in 1988, the painter establishedalready her initial reputation in the public. Itwas an abstract series of artistic practices and“imaginative emotion expressing” was the onlytheme in her paintinings. In these works, thepainter tried more to extend her deep thinkingrelated to the art noumenon, dedicated herself intoresearch on the speciality of the colors and therelationship among. She stressed specially uponseeking for a kind of graphic abstract structurefull of youthful spirity and expressive force. Eventhough she consciously or unconsciously borrowedsome factors of Western maters, she still had herown understanding and study of the combinationof structure, cut-out and harmonious applicationof colors and successfully turned the organic intolanguage kernel which the painter is now stillrelying on.
　　In 1990, Chen Shuxia set about combining hercreation experiences of certain stages with lifethemes to further develop new series of works,with some masterpieces first shown in “World ofWomen Artists”. In this new series, the painterdirectly named with “original color”. Actuallywhile estimating her abilities and keeping herindependence, the painter also began to get closerto the reality, which may reflected objectivelya certain commonness of the “New Generationof Ar tist s”. However, through more carefulcomparison, we will find that Chen Shuxia wantsto show a kind of“ individual space” in her works---image sights made up of pleasing, exciting butinsignificant“ trivias” in daily life, using a narratingway seemingly like “telling the real feelings oremotions”, demons trating a so-called selfexplanationof“original color” of the painter.Besides the themes, there was another selfexplanationof “original color” specifically carriedout in the painter’s style realm. In these exquisiteand touching people and silent world of stilllife, Chen Shuxia focused on representing andcompleting her style ascending with her specialbrushwork structure, flat painting technique andharmonious grey tone.
　　All effects of naturalism in her works were castaway. This principle was applicable to bothtargetting at the image itself and the space theimage locate: Chen Shuxia neutralized the intrinsicopposition between abstract and representationthrough the way of omitting the details, to furthersimplify the images to become image factorsserving the aesthetic feelings of the whole form.
　　The space was compressed into the minimum,resulting that the bias formed between the simplecolor blocks in the background could still representcertain kind of limited depth of field, also play amore significant role in combining the works withrhythmic structure, so that every part juxtaposedin the image could be connected to each other.Light perception was simplified to a kind of fuctionsof graphic color, while the subtle and rich effectsresulted from highlights on the objects or shadowsprojected enabled the painter to use large amountof flat paints and mixed colors without polishwith no fear of disturbance in the rear. Yellow,green and white were normally allocated togetherharmoniously, creating a vague and romanticsentiment, which was not only the emotionalreflection of the theme, but also a completion ofthe painter’s special structure and visual images.Apparently the strong spontaneity of the worksis quite illusive, but actually the image effect wasachieved through a long-time accumulation ofconstant minor adjustments, experiencing constantself-survey and introspection. In the masterpieceof this period of time Pink Flowers , the emotionalexpressing and warm colors overflow and turn intoa factor surrounding the viewers, helping us sharewith the painter her joy of “the assimilation ofobject and Subject”.
　　Chen Shuxia has a kind of consciousness of neverending self-exploration in her and deeply immerseherself in this complex process. When she realizeda need to return back to deeper representation, thepainter gradually freed herself from those idealizednorms of formalism and found herself a form toexpress this kind of“ liberty” .
　　In 1992, Chen Shuxia kept paint ing s omeportraits or group portraits of her family and goodfriends, with scenes mainly indoors. Maybe someresearchers will think this series of works canbetter represent the original art intention of the“New Generation”, however, it actually reflectsthe division of the “New Generation”. ChenShuxia tried to equip her figures in the paintingwith a certain kind of long-standing charm, whichwas specifically carried out both through orderlyfull-face description (or maybe a kind of smartborrowing from the classic “Face Rule”), alsoprominent still features of figures (straight andundynamic pose design). Meanwhile, she againconstantly injected inspirations from life, broughther images life.
　　As said in her own words,“It made me graduallyrealize that the meanings of the two differentwords ‘painting’ and ‘living’ became more andmore unclear”, in the mid 1990s, Chen Shuxia’sattitude towards art creation became more andmore life oriented when stylized. Chen Shuxiatried to pursue “a kind of ease in art creation”and regarded it as her ultimate goal of creation.Considering the infinite pleasure and excitementmay gained from such“ ease”, the painter becamemore confident, which led to another turning of artin the late 90s.
