Chen Yifei (Chinese, 1946-2005), 陳逸飛


Clarinet Player 1987signedoil on canvas127 x 101 cm (50 x 39 3/4 in)This work was executed in 1987.
|Provenance Michael Chen Collection, New York (acquired directly from the artist in 1992)Acquired directly from the above by the present owner陳逸飛吹豎笛的女子油彩畫布1987年作簽名: Chen Yifei來源紐約陳氏私人收藏 (於1992年直接購自藝術家)現藏家直接購自上述收藏Chinese realist painting had its first breakthrough in the late 1920s as artists and educators, led by Xu Beihong, engaged in Western classical realist art education. Due to the political climate of China, the realist style came to be the dominant oil painting style from the 1950s to the 70s. Xu Beihong, Yan Wenliang, Wu Zuoren, Lu Sibai and other members of China's first and second generation of oil painters laid a foundation for a realist painting guided by the Chinese literati spirit. Most of China's third generation of realist painters rose to prominence in the 1980s, having experienced the shifting winds of China's Reform and Opening. With the Reform and Opening policy of 1978, Chinese society began to grow more diverse, and a watershed shift in Chinese art began to quietly come into being. The more sensitive artists used creations to unleash their self-awareness and individual ideas, and realist painting produced a rich array of styles that came to international attention. Known as a Romantic Realist, Shanghai artist Chen Yifei's emotionally rich creations successfully pushed Chinese realist oil painting into the Western field of vision with their exquisite portraits and scenes of the Lower Yangtze region. In 1984, the New York Times and Art News magazine dubbed Chen's artistic style Romantic Realism. Through this we can see the powerful emotional content of Chen's art, and how it deeply moves the viewer.The achievement of Chen Yifei's Musicians series is in his use of the human form, lighting and composition to guide the viewer in a shift from the visual to the tactile, to sense the harmony of music and marvel at humanity's ability to create things of beauty. Combining linguistic elements of both classical and modern painting, along with the refined technique of polished thick coat painting, Chen crafted an elegant, compelling portrait of this Clarinet Player. The musician sits relaxed on a square stool, holding a clarinet in her hands as she looks out at the viewer with a subtle hint of emotion on her face. The figure is rendered in a triangular composition, conveying a sense of stability and tranquillity. The artist has carefully fused the body language of classical realism with abstract concepts from modern art, just as Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich reverted the human form and physical appearance to a series of points, lines and planes, using the connections between the most fundamental elements and spatial connections to create infinitely changing visual effects. Chen did not render his figures in abstraction, but the musician's posture in Clarinet Player is carefully arranged to link the head, arms and legs to form rhythmic lines that guide the viewer's gaze to the sense of melody and motion in the overall composition. The shift from the visual to the tactile, and onto a deeper entry into the painting composition, is like the process of attending a concert, being drawn into the beautiful flow of the performance, and listening to an elegant, harmonious classical song.Chen made bold use of a dark brown background, as in Western classical realist oil painting, producing a dramatic immersion effect, as if the viewer has entered into a hallowed performance space. The present work displays a grasp of lighting on