ZHOU CHUNYA

(B.1955)

Dog And Rock

Footnotes

Provenance
Private Collection, Asia
Sale: Cheng Xuan Auction, Beijing, Chinese Oil Paintings and Sculptures, 11 November 2011, Lot 686
Private Collection, Asia
Sale: Poly Auction, Hong Kong, Chinese Modern & Contemporary Art, 7 April 2013, Lot 166
Private Collection, Asia
Sale: Poly Auction, Hong Kong, Modern and Contemporary Art, 7 April 2024, Lot 121
Acquired from the above by the present owner

周春芽
對望
油彩 畫布
1993年作

簽名：1993 周春芽（右下）

來源
亞洲私人收藏
拍賣：北京，誠軒，「中國油畫雕塑」，2011年11月11日，拍品編號 686
亞洲私人收藏
拍賣：香港，保利，「中國現當代藝術」，2013年4月7日，拍品編號 166
亞洲私人收藏
拍賣：香港，保利，「現當代藝術專場」，2024年4月7日，拍品編號 121
現藏家得自上述來源

In the late 1980s, Zhou Chunya returned to China after completing his studies in Kassel, Germany. At that time, the Chinese art scene largely focused on themes related to the era's background, ideology, or socio-political subjects. Although Zhou had continuously absorbed artistic nourishment in Europe, he was deeply influenced by his father, a literary critic. Having been immersed in extensive literary theory from a young age, he retained a strong affinity for traditional literati culture and a deep love for classical Chinese literati painting in his heart.

Influenced by German Neo-Expressionist painting, Zhou was not satisfied with its purely direct and bold expression. Instead, he integrated the delicate, sensitive, subtle, and mysterious language of traditional Chinese literati painting into his work. This led him to creatively develop a profoundly evocative, highly talented, and distinctly personal artistic style.

Dog and Rock, created in 1993, perfectly embodies Zhou Chunya's early exploration between Chinese tradition and Western modern painting languages. The painting depicts two scholar's rocks, one large and one small, set against an abstract, misty brown background. The rocks are rendered with richly textured surfaces and brushstrokes that possess a strong tactile and structural intensity, showcasing the artist's masterful interpretation of German Expressionist technique. The figurative treatment of the rocks contrasted with the abstract handling of the background demonstrates Zhou's precise control over composition. Between void and solid, strength and softness, he achieves a unique and resonant tension-it is not only a "gazing" between the two rocks but also a "dialogue" successfully conducted between Chinese literati landscape painting and Western modernism.

"Scholar's Rocks" have always been a classic motif in literati painting and also became a highly signature theme for Zhou Chunya. In the early stages of his artistic exploration, the "rock" subject best reflected the artist's response to both German Expressionism-which conveys subjective emotion through distortion, exaggeration, and intense color-and his own traditional Chinese aesthetic sensibilities. This theme continued to evolve throughout his later artistic journey, serving as a crucial link that would eventually develop into his later "Taihu Rock" series. Dog and Rock is not only an excellent example of his early "rock" paintings but also projects a tender, romantic facet of the artist's subjective emotions, carrying a pure and beautiful vitality.

1980年代末，周春芽從德國卡塞爾學成歸國，當時的中國藝術界多圍繞著時代背景、意識形態或者社會政治題材而創作。周春芽雖然在歐洲不斷的汲取藝術養分，但因受到家父作為文學評論家的影響，自小徜徉於大量的文藝理論中，在內心深處依然保留濃厚的文人情結以及對傳統文人畫的鐘愛。他受到德國新表現主義繪畫的影響，卻不滿足於這種純粹的直接與張揚，而是將中國傳統文人繪畫中細膩、敏感、含蓄和充滿神秘意味的創作語言加入其中，創造性的探索出了一套耐人尋味、極具才氣與個人風格的藝術語言。

創作於1993年的《對望》是周春芽早期在中國傳統於西方現代繪畫語言之間探索的完美體現，畫面中兩塊一大一小的山石處於一片抽象氤氳的褐色底色之上，山石肌理豐富，筆觸極具肌理與筋骨，呈現出藝術家對德國表現主義技術的精湛演繹，而山石的具象與畫面背景的抽象處理則體現了藝術家對畫面佈局的精準把控，在虛實、剛柔之間，恰到好處的形成一種獨特的氣韻——不僅是兩塊山石的之間的「對望」，更是完成了一次中國文人山水繪畫與西方現代主義之間的「對望」。

「山石」歷來是文人繪畫的經典母題，也是周春芽非常標緻性的繪畫主題，在他藝術探索的早期，「山石」的題材最能體現藝術家對德國表現主義透過扭曲、誇張和強烈色彩來傳達藝術家主觀情感，以及對自身中國傳統美學基因的反應，這一題材在藝術家之後的藝術探索中也不斷延續，可謂是承上啟下，發展出後來的「太湖石」系列。《對望》不僅是早期「山石」題材的精彩演繹，同時也投射出藝術家主觀情感中溫柔、浪漫的一面，承載著純粹、美好的生命力量。