E
xecuted in 1978, Abstract Composition is a seminal work by a founding member of the No Name group, Zhang Wei, and is one of the first recorded examples of abstract art in China that employs oil paint with ink on paper. The present work is an inaugural example of Zhang’s pioneering approach to landscape painting, eschewing the realism of the era and instead focusing on movement, spontaneity and the feelings aroused by a particular scene or subject that he is representing. Indeed, the artist described his approach to abstraction as:
“When painting landscapes, I would try to focus on the first impression, and quickly present the effect that the atmosphere has had on me. In terms of the sense of beauty that moves me, it could be the morning mist, or a rusted steel gate after the rain. These feelings and states of being are obtained momentarily, that’s why I paint fast. This ‘speed’ is manifest in a few hasty strokes.”
本作背面，可見墨水和油彩的痕跡
Not only does Abstract Composition embody the movement and speed which came to define his nonrepresentational painting, the use of both oil and ink on paper demonstrates the enduring importance of Chinese ink and calligraphy techniques on Zhang’s work. In this way, Zhang wonderfully combines the Western ideas and aesthetics of abstraction with traditional Chinese elements, forging a unique visual language that captures the spiritual essence of his subjects.
Discussing this desire to capture the spiritual, Zhang described his artistic intention as:
“Regardless of whether Western artists wanted to depict objective reality, they are also painting an image, whereby image and colour both have material qualities. But what I want to express and pursue is purely spiritual, divorced from objects and images, only using paintbrushes and paint to convey my temperament and disposition.”
With its non-descriptive title and ambiguous subject matter, Abstract Composition engages the viewer in a highly active process of deciphering and creating meaning. A crucial early example of abstract art in China, the present work demonstrates the increasing influence of Western abstraction amongst the avant-garde in China, as well as the remaining importance of Eastern aesthetics and spirituality in the abstract works of the 1980s.
《抽象構圖》作於1978年，是無名畫會創始成員張偉的開創性作品，是中國抽象藝術中最早將油彩顔料運用在紙本水墨畫上的作品之一。張偉開闢了山水畫的新畫法，此作便屬於其中最早的創作。他捨棄了現實主義的時代主流，而關注動態、自發性以及感受，這種感受往往由特定的場景或主題喚起，繼而通過創作將其表現出來。藝術家對自己的抽象手法形容道：
「畫風景，我會盡量把握第一印象，盡快表現環境氣氛給我的感動。打動我的美感，可能只是早晨的霧、雨後的生銹鐵門，一些感覺狀態，都是瞬間獲得的，所以我畫得很快。這個『快』就變成撩草三兩筆」
《抽象構圖》展現了動感和速度，這是他非具象繪畫的顯著特徵，而在紙上兼用油彩和墨的手法，則反映出中國水墨和書法技法對張偉作品的持續影響。張偉藉此將西方的抽象思想和美學與中國傳統元素巧妙地結合在一起，融匯成一種獨特的視覺語言，抓住主題的神髓。張偉闡述了自己的藝術意圖，其中談論到這種對表現精神性的渴求：
「無論西方藝術家是否想表達物象，他所畫的也是一個形象，形象和色彩本身也是物質性的。而我要表達和追求的，是純精神性，擺脫物象、放棄形象，只用畫筆和顏料，傳達我的氣質和性情」
《抽象構圖》的標題沒有指出具體事物，使觀衆投身於積極破譯和創造意義的過程中。此作是早期中國抽象藝術的關鍵作品，表明西方抽象在中國前衛藝術中的影響力日漸擴大，而東方美學和精神性在20世紀80年代抽象作品中的重要性依舊延綿不絕。