Page 23 - Fine Chinese Modern and Contemporary Paintings July 8th, 2020 Hong Kong

Li Huayi’s Rondo, with its imposing composition and sculptural aura, is the
quintessence of his celebrated oeuvre. While the dramatic imagery on the large
horizontal scroll attests to his instruction in the Shanghai School, the striking depth
manifests his learning of classical Western painting and socialist realism art. Likewise,
the spirited vision alludes to his study of abstract expressionism after relocating to
San Francisco from Shanghai in 1982.

Emanating the monumentality of Northern Song landscape paintings nearly a
millennium later, Li’s Rondo also encompasses a remarkable personal expression
in an exquisite modernist style. At the turn of the century, alongside C. C. Wang
and Arnold Chang, Li held fantastic exhibitions at the Kaikodo Art Gallery
and the Guggenheim Museum to reciprocate the American collectors’ growing
interest in Chinese contemporary ink paintings. The synchronous creation of
Rondo embodies his heightened motivation to create a timeless escape for those
who seek “solace in the wonders of monumental landscapes.” From afar, as
if the viewer is standing on a nearby summit, Rondo yields a riveting, ethereal
impression with its rugged mountains and wispy clouds. Forming the yin-
yang symbol as a result of their animated entanglement and marked contrast
in luminosity, the curving of the bank of clouds against the hook-shaped
sierra evokes enlivening wonder. Amid the mist-silhouetted mountains, the
juxtaposition of solid volume and airy mass becomes ever-shifting and enigmatic.
Meanwhile, the verdant trees at the centre announce a rooted, vibrant presence;
their miraculous growth on the precipice, besides symbolising robustness and
resilience, encapsulates natural spontaneity. Such serendipity further prevails in
Li’s method of creating the inky massifs – in a manner reminiscent of Jackson
Pollock’s gestural abstraction, Li first splashes ink, then tilts and stretches the
paper to realise the mountains. Apart from imparting movement through the
subjects of Rondo, Li instils qi, or ’life energy’, into his work.

Compelled to move slowly around the painting in order to behold the cloudy
swirls and rocky indentations, the viewer may subconsciously mirror the measured
movements of qigong, as Li did when rendering the large, intricate landscape.
Much like the physical exercise, the painting epitomises dualism and mindfulness.
Li, beyond staging dark concrete bulks against light hollow voids, complements his
large big planes with short intricate brushstrokes; every touch on the paper reflects
his meditative state. Depicting a stirring embrace between jagged edges and smooth
arcs, Li Huayi’s firm strokes and soft brushes in Rondo emanate his perspicacity and
virtuosity.
《昊濛迴旋》全圖視覺雄偉而氤氳蒼茫，構圖險中求奇，畫中巍峨的崖壑散
發著強烈的雕塑感，正是李華弌山水創作中最具代表性的作品之一。李華弌
早年在上海研習傳統中國書畫，師從畫家張充仁學習歐洲藝術理論。1982年
移居舊金山後，又受美國抽象表現主義思潮衝擊。《昊濛迴旋》融匯了藝術
家跨越時空及歷史的多元探索，正是他對人生歷程內化升華的最佳載體。

李華弌在創作中深受北宋山水啟發，擅長取其恢宏壯麗，他獨有的表現手法
又富有絕妙現代感。2000年前後，隨著國際藝壇對中國當代水墨創作的關注
逐漸升溫，紐約懷古堂、古根漢博物館等藝術機構均籌劃了一系列以當代水
墨為主題的展覽，李華弌的作品亦自然備受矚目。《昊濛迴旋》在汲取不同
文化影響的同時，體現了藝術家對創作恆久山水景致的追求：構圖從遠處廣
角入鏡，觀者仿佛站立在另一高峰上遠眺，置身煙雲之中，意境空靈而扣人
心弦。雲霧與山體交錯之間，光暗斑駁的反差構成了陰陽兩極，高低起伏的
曲線山脈喚起了生機。在薄霧籠罩的群山之中，輕與重、光與影的對比顯得
千變萬化而神秘莫測。畫面中央的翠綠樹木生長在懸崖，表現出強大的生命
力。通過潑墨的手法，李華弌在創作山體時由墨汁在畫面上自由流淌，然後
傾斜並拉伸紙張直至山脈成形，又與傑克遜·波洛克的抽象滴畫技法有異曲
同工之妙，表達造化中氣韻流動之外，更注入了無限生機。

通過觀察漩渦般的煙雲和峰巒，觀者的目光在畫中緩慢移動，恰恰如氣功中
舒展軀體的動作一般，氣韻貫通而令人心曠神怡。《昊濛迴旋》不僅彰顯了
李華弌的敏銳視覺及高超技藝，更寄託了他冥想的心境，體現了不可言傳的
幽謐沉思。

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