在创建DSL Collection的过程中我们结交了很多令人惊喜的新朋友，艾敬无疑是其中最难忘的一个。有趣的是，我们的结缘归功于一场雨。2011年在巴黎举行的中国设计师时装发布会上，一位共同的朋友介绍我们相识，我们也碰巧在同一时间离开会场。但在雨中的巴黎街头，我放眼四望，视线范围内连一辆出租车也没有，于是我沿街走了好一会儿想设法打到一辆车，就在这时我再次遇到了艾敬。为了感谢她伸出援手载我一程，我们决定第二天共享午餐。仿佛是命中注定，在我家那次愉快的午餐标志着我们深厚友谊的开始。

　　几个月后，我们访问了这位视觉艺术家位于北京的工作室。一进工作室，我们完全被震撼了。在一个灯光柔和近乎禅宗般的白色空间里弥漫着美妙宁静的空气，背景轻轻播放着Almovador的音乐。尽管身处宁静的氛围中，你也可以即刻感受到工作室里充满的强烈活力，这种冷静和活力的矛盾结合正如艾敬自身散发的气质一样。我们欣赏了艾敬的架上绘画：既有沉寂、庄重、精彩的单色画，也有极具视觉冲记力、颜料几乎跃出画布的彩色画，你可以直接感受到每一件作品背后蕴含的跳动旋律，不经意间与音乐产生共鸣。她的装置作品——“生命之树”给我们留下了最为深刻的印象，这是一件制作精湛且弥漫着诗意的作品。与真实等高的大树由上万根一次性筷子精心构建而成，立于一个仍由筷子黏合而成的大平台上，一只孤独的黑鸟栖身于脆弱的树枝上。整个装置蕴含着能量的脉动，在柔和的色调中散发出浓浓的诗意与安宁。

　　其实，在见艾敬之前，我和多米尼克就对她的音乐成就早有耳闻，毕竟在20世纪90年代末艾敬可是中国最富才华的女摇滚歌手。我们真正认识艾敬的音乐是在巴黎的一个美妙夜晚，她在私人晚宴上清唱了一首歌曲。这时，我们才意识到艾敬无论是在音乐，还是在视觉艺术上，是多么彻底与全面的艺术家。

　　我们夫妇长期收藏艺术品，一直着迷于艺术中的“跨界”。自现代主义诞生以来，从歌剧到电影、表演到绘画，艺术和音乐在多种领域里相互激发灵感。约翰•凯奇对罗伯特•劳森伯格作品的影响就是“跨界”的一个绝佳例子。艾敬的艺术也充分地体现了这种跨界能力，她可以毫不费力地在视觉艺术和音乐领域之间自由转换。师从张晓刚的艾敬不仅极具创意，而且还是一位技法高度娴熟的艺术家。正如罗伯特•休斯曾经说过：“We love the spectacle of skill。”她的艺术技巧随着时间推移不断完善、逾趋成熟，游走于古典与现代之间。无论是雕塑、绘画，还是大型装置，艾敬的作品似乎超越了时间，集理性与感性于一身。

　　我和多米尼克决定收藏艾敬的作品。我们一致认为她的作品可以真正反映艺术家本人。正如Nimrod Baranovitch赞扬艾敬是一位“独立的，自由的，活跃的，充满活力和叛逆的流行女歌手”，在她的绘画中，我们也同样清晰地看到这些品质。这点对我们来说尤为重要，因为DSL collection将作品收藏数量限制在160件，每一件作品必须具有强烈的个性，能充分反映艺术家真正的灵魂。这正是我们决定收藏艾敬“Love”系列绘画作品的主要原因，而且“Love”一词也恰如其分地反映出她的慷慨善良。除此之外，收藏这件作品还有两个原因。首先，我们非常渴望拥有一件伟大女性艺术家的作品。在中国当代艺术界女性艺术家极少，我们认为艾敬的作品对DSL Collection是一个不容错过的机会。其次，我们希望能够收藏大量的单色画作品。

　　这次在国家博物馆举办的艾敬大型综合艺术个展，代表了她艺术发展历程中非常重要的阶段。同时，我们从收藏的角度也非常期待看到艾敬的新作，特别是她的装置艺术，我们一直在寻找能够真实表现、反映艺术家个人气质与内心感悟的大型作品。

