文章：杰姬·曼奇斯
翻译：AiChat
编辑：李惊蛰
【编者按】杰姬·曼奇斯Jackie Menzies OAM 是澳大利亚新南威尔士州艺术博物馆亚洲艺术荣誉策展人，悉尼大学亚洲研究院名誉研究员，南天大学佛教艺术客座教授，澳大利亚亚洲艺术协会主席。在任职新州艺术博物馆亚洲艺术部主任期间，她曾多次策划大型亚洲艺术主题展览。本篇文章是她在2024年6月13日悉尼中国文化中心举办的“中澳对话展：印象想象意境”开幕式上的讲话稿。
首先，我要祝贺所有参与这个引人入胜展览的艺术家，并感谢刘东主任及其团队主办这个展览。
我想特别感谢澳大利亚水彩画协会主席戴维·范纽因，并向您推荐他所编制的出色展览画册。正如您所了解的，澳大利亚水彩画协会的十名成员共展出作品40件。
这些艺术家经常进行广泛展览，通常是个展，个别艺术家通过展览和提名和获奖得到了认可。他们的作品被公共和私人收藏。在每件作品中，中澳主题，文化遗产和记忆之间的博弈与关联引人入胜。
这些表达通过水彩这种不可思议的媒介的颜色和透明度得以实现。尽管我认为每位艺术家都有意识地选择了纸张的类型和品质，但我认为肖恩手工纸的触感和独特性因为加入袋鼠皮毛，可能是无与伦比的。
在每件作品中，我们清楚地看到个人创造力如何吸收、引用和转化了经历、神话和记忆。思考这些作品令人振奋。景观是中国和澳大利亚绘画中最主题。中国的景观一词“山水”翻译过来是“山水”，山代表阳，水代表阴，道家的元素融入其中。中国最著名和神圣的山之一是黄山，现为联合国教科文组织世界遗产。
看到戴维用笔墨绘制他们的山，展现出对中国传统笔墨画的敬意，让人振奋。尼尔·泰勒也画山，雾和瀑布，以及森林，尽管他的场景是澳大利亚的。他承认中国景观的影响，并在画册中写道：“研究风景可以是定义人文主义的一种方式，通常是通过缺乏人物主题来表现的。”在这次展览中其他艺术家的自然景观中也看不到人物形象。
王云坊在他的抽象作品中表达了大自然为我们提供精神逃逸和冥想的机会。他们是通向现实的途径，他承认创作它们涉及冥想和长时间的参与，以使图像显现。与乡村景观的观点形成对比。
我们还展出了曦旦和温迪·莎普的城市景观。曦旦展出的作品中只有一幅有人物，其他作品中没有人物—曦旦的精湛细节和对光线的控制创造了充满力量的理想城市景观形象。“我认为-当我们参观这些城市时，我们都希望周围少些人。”
温迪以她们扇形格式中欢快的人物形象与我们在上海或苏州度假或休闲时都能感受到的乐趣共鸣谐和--这些地方很适合游览。除了景观，中国艺术的另一个伟大传统是“花鸟画”。
展示的有两个美妙的代表者--李惊蛰以她迷人、生动的荷花描绘。 车云凌以她精致的静物作品。两者都参照了中国对花卉季节细微差别和象征意义的欣赏。李惊蛰的画作参考了荷花层次丰富的象征意义，佛教之花，而车云凌捕捉了季节的短暂性，唤起我们对万物短暂性的认识。人物画是中国和澳大利亚艺术中的另一类绘画。
我们现在可以在新南威尔士州艺术画廊的阿契博尔德奖中看到这一点，尽管还有温尼奖（风景画奖）和苏尔曼奖（风俗画奖）。有趣的是，英文中的“landscape”一词源自16世纪荷兰词，指田园风景，伊恩在他感人的画像中承认了荷兰传统，他的柔和手法和人物的匿名性唤起了我们的同理心和共鸣。
关伟的作品中既有景观又有动物。他在展示中写道，他的混合人物—人类和动植物—彰显了生态系统破坏和动植物平衡受到破坏的沉思。所以在这样的作品中，我们可以欣赏大自然、植物和动物。
我非常高兴地宣布展览开幕，让大家更密切地观看它们。”
杰姬·曼奇斯
MEMORY, MYTH, METAPHOR
Firstly I must congratulate all participants in this absorbing exhibition, and thank Director Liu Dong and his team for hosting the show. I would like to give a special thanks to David van Nunen, President of the Australian Watercolour Institute, and commend to you the excellent catalogue he has assembled.
