The Third Abstract State | 第三抽象

Ink and wash painting has constituted an extremely mature art system in Chinese history. It highly advocates the unity of man and nature while striving for the wonderful balance between similarity and dissimilarity, which is often considered as a very sophisticated middle way (a.k.a the Golden Mean), but also an insurmountable chasm for latecomers. Nonetheless, the characteristics of certain abstract expressions do exist in the history of Chinese paintings. Zhao Mengfu's "Painting with Calligraphy” already shows the fusion of subjective elements with natural depiction. After that, the ‘Yuan Four’, the ‘Ming Four’, Dong Qichang of the late Ming Dynasty, and the ‘Four Wangs’ of the Qing Dynasty gradually paved the road to abstraction for Chinese Ink and Wash art. In particular, the paintings of the ‘Four Wangs’ already have very little to do with the real natural state, but a pure text-to-text reconstruction of various painting methods from his predecessors. However, due to the limitations of the Golden Mean, Chinese ink and wash painting has neither broken through the philosophy of "similarity and dissimilarity”, nor led a clear path to abstraction.

 

Western art, on the other hand, follows a completely different path from the oriental Golden Mean philosophy. It is either based on the perspective of God or humanism, or realistic reproduction of ready-made and even surrealism; or seeking the inside-invisible abstract art and even conceptual art. Therefore, only when western abstract art entered China and influenced the ink and wash, did abstract ink painting truly open the way for the modern transformation of Chinese painting. Since modernism, abstract art has gone through two stages: abstract art and abstract expressionism. Abstract art strives to adopt the formalism approach and paint the inner objective essence of the world, as did Cezanne, Picasso, and Mondrian. Conversely, abstract expressionism emphasizes the artist's subjective emotions, exemplified by Pollock's action paintings. Even so, neither the objectivity of the world nor the human subjectivity can reach the ultimate of abstract art. Only from the perspective of God's creation of the world can we see that the pinnacle of art is to glorify God rather than glorify the world and humans themself. Therefore, the art history of humanism and even the entire history of abstract art deserve some deep reflections, which lead to the third abstract state.

 

Abstract ink painting has followed the same path. Both formalism and abstract expressionism have many practices in ink and wash painting, but abstract ink also faces the same humanism dilemma as abstract art. Without the observation of God’s perspective, abstract ink painting will just be a material copy of abstract art.

 

The new way is not in the invention of styles, or in personal wisdom, but in believing in the reversal of life by God. With the rebirth of an artist, art can return to the path that God has always led, but from the perspective of the past art history, it seems to be a new road. There are thousands of ink and wash painters, but only a handful of them can witness God in ink and wash. Li Xiaoqiang is walking on this new road called the Third Abstraction.

 

Socrates said: The unexamined life is not worth living. What matters is the basis for examination and reflection. If we believe in the existence of God, in a sense, any art without God's examination is vanity. Art career really begins only when you start to know God.

 

Li Xiaoqiang has been immersed in the contemporary art world for half his life, witnessing the 30 years of prosperity and decline of Chinese contemporary art. For everything, there is a reason and a time, and everything is in God's plan. Li Xiaoqiang began his journey with “the Third Abstract” contemporary abstract ink paintings, when contemporary art urgently needs transformations.

 

At the same time, Li Xiaoqiang also started his new life in New York City. As the center of contemporary art in the world, New York does not offer a magic prescription for contemporary art, but instead, it presents almost all the symptoms of contemporary art in a concentrated fashion, such as the confusion and nihilism of multiple values. More importantly, Li Xiaoqiang began to examine contemporary art and abstract ink painting with the eyes of God, and thus found the third road for abstract ink painting.

 

The world has become a land of ruins, from the east to the west, there is no essential difference. As presented by Li Xiaoqiang's ink and wash, similar to the traces of Pollock's action painting, this is the background color of the corrupted world. People's passions and desires, of all kinds and shapes, are completely free without moderation. Freedom is precious, but true freedom comes from the preservation of truth, not the abuse of free will. Therefore, the more important aspect of Li Xiaoqiang's ink painting lies in the hard-edged abstraction of structural straight lines, which set boundaries against the abuse of brush and ink, and sanctify a corrupted world. Between the gaps of the straight lines, a dazzling light shines in, making it impossible to hide anything in our hearts.