　　简介

　　Sylvain Levy，一位对中国当代艺术情有独钟的法国藏家，与太太Dominique Levy在2005 年成立了DSL Colleciton 私人收藏机构。藏品全部来自于中国最具影响力的 110位先锋艺术家，涵盖了油画、雕塑、装置、影像等。

　　DSL收藏建立于2005年，主要针对中国当代艺术。此私人艺术收藏包括一百一十名中国前卫艺术家的作品，他们为中国当代艺术的发展做出了杰出的贡献。

　　文化差异以及技术和人口的流动在改变我们的世界。当代的中国是这个新世界最好的榜样之一。DSL收藏的宗旨是释放想象力，用创新思维吸引观众与我们共享这些艺术品。
 

　　We made many surprising new friends while putting together the DSL Collection. Ai Jing is undoubtedly the most unforgettable one. We met through rain. A common friend introduced us during the Fashion Conference of China Designers held in Paris in 2011. We left the conference at the same time. However, there was no taxi in sight in the Paris rain. I walked for a long time along the street and that was when I ran into Ai Jing again. She lent me a helping hand and to thank her we decided to have lunch together the next day. That happy lunch at my house was the beginning of our great friendship, as if by destiny.

　　A few months later we visited this visual artist’s studio in Beijing. We were shaken by what we saw. The lighting was soft and the white space was Zen-like and magical. Almodovar’s music was playing in the background. Although it was quiet, the studio was full of life. This combination of the contradictory was just like Ai Jing herself. We looked at Ai Jing’s paintings on the easels. Some were still, solemn, and monotonic, while others were colorful, vibrating with great visual impact. Each work contained an energetic rhythm and carelessly struck resonance with its audience. Her installation Tree of Life was very impressive, finely made and lyrical. A life-size tree had been made from tens of thousands of throwaway chopsticks, standing on a platform also of throwaway chopsticks. A lonely black crow sat on the fragile branches. The whole installationpulsedwith energy, its soft colors imparting peace and grace.

　　Before we met her Dominique and I had heard about Ai Jing’s music. After all, she was the most talented Chinese rock singer in late 1990s. We did not get to know her music until anenchanting night in Paris, when she sang a song at a private dinner. We realized then that she had many talents and was a real artist in both music and visual art.

　　We have been collecting art for a long time and are fond of “straddling” art. Since the beginning of modernism, from opera to film, performance to painting, fine art and music have inspired each other in many areas. John Cage’s influence on Robert Rauschenberg was a fine example of this “straddling”. Ai Jing showed her ability in “straddling” in her works, effortlessly switching between music and visual art. Having studied with Zhang Xiaogang, Ai Jing is not only creative but also skillful. Like what Robert Hughes said:” We love the spectacle of skill.” She honedher artistic skills as time went by and became more matured. She moved freely between the classic and the modern. Ai Jing’s works seemed to have transcended time and broughttogether rationality and sensibility.

　　Dominique and I decided to collect Ai Jing’s works. We always thought that her works were mirrors of herself. Nimrod Baranovitch has praised Ai Jing as an “independent, free, lively pop singer, revolting and full of vitality. What is important to us is that these qualities can be seen in her paintings. The DSL Collection limits its number of artworks to 160. Each individual piece must have distinct characters and reveal the artist’s soul. We decide to collect Ai Jing’s Loveseries. Love is precisely the word to describe her generosity and kindness. There are two more reasons. First of all, we want to collect works from a great female artist, since the latter is rare in the contemporary art world. We believe that Ai Jing’s works constitute a chance that our collection cannot afford to miss. Furthermore we like to collect more single-colored works.

　　This solo exhibition of Ai Jing’s major works at the National Museum is a good representation of an important period in her artistic development. In the meantime, from the point of view of collecting, we look forward to Ai Jing’s new works, especial her installations. We always look for works that reflect true reality and artists’ individual characteristics and feelings.

　　Sylvain Levy is a French collector of Chinese contemporary art. He and his wife Dominique Levy founded the DSL Collection agency in 2005. The works in the collection come from 110 avant-garde artists that are influential in China and include paintings, sculptures, installations and video works.

　　The DSL collection was established in 2005 with a primary focus on Chinese contemporary art. It is a private art collection representing 110 leading Chinese avant-garde artists, many of whom have played a major role in the development of contemporary art in China today.

　　Cultural diversity, technological and personal mobility are changing our world. Contemporary China is one of the best examples of this new world. Unleashing imagination,engaging the viewer with innovative ways of thinking and sharing the collection are central to the DSL collection philosophy.

作者：Sylvain