par with Renaissance master Raphael, casting a stage-light glow onto the performer's body from the upper right to highlight the outline of her face, her expression and the graceful lines of her body, lending the painting the awe-inspiring solemnity of mythical and religious portraiture. Also like Raphael, Chen's depiction of the female form is likewise full of humanist sentiment, with a style flowing with natural grace and beauty. Furthermore, the dark background removes the subject from limitations of time and space, conveying that this kind of beauty and harmony can transcend time and space, and even attain timelessness. This blank background echoes the negative space techniques used in Song dynasty figure painting. Chen has replaced the white blankness of Chinese ink painting with dark brown, creating a space for free contemplation. This monochrome construction may lack the powerful visual contrasts of some of Chen's other works, such as the Maidens series, but the modern themes and content emerging from within mysterious and solemn classical forms provides a powerful dramatic feel. This atmosphere also gives us a glimpse of Chen's interest in cinema and the performing arts, something that would be amply demonstrated in his later development as an artist.Chen Yifei's Musicians series illustrates the artist's pursuit of a sense of connection between real things, and his probing of the inner links between painting and music. The present work reflect his interest in and pursuit of beauty, as well as his openness to aesthetic views from other cultures. Chen devoted his life to the development of visual effects, and had faith that the work of art, "Aside from being appreciated and bringing feelings of joy, should also have a deep social function. It should not be limited to the creation of a visually beautiful artwork, but should serve to maintain a beautiful environment, set standards of compassion, establish social mores, and cleanse the human soul." Chen Yifei's paintings strike into the soul and are lauded as a cultural bridge linking East and West.中國寫實繪畫的突破自1920年代末，以徐悲鴻為首的演出者及教育家，通過辦學展開了西方古典寫實藝術教育。寫實畫風隨著中國政治氣候，在50-70年代，成為主流油畫風格。 中國第一代、第二代油畫家，徐悲鴻、顏文樑、吳作人、呂斯百等人為創作擁有中國人文精神導向的寫實繪畫奠定根基。中國第三代的寫實主義畫家其中大部份人成名於80年代，大多親身體驗中國改革開放前、後的環境變化。隨著1978年落實改革開放政策，中國社會多元格局漸趨形成，中國藝術壇也靜靜地孕釀著一場劃時代的轉變。觸覺敏銳的演出者通過創作，釋放自我意識與個人思想，寫實畫派也產生出百花齊放的風格，更踏上了國際藝術舞臺。居住在美國，身為上海人的浪漫寫實主義藝術家，陳逸飛將豐富情感刻畫在多元創作主題中，不論是江南風景、人物肖像，都成功地把中國寫實油畫推向了西方觀眾的視野，可謂是80年代中西文化交流的一道橋樑。1984年美國《紐約時報》（New York Times）與《藝術新聞》（Art News）雜誌把陳逸飛的藝術風格評為「浪漫寫實主義」。可見，陳逸飛作品孕含濃厚的內在情感，深刻打動、震懾觀者的內心。陳逸飛「音樂人物系列」的成就在於他如何通過人物造型、光線、構圖，帶領觀者從視覺轉到觸覺，感受音樂的和諧，以及讚歎人類擁有創造美的事物的才華，結合古典及現代繪畫語言演出者運用精細的厚彩磨砂技巧把《吹豎笛的女子》中女演奏家描繪得細膩逼真。演奏者放鬆的附坐在方凳上，手持豎笛，眼光朝向觀眾，透露出微妙的情緒。畫面當中，人物的輪廓呈現出三角式的構圖，給人以穩定、寧靜的感覺。演出者深思熟慮地把古典寫實的肢體語言與西方現代藝術中的抽象概念融合，如康丁斯基（Vassily Kandinsky）、馬勒維奇（Kazimir Severinovich Malevich）把人體、物像還原成點、線、面，利用最基本的元素相互的關聯，以及與空間的關係，帶動千變幻化的視覺效果。雖然陳逸飛並沒有把人物抽象化處理，可是《吹豎笛的女子》中女演奏家手持豎笛的坐姿卻是經過精心的鋪排，使頭，手臂，腿相連，就像是充滿節奏的線條，引導觀眾感受整體構圖中律動、跳躍之感。從視覺轉到觸覺，繼而鑽進畫作中，猶如置身演奏會一樣，看到優美流暢的演奏動作，聽見古典樂高雅協調的音韻。陳逸飛大膽地使用深褐色背景，像西方古典寫實油畫，產生如戲劇場景般懾人的效果，使觀者彷佛走進了莊嚴的演奏廳中。畫作中呈現猶如文藝復興大師拉斐爾處理光線的筆法，把舞臺追光般的光線從畫面右上角灑在演奏者身上，突顯了畫中人物臉部輪廓、表情和優美的肢體線條，畫面有如莊嚴崇高的神話及宗教題材的肖像畫，震懾人心。陳氏對於女性充滿人文情懷的描繪亦令人想起拉斐爾自然流淌典雅和諧、秀美的風格。另一方面，深色背景抽掉了人為的時空限制，象徵這種美好，這種和諧能跨越時空，甚至是永恆常存的。 這個空白的背景與宋代人像中流白的手法互通，陳逸飛以"深褐色"代替中國水墨的"白"，創造一個冥想的自由的空間。這種單一色彩的營造雖然在視覺上並不像陳氏其他作品"仕女系列"如那樣對比強烈，但神秘、肅穆的古典的形式之下顯現而出的現代式主題與內容，則具有了十足的劇場感，這種氛圍也隱約顯現出陳逸飛對於電影及舞臺藝術的興趣—這一點在他日後的發展當中得到了充分的證明。陳逸飛的音樂人物作品表現了演出者追求事物之間的關聯感，探求繪畫與音樂之間內在的聯繫。作品反映演出者對美關注和追求，以至對不同文化的審美觀的包容性。陳逸飛一生致力於視覺效果的發展，抱有一個信念，他認為藝術品「除了可讓人欣賞、愉悅心情的功能以外，更應有深度的社會功能，他不僅局限於創造出美的視覺藝術品，而且應保持美的環境，規範仁愛準則，約束社會道德，淨化人類心靈的作用」。陳逸飛的畫作深入人們心靈，更被譽為東西方的文化橋樑。