钱佳华：博弈

上海——藝術⾨荣幸呈现展览《博弈：钱佳华个展》，此次展览梳理了钱佳华最新的艺术创作，以个案研究的⽅式，呈现中国本⼟艺术家运⽤东⽅哲学进⼊抽象绘画的路径。在“有序”与“⽆序”的博弈间，艺术家以在当下时代中的真切感受，感知作品本⾝⾃是⾃洽的内在⽣命。

古典艺术的辉煌已离我们远去，如果仍是盲从古希腊艺术的规范法则，所得到的作品只可能是徒具其形，不具其神。可⻅每个⽂化时期都产⽣其⾃⾝的艺术，不可重复，艺术家在传统艺术的“有序”中，仍需苦⼼寻找⼀种“⽆序”。当然这⾥的⽆序，纵然有时如天⻢⾏空，但绝不是恣意⽆度；⽽是真真切切的基于艺术家⾃⾝⽣命经验及其⼼灵感受的内在驱⼒。在现今的艺术语境中，将抽象这个词只是从字⾯来理解是有误导性的，但康定斯基在《对抽象艺术的反思》⼀书中所说的画⾯“内在的声⾳”，是解读钱佳华艺术创作的关键词。

受困于物资的短缺，2022年，钱佳华探索将旧画作的画布从画框上拆下，并重新绷回画框；旧画作的画⾯肌理和因布⾯移动后画框边界所形成的物理折痕，成为新的绘画界⾯。在《左倾30度》、《赘⽣》等作品中，我们可以看到点线⾯的关系层层递进，在意外和控制间经营位置，传递出神经末梢的敏感，最终形成⼀种平衡美学。卢⻄奥·⽅塔纳（Lucio Fontana）割开画布突破画⾯的平⾯局限，试图创造出⼀个与宇宙相连的新维度；⽽钱佳华对画布的破坏与重构，是尝试⽤⾝体的感知在⽆序中体悟宇宙法则。

艺术家在作品《倒福》中使⽤了拼贴与覆盖的艺术⼿法，具有中国传统⽂化吉祥寓意的图案和单纯的印记作为画⾯的肌理，在丙烯颜料⼀次次⻛干的过程中凸显出来，形成类似于包浆的视觉效果和颗粒感。在否定与重构、遮盖与显现中，艺术家完成了从极具符号象征性的图像向绘画物质性的转化。⽽这些微妙的痕迹在数字化的图⽚上很难察觉，需要观者在现场的环境中，通过不断位移借助不同⾓度的光线逐步识别。

作品《⿊⽔》中，通体使⽤了两种不同光泽度的⿊⾊，完成对画⾯基底内容的覆盖，以画布的物质平⾯构设出某种观念平⾯，突破绘画的单⼀平⾯理论并且形成⾃⾝的艺术语⾔。在光亮与哑光的⿊⾊之间，⽩⾊线条犹如从画外空间突破边界刺⼊画⾯，构筑起即冲突⼜均衡的动态感，并强化画作由物质的不同光泽度所引出的空间错位感。在创作过程中同样具有意外收获的作品《⾦⽣⽔》，艺术家只⽤了三种不同⾊彩倾向的⾦⾊，却呈现出⽆穷的微妙变化。

此次展览的另外⼀组新作，是艺术家从购物软件⽇常推送产品的逻辑算法中得到启发。⽐如《砖》，是以⺴购⼤数据所推送的瑜伽砖为原型，《⾦垫》和《靠背》则是由《砖》的形态⽣⻓出来。作品《岩》的灵感来源于选购⽕⼭岩时，⾃然之物被精确地划分尺⼨进⾏售卖，⽽买家却只能根据个⼈经验进⾏⾮精确选择。艺术家把所有可购尺⼨的⽕⼭岩从⼤到⼩排成“轮”的样⼦，使之再回到⾃然的尺度之中被⼈所感知。艺术家以第⼀⼈称⾝体⼒⾏的⽅式与强⼤的不可抗⼒进⾏互动，并将其精确可视化，旨在回应或降速庞⼤算⼒系统对个⼈感知的裹挟与消费。