As you are aware, there are 40 works on show by ten members of the Australian Watercolour Institute. The artists have exhibited widely, often in solo shows, and individually have achieved recognition through shows and the prizes they have won. They are represented in public and private collections.
In each work, the play between Chinese and Australian subject, cultural heritage, and memory, engages one strongly. And these expressions have been realised through the colours and transparency of that marvellous medium of watercolour. The type and quality of paper has been deliberately selected by each artist, although I think the tactility and uniqueness of Sean’s handmade paper with the inclusion of kangaroo fur, must be unmatched. In each work, we see so well how individual creativity absorbs, references and transforms experiences, myths and memories. It is exhilarating to contemplate these works.
Landscape is the dominant subject for painting in both China and Australia. The Chinese word for landscape shan-shui translates as ‘mountain-water’ where the mountain represents yang and the water yin, with Daoism an element of the composition. One of the most famous and sacred mountains in China is Mt Huang, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is uplifting to see the mountains as David has drawn them with brushwork that plays homage to the great Chinese tradition of brush and ink.
Neil Taylor too paints mountains, mist and waterfalls, as well as forests, although his scenes are Australian. He acknowledges the impact of Chinese landscapes and writes in the catalogue that ‘a study of landscape can be a way to defining humanism, often through an absence of human subjects’. There are no figures either in the natural landscapes of other artists in this exhibition.
The opportunity that nature offers us for spiritual escape and meditation is articulated by David Yunfang Wang in his abstract works. They are a path to reality, and he acknowledges that creating them involves meditation and engagement over time for the images to emerge.
In contrast to the views of country, we have too on show urban scenes by both Xidan and Wendy. Only one of Xidan’s works on show has people, the others are free of people –Xidan’s masterful detail and control of light creates potent images of ideal cityscapes (Or so I think - we would all like to have fewer people around when we visit these cities.). Wendy’s ebullient figures in their fan shaped format resonate with the enjoyment we all feel on holiday or at leisure in Shanghai or Suzhou – great places to visit.
Apart from landscape, another great tradition of Chinese art is ‘bird and flower’ painting. On show are two marvellous exponents – Ginger with her seductive, vibrant depictions of lotus, and Cheryl with her delicate still lifes. Both reference the Chinese appreciation of the seasonal subtleties and symbolism of flowers. Ginger’s paintings reference the layered symbolism of the lotus, the flower of Buddhism, while Cheryl captures the transience of the seasons, evoking our recognition of the transience of all things.
Figure painting is another category of painting in both Chinese and Australian art. We can witness that now with the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, although there is also the Wynne Prize for landscape, and the Sulman for genre. The English word ‘landscape’ interestingly derives from a 16th century Dutch word referring to rural scenery, and Ian acknowledges Dutch tradition in his moving images where the soft technique and anonymity of the figures evoke portraits we can all empathise with and respond to.
Guan Wei has both landscape and fauna in his work. He has introduced a sober note to the show by writing how his hyrid figures – human and fauna – manifest the destruction of the ecosystem and the disruption of the fauna and flora balance.
So now in works like these we can enjoy nature, flora and fauna. And it my pleasure to declare the show open so you can all look more closely at them.
Jackie Menzies
Jackie Menzies OAM has extensive experience with the art and culture of many Asian countries, to which she has travelled in her role as Head of Asian Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Her studies included academic courses in Sydney and Tokyo, internships at the Tokyo National Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Korea Foundation workshops around Korea.
Jackie has made numerous research trips to Japan, Korea, Europe, India and South-East Asia, often for research which was realised in Asian acquisitions and exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. She has given innumerable lectures relating to Asian art, and has led tours to Japan, China, India, Thailand and Korea for the Art Gallery Society and other bodies.
In 2001, Jackie received a Centenary Medal in the Order of Australia and in 2008 was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for the study, preservation and promotion of Asian art in Australia.
本展览将于7月26日本周五结束
