The culture of fire: According to Chinese legends, fire was discovered 500,000 years ago by Sui Si, who started a fire by rubbing stones against each other. Within the 5 elements, fire and water do not get along with one another. However, fire is an important element within Liang Guo Jian’s experimental water ink paintings. Moving beyond the traditions and boundaries of tradition Chinese painting to face the challenges brought about by the onslaught of new technology on traditional arts, Liang embraces his own unique style of artistic expression by incorporating the element of fire into Chinese paintings. By moving ink and water to the flicker of fire in the wind, and emulating the glow and depth of the flame, birth and destruction co-exist in the same frame, resulting in a visual effect that is both mesmerizing and sorrowful at the same time. In his experimental water ink paintings, Liang makes use of different methods to demonstrate various forms of fire, while maintaining its traditional and cultural essence, transforming his experimental water ink paintings into a form of artistic language, an emotion, a mental state, all while demonstrating the flexibility and strength of Chinese water ink as an artistic medium.

Liang admires the works of numerous master artists such as Zhang Da Qian, whose vibrant and bold ink splatter works inspire him, and Lin Feng Mian, whose works exude a sense of quiet and calm. , Liang draws inspiration from the creations and styles of many of the great artists before him and just as the burning of fire symbolizes the continuity of a form of traditional Chinese ceremony, many of Liang’s paintings also exhibit his boundless appreciation and respect for these earlier great masters of art.

Lost - liangs experiment Chinese painting

Key words: Ethereal, Emptiness, Mountains, Illusion of Water, Merging, Destruction, Memory, Confusion

The specialized mounting format and viewing mode of traditional Chinese painting stems from the unique characteristic of this art medium, forming the basis for an aesthetic style unique from its western counterpart. Poetry, calligraphy, stamping and ink wash come together to form a dynamic visual experience. As the traditional Chinese saying goes, ‘Vast enough is the space that allows horses to roam; Dense is the space where embroidered flowers cluster’. Using the expressive technique of traditional Chinese painting, emptiness and space are represented as white on rice paper, representing both water and sky, but also expressing the boundlessness between these two elements. The spirit generated by this embodies the essence and characteristic of the Chinese culture and civilization.

The spirit of Chinese painting also permeates Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which are three fields dominating humanistic spirit of China: Confucianism focuses on harmony and difference and while maintaining individuality in conservativeness and restraint.

On rice paper, water and ink merge seamlessly to create images of stately mountains and flowing rivers. The resulting effect is an illusion of universal change, formless and vast, expounding quietness similar to the calmness exuded by the Heart Sutra.

Linking the Past and Present: Liang’s ink wash inherits the traditional style while breaking the moulds of traditional landscape, using deft strokes of bold black calligraphy to convey and evoke innermost thoughts and emotions. At the same time, gold foil is added to break up the monotony of the black, creating a new interpretation and twist to traditional ink wash, all while maintaining the strength and vigor of the medium without compromising its classical beauty.

With the silence shattered, heaven and earth become one. The act of burning reflects the cycle of birth and destruction, where in the rubbles of destruction lie hidden the meaning of life, nature, spirit and soul. Fire and wind movement has reached its highest level, soothing the traces of destruction back into a state of tranquility. The burnt fragments from the blank portions of the painting are mounted on different materials, further enhancing the final visual effect, with the gold and silver base plates acting like ancient bronze mirrors, directly reflecting the eyes and emotions of the observer. Hanging these in a host of environments will cast a different light on the paintings; evoking inspiration and thought, while losing yourself within the realm of ink wash painting.
香火之礼:火之发明者,中国一致的传说是五十万年以前钻燧取火的燧人氏。五行中,水火不相溶。火,在健伯的实验水墨画中是一个十分重要的因素,从传统中国画到实验水墨的出走,面对绘画科技革命对传统技法的挑衅,他有着自己独到的艺术表现方式,创造性地将火运用在中国画中。从水与墨控制随风火流动燃烧到光色极至,毁灭又见创造灵意空间,水墨视觉效果迷幻悲凉。健伯在水墨实验里以各自的艺术手法表现了多种多样的火,而这样的火仍然是传统的继承的香火之礼,它在转化成了健伯观念实验水墨的一种艺术语言、一种符号、一种情绪、一种心境或者是中国水墨大度空间和强盛的生命力所在。

他在欣赏张大千式的泼墨山水,同样怀恋林风眠的静寂意境。依 健伯之见烧火是中国人一种祭忌行为,在他的许多画作经常充满对这些艺术大师表达无限缅怀之情。

迷失水墨空间
关键词:虚、空、若山、幻水,圆融、破坏、记忆、迷失。。。

中国画特别的装裱与观看形式,源自表现媒材的特性,也有别于西方视觉表现自成一格美学体系。诗书画印、水墨空间形成视觉张力。“空能跑马,密如绣花”。国画的表现技法其中在宣纸上留空的地方是白色,同样是一个空间的表现,也是中国水墨画虚空意境,是水是天,水天接壤无界限。水墨所创造的神精体现中国人文气质。中国画的精神同样渗透儒、释、道。主宰中国人文精神的三个领域:儒家和而不同,在保守内敛中保留个性。水墨相融,交汇空间。黑白是道,融化为虚无缥缈。空即是色,色即是空,水墨同样具有若山若水,若大宇宙,犹如寂然般若波罗密多。

承先启后:梁氏水墨既在继承传统而又推翻传统的山水画作上,带书法笔触浓郁的玄色表达酣畅淋漓的思绪梦影,另一方面金箔的拼贴打破玄色的凝重,对传统的水墨作出新的诠释,掌控笔墨之气势而不失古典情境之美。

醒觉烙痕
:静寂破碎,天地圆融为一体构成心象印记,火烧烙痕更是隐藏着自然、生命与灵魂的记忆。火与风的运动达到极致,毁灭的痕迹经过装裱后回归宁静。中国画的留空表现梁氏用火烧毁后的残片部分装裱在不同现代材料上,更加表现视觉效果,金色、银色的底板仿若古代青铜镜,可直照观赏者的眼帘。不同挂放环境的镜像映射入画,让你引发思觉,迷失水墨空间。