Footnotes

Provenance
Private Collection, Asia.
Sale: Sotheby's, Beijing, Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art, 2 June 2015, Lot 40.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Private Collection, Asia.

艾軒
藏族少女
設色 紙本
2012年作

簽名：艾軒 貳零壹貳（右中）
鈐印：艾軒 (右中），曠野（左中）

來源
亞洲私人收藏
拍賣：北京，蘇富比，「中國現當代藝術」，2015年6月2日，拍品編號40
現藏家得自上述來源
亞洲私人收藏

Ai Xuan, as one of the founders of the "Chinese Realist School of Painting," has carved out a unique place in the art world with his meticulous brushwork and distinctive style of "Sentimental Realism." As the son of the renowned poet Ai Qing, Ai Xuan was immersed from a young age in a rich literary and artistic environment, which laid a profound humanistic foundation for his future artistic creations. In 1973, the young Ai Xuan was assigned to the Chengdu military unit for creative work. This allowed him to delve deeply into the Tibetan-inhabited areas of western Sichuan. The mystical land profoundly touched his artistic soul, inspiring him to create numerous sketches capturing the customs and landscapes of the Sichuan-Tibet region. Since then, Tibetan themes have become an important element in his artistic creations.​

Unlike other artists' portrayals of Tibet, Ai Xuan's Tibet is not vibrant and unrestrained but rather imbued with solitude and poetry. This painting, Tibetan Girl, is a perfect interpretation of his artistic language. In the painting, a Tibetan girl stands quietly on a desolate snowy plain. Her soft and enigmatic face veiled with a hint of melancholy. Her bright, deep eyes are particularly captivating, exuding a wisdom that transcends her age. The colourful beads around her neck add a touch of vividness to the painting, creating a delicate balance with the overall serene tone. In the background, the horseman and the girl's slightly inclined posture create a delicate dynamic interaction, guiding the viewer's gaze to follow the girl's line of sight and wander through the painting. The vast expanse of empty space contrasts sharply with the girl's solitary figure, evoking the mysterious atmosphere of the Tibetan wilderness.​

Ai Xuan does not confine himself to a lifelike depiction but instead uses the rhythms of ink and delicate light washes to create an atmosphere of solitude and poetry. Through the simplest forms, he has pioneered a new realm in ink figure painting, allowing viewers to feel the artist's emotional resonance and the timeless charm of Tibetan culture through his work.​

艾軒作為「中國寫實畫派」的創始者之一，以其細膩筆法和獨特的「傷感寫實主義」風格在畫壇獨樹一幟。身為著名詩人艾青之子，他自幼浸潤在濃郁的文學藝術氛圍中，這為其日後的藝術創作奠定了深厚的人文底蘊。1973年，青年艾軒被分配到成都部隊從事創作，得以深入四川西部藏族聚居區，那片神秘的土地深深觸動了他的藝術靈魂，畫下大量川藏風情的寫生稿。自此，西藏題材成為其藝術創作中不可或缺的精神圖騰。​

與其他畫家筆下的西藏不同，艾軒的西藏不是熱烈奔放的，而是充滿孤寂與詩意的。這幅《藏族少女》正是其藝術語言的經典詮釋。畫面中，藏族少女靜立於蒼茫雪原，柔和而神秘的面容籠罩著一層淡淡的憂思，那雙明亮深邃的眼眸尤其引人入勝，流露出一種內斂而堅韌的力量與超越年齡的深邃。頸間斑斕的珠飾為畫面增添了一抹靈動的色彩，與整體的沉靜基調形成微妙平衡。身後踏馬飛馳的牧民與少女略微傾斜的姿勢構成巧妙的動態呼應，引導觀者的視線隨著少女的目光流轉，在畫面中游走。大面積的留白與少女孤寂的身影形成強烈對比，營造出西藏原野特有的遼闊與神秘意境。​

艾軒並未拘泥於形似的描摹，而是通過水墨的韻律與細膩的淡墨勾勒，營造出一種孤寂而詩意的氛圍。他以最樸素的形式，開創了水墨人物畫的新境界，讓觀者透過畫面感受到畫家內心最真實的情感悸動，以及西藏文化獨特而永恆的魅力。​

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