 

Leonard Cohen wrote in his song: “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” He also said: “That is the closest thing I could describe to a credo. That idea is one of the foundations, one of the fundamental positions behind a lot of my songs. “

 

This is also the credo of Li Xiaoqiang's "Third Abstract" contemporary ink painting. The light just shines in, illuminating Li Xiaoqiang's new life and new exhibition.

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水墨在历史中已经建构起一个极其成熟的艺术系统，言必称天人合一、妙在似与不似之间。可以认为这是一个非常高明的中庸之道，却让后来者很难跨越。事实上，在中国画的历史内部依然可以分析出一些抽象语言的特质，从赵孟頫“以书入画”已经看到自然写真之外主观因素的进入，之后元四家、明四家、晚明董其昌、清初四王，隐隐浮现出一条笔墨的抽象之路。四王的绘画，已经和自然情状没有太多关系，纯然是从文本到文本对前人绘画形式的重新组合。可是因为中庸之道的限制，中国画始终没有突破“似与不似之间”，在历史内部并没有走出一条抽象的路径。

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西方艺术却是与中庸决然不同的道路，或以上帝视角，或以人文主义；或逼真再现以至超现实甚至现成品，或寻求内在不可见的抽象艺术以至观念艺术。因此，当来自西方的抽象艺术进入中国，影响到水墨艺术，抽象水墨才真正开启了中国画现代转型的道路。

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现代主义以来，抽象艺术走过了两个阶段：抽象主义和抽象表现主义。抽象主义以形式主义的方式努力画出世界内在的客观本质，塞尚、毕加索、蒙德里安都是如此。抽象表现主义则加入了艺术家的主观情感，以波洛克的行动绘画为例。即便如此，世界的客观和人的主观都不能抵达抽象艺术的最终极之地。只有在上帝创造世界的视角，才能看到抽象艺术的至高之处乃是荣耀上帝，而非荣耀世界和人本身。因此，人文主义的艺术史乃至抽象艺术过往的历史都值得继续反思，这可以称为第三抽象的新意义。

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抽象水墨走过了同样的道路，形式主义和抽象表现主义都在水墨中有很多实践，但是抽象水墨同样要面对抽象艺术的人文主义困局。如果没有上帝视角的观照，抽象水墨就只不过是抽象艺术的一个材料翻版。

新的道路不在于风格的发明，或是个人的智慧，而在于信靠上帝而有的生命反转。艺术家生命重生，艺术才能回到上帝一直带领的道路，于过往的艺术史而言却仿佛是一条新路。水墨画者千千万万，能在水墨中见证上帝者屈指可数。李晓强正行走在这一条可以称为第三抽象的新路上。

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苏格拉底有言：未经反思的人生不值得活。重要的是以什么作为反思的依据，如果相信上帝的存在，某种意义上，未经上帝反思的艺术都是虚空。什么时候开始认识上帝，艺术生涯才真正开始。

李晓强行走于当代艺术界，纵横半生，见多识广，正好见证了中国当代艺术三十年的兴盛与衰落。万物有时，一切都在上帝的计划中。当代艺术亟需转型的时刻，李晓强开始了他第三抽象的当代抽象水墨创作。

与此同时，李晓强也开始了他新的纽约生活。纽约作为世界当代艺术的中心，并没有当代艺术的药方，反而更集中呈现了当代艺术的症状，多元价值观的混乱和虚无不一而足。更重要的是，李晓强开始以上帝之眼审视当代艺术和抽象水墨，从而寻找到了抽象水墨的第三条道路。

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世界已经成为一片废墟之地，从东到西，没有本质的区别。正如李晓强水墨呈现的类似波洛克行动绘画的痕迹，这是世界败坏的底色，人的激情、欲望形形色色，自由完全不加节制。自由固然可贵，但真正的自由出于对真理的保守，而不是把自由的滥用当作真理。因此，李晓强水墨中更为重要的地方在于结构性直线的硬边抽象，它们为笔墨的滥用设立界限，与败坏的世界分别为圣。直线的缝隙之间，有夺目的光芒照射进来，让我们的心室不能有丝毫隐藏。

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加拿大著名民谣歌手Leonard Cohen说：“‘每一事物都有裂缝，光就这样照进来’，这是我所能够形容的最接近基本信念的东西。这思想是我许多歌曲背后的其中一个基础，也是其中一个基本立场。”

这也是李晓强“第三抽象”水墨的基本信念。光就这样照进来，照亮了李晓强的新生活和新展览。