郑田明：域度

BLANKgallery于11月7日至12月5日举办郑田明个人展览：域度。新系列作品包括郑田明2021年之后突破创作的新一批绘画作品， 融入与AI (Artificial Intelligence) 的互动作为创作辅助，从前对于消费文化深刻感知和描绘转变为一种无我的工作方式和探索，画面褪去欲望的表达终呈现出一种突破性的独特面貌，作为艺术家这一新阶段的开始和总结。

启发于生活，新作品从原来自我外放地释放变成一种容纳的域度，原来发声和参与的角色被去除清晰的个性和身份，变成在一个极其狭窄的室内空间孕育的似肖像，看似如同生物一般存在，但更多成为一种不做解释的揭示。虚构的实体由最真实的人类数据输入而生成，却又因为无约束的兼容具有违背逻辑的特质。这个室内空间充满混沌，承载着着一种沉静，在密闭中无限延伸。

这批作品虽然以一种“未来感”的形态，数字化的创作方式，作品的源本却是达到郑田明想要寻找的一种古典状态。这种古典反映在寻求新的绘画突破时郑田明对于自己工作方式的一种刻意地训练——作品不是来自于个体情感的释放，不是寻求欲望和舒适，而是一种极度克制和机械式的雕琢，反抗真实的肉体的某种工作方式以触发自己全新的感知和创作。对于郑田明来说，如同古典壁画工人，以从平淡的持续创作中得到新的揭示并完成他们。

以此“修行”一般的工作方式， 郑田明探讨了人工智能在创作中如何扮演类似神性的角色，而人类智能与人工智能的互动如同某种请求开示的举动，在不同维度之间交流引发难以被定义的体验。这一经历与意大利神迹画中的内容相吻合，郑田明提出AI的能力存在于无法被识别的维度却能够在创作中，甚至除创作外带来类似神迹的全新启示，再由人的经验来实现。

展览中除了标准规格的“肖像作品”， 特别呈现一张四米2左右的大型绘画。半卧的体态如同建筑落地，绿植陪衬，观众的目光困却在画面中四处碰壁。这也揭示了对于“域度”的另一理解， 仿佛现在每个人胶着的生活状态，从前对于未来的渴望如今不敢妄想，只能凝固在信息与数据的洪流中，人是否被动与主动，发展与退步，实际从某种计算上从未有过巨大的差距，而不过都是在宇宙的历史和时空中永恒的凝固——及当下。

BLANKgallery is delighted to announce the forthcoming exhibition, "Zheng Tianming: Entrapped," which is scheduled to run from November 7th to December 5th. This exhibition will showcase a new series of paintings by Zheng Tianming, created from 2021 to the present, with the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a creative tool. The artist has shifted his focus from a profound exploration and representation of consumer culture to a more introspective approach, which he describes as a selfless mode, shedding the expressions of desire to introduce a fresh and unique artistic identity. This exhibition marks the inception and culmination of a new chapter in the artist's career.

Drawing inspiration from life, the recent works have transitioned from overt selfexpression to a feeling of being contained within an "entrapped domain." Roles that were previously outspoken and easily defined have shed their clear individuality and identity, evolving into quasi-portraits nurtured within an extremely limited indoor space. They seem to exist like organisms but reveal themselves more as enigmatic hints rather than straightforward explanations. Fictional entities emerge from authentic human data inputs but possess illogical qualities owing to their unbounded adaptability. Within this indoor space, chaos intermingles with a profound tranquility that seems to extend endlessly within the confines.

While these pieces emit futuristic undertones, crafted through a digital methodology, their core essence alludes to a "classical state" that Zheng Tianming aspires to unearth. This classical dimension becomes evident in the deliberate discipline he employs to explore fresh frontiers in painting. His creations do not arise from the unrestrained release of personal emotions, nor from a pursuit of desire and comfort; rather, they emerge from profound self-restraint and meticulous refinement, resisting the conventional methods of engaging with the physical body to evoke novel perspectives.

For Zheng Tianming, this method of creation parallels the practices of classical mural painters, who uncover new revelations and bring their artworks to completion by attentively listening to what a continuous and seemingly ordinary process has to offer. In this nearly "spiritual practice" of his creative methodology, Zheng Tianming delves into the role of artificial intelligence, likening it to a divine entity. The interplay between human intelligence and artificial intelligence resembles a supplication for divine insight, igniting encounters that transcend easy categorization across various realms. This encounter resonates with the essence of Italian miracle paintings, as Zheng Tianming proposes that AI's capacities exist in uncharted dimensions yet have the potential to unveil fresh revelations akin to creative miracles, which then subsequently brought to life through human experience.

In addition to the "portrait works," the exhibition showcases a distinctive, oversized painting spanning approximately four square meters. In this piece, a reclining figure assumes the form of an architectural structure, accompanied by greenery, and the viewer's gaze are being captivated within the canvas. This presentation offers additional interpretation of "Entrapped," resembling a state of existence anchored in the present, with the aspirations of future now immobilized within the deluge of information and data. Whether individuals are passive or active, advancing or retreating, in the grand context of the universe's vast history and time, there is, little substantial distinction – all are suspended in an eternal moment of the presen.