除了延续具有代表性的失衡感之外，在钱佳华的新作中可⻅另⼀个维度的视⾓：平滑与阻尼、屏幕与现场、虚拟与现实等，其看似理性的犹如建筑表⾯般严谨的创作却不经由任何草稿与构思，“我希望每⼀笔都是可靠且⽣效的”，这⾥所说的可靠与⽣效的对象正是纯粹的直觉，那些由⼈⽣经验、记忆和欲望组成的真切⽣活体验。

Shanghai—Pearl Lam Galleries is pleased to present The Great Game of Go, a solo exhibition by Qian Jiahua in Shanghai. This meticulously curated exhibition showcases Qian’s latest artistic innovations with a case study approach, offering an insightful exploration into how a Chinese artist integrates Eastern philosophy with abstract paintings. Qian engages in a creative play between “order” and “chaos”based on her authentic feelings on the present era, expressing her perception of the artworks’ inherent coherence and self-contained lives.

Each cultural era manifests its unique artistic expression, irreplicable in essence. In our modern times, the glory of classical art has faded into the past. Adhering blindly to the norms of ancient Greek art in the present day would only yield creations with form but devoid of a contemporary soul. In this era, artists strive to find a sense of “chaos” amidst the “order” of traditional art, a chaos born not of aimless whimsy but from a deep, personal engagement with their own experiences and emotional insights. In today’s artistic context, interpreting a work merely as “abstract” could be misleading. Instead, the concept of “the inner sound” of a painting, as discussed by Kandinsky in his “Reflections on Abstract Art”, provides a more accurate key to understanding Qian’s creations.

In 2022, Qian embarked on an innovative journey by dismantling and re-stretching canvases from old paintings in response to a shortage of materials. The resulting texture and physical creases formed by the movement of the canvas offer a new painting interface. In artworks such as Left Tilt 30 Degrees and Parasitic Growth, viewers can observe the progressive relationship between dots, lines, and planes. The artist conveys an aesthetic harmony and visual stimuli through the balance of controlling the composition and introducing unexpected elements. Drawing inspiration from Lucio Fontana, who transcended the flatness of the canvas to connect with a universal dimension, Qian’s reconstruction of canvas is a physical exploration of cosmic laws amidst chaos.

In Reversal of Fortune, Qian employs a fusion of collage and overlay techniques, layering auspicious Chinese cultural patterns and simple imprints under acrylic paint to create a textured effect and graininess reminiscent of aged relics. Through negation and reconstruction, covering and revealing, this process transforms highly symbolic imagery into tangible painterly materiality. These subtle traces, challenging to discern in digital reproductions, invite viewers to engage physically with the artwork, discovering its nuances under varying light conditions.

Black Water uniquely utilises two shades of black with contrasting sheens to transcend the base content of the painting, establishing a conceptual plane beyond the physical surface of the canvas. This technique challenges the traditional flat plane of painting, and also establishes a distinct artistic language. Between glossy and matte finishes, white lines pierce the boundary of the painting, creating a dynamic interplay of conflict and balance, while accentuating the spatial dislocation prompted by the material’s differing gloss levels. Similarly, in Gold Produces Water, Qian simply uses three shades of gold to reveal the infinite intricate variations.

Another highlight of the exhibition is a series of new works inspired by the logic algorithms of daily shopping app recommendations. For example, the work Brick is modelled on yoga bricks as suggested by big data analytics, while Gold Cushion and Backrest evolved from the formation of Brick. The inspiration for Rock, an installation the artist will be setting up live at the exhibition, came from Qian’s online purchase of volcanic rocks, where a natural object’s precise dimensional division for sale contrasted against the buyer’s imprecise selection based solely on their personal experience. The artist arranges volcanic rocks in a “wheel” based on their scales, symbolically returning them to a natural scale for human perception. These works represent the artist’s physical engagement with and visualisation of the force majeure of computational algorithms, responding to or decelerating their overwhelming influence on individual perception and consumption.

In addition to the signature theme of imbalance, Qian’s new creations introduce another layer of perspective: smooth versus textured, screen versus scene, and virtual versus real. The artist’s seemingly methodical, architecture-like precision in creation unfolds spontaneously, without preliminary drafts or plans. “I desire every stroke to be reliable and effective,” Qian asserts, referring to the raw intuition shaped by authentic life experiences, memories, and desires.