　　In her works created in the late 90s, still lifethemed at flowers and individual portraits take upa certain proportion, but these directly represented“common things”are not only beautiful elementsof form structure like those in creation processof “original color”, in the contrary, they areindependent to be a kind of life implication, a kindof specific life.
　　These images with personal touch, in which ChenShuxia can combine her inspirations from life withher experiences effectively, are normally brief andsimple records of daily life. However, it does notmean that the painter was illustrating life with nodifference. In White Lean, Stay in the Mirror, Inthe Sunshine and Sunday, we can see a calm andcollected way of observation of the world, a poeticflavor and sentiment of tangly reality and personalimagination.
　　The figures still keep the straight and stiff stillfeature, which is helpful to the achievement ofsimple and brief effect and the use of transformingmethod, also shows the connec tion betweencreating s tages . It is to be noted that somefigures in the images show a tend towards theedge of the canvas to stretchoutside and breakthrough everywhere, resulting that the paintergets rid of the limitation of the canvas and createsunconstrainedly without a qualm. Chen Shuxia, inher “overladen indulgence in relaxation”, ChenShuxia also begins to set some “inharmoniousfragments” purpose lyin her works andintentionally preserves some pure and undecoratedtouch. Through the mutual effect between eachother, she makes more unexpectable and accidenteffects. This kind of ingenuity is also shown inthe painter’s treatment of “props” in the images.The introduction of life things creates a kind ofcertainty and reality of the environment. Theyare directly and clearly shown, with unexpectedexaggeration and surprising details. So they are notsimplified listing, but a smart and beautiful way.Chen Shuxia is still attached to the color withno polish on the surface, still insists on the “sublight”effect in the whole image, but onw sheappreciates more the principles of “seeking greyin flowery colors, pursuing life in grey”. Whenthe color relationship tends to be lower in thewhole, the effect of the brush touch is emphasizedextraordinarily. On the other hand, the harmoniouscolors turn the simplified flat painting into poeticand free flow through emotional expressing of thepainter’s hands. The clear and strong brush trackfurther enhances the theme and enriches the image,also delivers the painter’s confident affirmation ofher own style and personal life style.
　　Indeed, personal style here has become a“ mark” ofa kind of life attitude. In the following days, ChenShuxia constantly enhances this style to develop intoan eyecatching “autobiography”. She repetitivelyemphasizes:“ It is the feelings of life that forces thechange to happen”. However, there is one thing tobe sure, that this change has already been consistentwith the painter’s living status now.
　　As a creator never feeling exhausted, Chen Shuxiaincessantly communicates her conclusion of herefforts. Among paintings in about 2000, some stilldeepened her way of thinking since the late 90s.But the painter seemed to be more attached toothe description of life, more caring for reality. Theindividual figures were also replaced by a groupof figures living happily. With the adjustment ofthe themes, the color seemed to be affected by the“happiness” overflowing in the images and becamefresh and bright suddenly. The use of the brushtouch and the leap of color became “duet” inharmony.
　　Another part of her works, named with “virtualand real situations” by the painter, were basicallythe extension based on “flowers” series in thelate 90s, but the main figures changed from“flowers” to“ fruits”,“ cups”, etc. The change ofthe “subjects” was explained and comprehendedby some critics as something “related to ChenShuxia’s consciousness to weaken her sexualdistinction as a female artist”, even“ a break withsexual distinction established after participatingin ‘World of Women Artists’ in 1990. ” But allthese explanations by others may contain somekind of “over explanation”. There was anotherexplanation based on the inner concept of personalart that Chen Shuxia seemed to take some kind of“tracing back”, that, re-developed her interestin pure structure of the image, just like her strongclaim in her early creation.
