Installation view of Combined Efforts I and Combined Efforts II in The Hole, New York
《合力I》及《合力II》展於紐約 The Hole 畫廊
(Instagram: @matthewstone)
‘You can’t get a more overtly artistic language than the brushstroke, yet a digitalised brushstroke (not, in its effect, unlike Roy Lichtenstein’s Ben-Day brushstroke) is a different matter, especially when it is applied to a computer-generated figure.’
P resented in Matthew Stone’s Combined Effort II are two intertwined figures in an ardent embrace. The man facing forward sends the audience a piercing look as if an intimate private moment has been interrupted. The figures’ contours and musculature are accentuated by the dynamic swaths of vibrant colours against the muted background. Likened to strips of ribbons defying gravity, some of the brushstrokes contributing to the anatomies have yet reached their positions as they billow gracefully in the air, suggesting a scene caught in the progress of formation or disintegration. Only with a closer look would one notice that each stroke in its convincing tactility is digitally produced on the raw linen surface. Bearing this realisation in mind, Stone’s modus operandi is not without craftsmanship, only with a medium that pushes the boundaries between art and non-art: digital software.
To begin with, Stone sculpts his protagonists’ bodies using computer-generation software. He would then wrap the digitally three-dimensional figures with brushstrokes chosen from his accumulating library of gestural strokes made by physically painting them on acetate followed by photographing at high resolution. Finally, the models onto which the brushworks are attached are removed, resulting in the occasional ‘unpainted’ parts of Stone’s characters. The artist finalises the composition with cropping and lighting, whereby Stone regards Caravaggio’s works as crucial influences:
‘I always wanted to make religious paintings and was obsessed with Caravaggio’s treatment of the body and his sense of lighting. I am still referencing that sense of embodied drama and chiaroscuro (his use of strong contrasts between light and dark) in my work.’
While Stone’s oeuvre persistently delves into the art-historically rooted subject of figuration, his methodology is very much an exploration of digital devices substituting traditional tools such as chisels, palette knives, and paintbrushes alike, and how the scope of possibilities in artistic expression can therefore be expanded.
Exhibited in Stone’s fourth solo show Neophyte (2018), the title meaning someone entirely new to a subject, skill, or calling, Combined Effort II compels viewers to reconsider the perception of traditional painterly and sculptural technique that is now rendered unfamiliar while testifying how uniqueness remains possible despite the digital deliverance.
Matthew Stone held his first solo exhibition at London’s Union Gallery in 2007, soon followed by both solo and group exhibitions at Tate Britain, the Royal Academy of Arts, and the Centre for Contemporary Art. Stone was commissioned by the English newspaper Gay Times to create ten portraits of British LGBT+ icons for the Gay Times Honours 2017, held at the National Portrait Gallery in November.
「你無法找到比筆觸更不加隱蔽的藝術語言，但數碼化的筆觸卻是另一回事（效果與羅伊·李奇登斯坦的班戴點沒有分別），尤其是當它暈染在電腦生成的物象上。」
馬 修·斯通的《合力 II》呈現了兩個交纏在熱烈擁抱之中的人影。面朝前方的男人直視觀眾，目光銳利，彷彿在示意一個親密而私隱的時刻遭到打擾。細長的色塊明艷綺麗，動影裊窕，在柔和素淨的背景上，人物的輪廓和肌肉組織更形突出。部分構成身體的筆觸尚未到位即嘎然而止，在半空中優雅飄揚，猶如違反萬有引力定律的絲帶，亦暗示著一個正在形成或解體的過程。只有近看，才會發現每一道質感真實的筆觸，竟然都是以數碼方式打印在粗麻布表面上。儘管如此，斯通的作法並非無工藝可言，而是使用了一種非一般的媒材——一種突破藝術與非藝術之間既有界線的媒材。
首先，斯通利用電腦生成軟件為主角賦予形體。然後，藝術家從他的動勢筆觸庫中選取特定的式樣，以此包裹住數碼生成的3D人物，這些筆觸是通過親手在醋酸纖維上繪畫，繼而以高像素拍攝而製成的。最後，筆觸所粘附的模特兒被移除，導致斯通畫筆下人物偶爾出現「未著色」的部分。作為收結，藝術家加以裁剪和調校光暗，敲定了構圖細節，這一步足見卡拉瓦喬的作品對斯通影響至深：
「我一直想創作宗教畫，並著迷於卡拉瓦喬對身體的處理和他對光線的理解。至今，我仍然會參考其作品的戲劇效果和明暗對照法（光與影之間的強烈對比）。」
斯通反复鑽研藝術史上源遠流長的具象主題，但是在方法上，他卻探索如何以電子器材取代諸如鑿子、調色刀和畫筆等傳統工具，並思考這種方法如何擴大藝術表達的可能性。
《合力 II》在斯通的第四場個展「Neophyte」(2018年)上展出，展覽標題意指剛進入全新領域的人——不論是主題或技巧方面。本作令觀者不得不重新思考對於傳統繪畫和雕塑技術的觀念，這些技術如今變得陌生，但也同時證明儘管數碼化盛行，但傳統的技術仍然可以發揮其特質。
馬修·斯通於2007年在倫敦 Union 畫廊首度舉辦個展，隨後在倫敦泰特畫廊、皇家藝術學院和當代藝術中心分別舉辦個展或群展。2017年，斯通曾受英國報章《同性戀時報》（Gay Times）委託，為 11 月在國家肖像館舉行的同性戀時報榮譽2017（Gay Times Honours 2017）創作了十幅英國 LGBT+ 代表人物的肖像畫。