　　Also for this, the image contains certain feeling of“leaving”: though sometimes Chen Shuxia paintedon fruits and cups---fruits, fresh and mature oratrophic and wizen; cups, beautiful and delicateor plain and rough---which were normally put onlong desk, or sometimes hanged n the air, it was nolonger the realistic narration of life greatly, and nolonger “materialized” conclusion of the artist. Itwas some kind of “in-between status” intentionallyemphasized on self-established “virtual and realsituations”.“ In-between”, different from“ object”and“ subject”, refers to a kind of free waver, a kindof indescribable context, a kind of poetic existence,which can be easily associated with those “Zenpaintings” in ancient Chinese history. Actually fromthe appearance of the works, those scenes of fruitsor cups arranged in parallel show similar lookingto that of Black Persimmon (collected in Jikkoin,Tokyo, Japan) by Monk Painter Fa Chang ofSouthern Song Dynasty, but actually they are bothintentional communication of “in-between” in thenature. For this, the“ tracing-back” pose representedin “virtual and real situations” does not representany regradation or backwards, but an informationalreveal of the painter’s gradual giving up of Westernstructure of form and color and turning to the reviewand reference of traditional spirits of Chinese culturein deeper sense.
　　Now it seems that“ visual and real situations” styleis not the termination of the painter’s creation,but only a “temporary berth” in her developingprocess of personal style. For the series works on“landscape” after 2002 undoubtfully demonstratethe future perspective of her art. Our analysisconclusion of “virtual and real situation” on ChenShuxia can be further proved in the“ tracing-back”process of traditional Chinese cultural spirits inher series of “landscape”, but also to be noted isthat such kind of “tracing-back” represented by“landscape” series has already become clearer andstronger.
　　In works like The Shining Sun, The Ship NamedBeloved Wife, Wind Peak, Stone Rain, Sky Rain,Clear Lake, Go Boating and Sky Water, ChenShuxia never worried about the large amount10of reference taken from traditional landscapepainting. For example, the way of image structurein some works can even be associated with theclassic composition of “a river with two banks”of Ni Zan in Yuan Dynasty; another part of worksshow the scenery of boat in water similar to thatof Fisherman by Wu Zhen of Yuan Dynasty; thenthe presentation of trees and stones in the slope isboth close to that of Dong Yuan of Five Dynasty,also similar to that of Zhao Mengfu, while inarrangement of sceneries even borrowing theChinese “flat and distant” way of painting , “deepand distant” way of painting and so on.
　　So is Chen Shuxia merely copying from theclassics of Chinese art? Or she is just contentedwith creating Chinese paintings with oil paints?Obviously not.
　　The truth is that when Chinese art develops tocurrent stage,“ returning back to the tradition” notonly has different deep meaning, but also refers toactions not merely pure and free. It brings us theassociation of relevant description by Eliot T.S.on connection between historic consciousness andrealistic consciousness in poems,“Tradition is amatter of much wider significance...It involves,in the first place, the historical sense...and thehistorical sense involves a perception, not only ofthe pastness of the past, but of its presence...andit is at the same time what makes a writ ermost acutely conscious of his place in time, ofhis contemporaneity. ” Therefore, when ChenShuxia consciously made her decisions, her artbecame various metaphorical concepts of historyand current thoughts---not only marked out theappearance differences, but also represented theculture differences, far outreaching the originallyfixed meaning of the painting.
　　We have no intention to regard her recent works asin the category of“ nationalisation of oil painting”,though the concept has been there for long, it isstill rare to see in creation field until. Maybe theso-called “nationalisation of oil painting” seenby the Westerners has been understood as somekind of “cultural strategy” by oriental people tosalvage, maintenance or transform the“ traditionalculture”, the “localization” can only be doneon the so-called “modernization” individually orpartially. As a Chinese painter, Chen Shuxia shouldsurely react to this, specifically and effectively, forthe painters begins their discussion on“ object” and“subject” based on her creations.
　　This theme is undoubtfully the “basis” of ChenShuxia’s ar t . From “original color” seriesto “vir tual and real”, then to “landscape”,the painter completes the whole process fromconstantly reflecting and objectifing the ar tsubject, to vacillating between “object” and“Subject”, then to indistinction between“ object”and “subject” in landscape painting. Object orSubject, is just the assimilation of object andsubject, also the harmony of universe and human,the highest realm in Chinese art. Therefore, ChenShuxia’s ar t deser ves our apperciation andaffirmation now, and also our expectation andattention in future.
 

作者：Zhao,Li