《文王操》，铝合金铸造，120×126x68cm，2012-2013

“King Wen Play", aluminum alloy casting

Duan Weiguo brought more than ten sculptures, ink paintings and other works to his Shangyuan Art Exhibition. This exhibition is both atake-heart journey and an observation of its artistic language.Take-heart means controling the heart and restrain it. The sculpture "King WenPlay" interprets the Confucian music theme of "King WenPlay" from the perspective of reality and virtuality, with the ethereal image of King Wen paired with a realinstrument. Seeing the sculpture ’King Wen Cao’ is like hearing the sound of ainstrument drifting from ancient times. The emptiness and reality of space, the distance and proximity of time, and the truth and falsehood of history are all condensed and analyzed in sculpture.

If you observe this work carefully, you can see lines formed by hand marks on the inner wall of the sculpture space, which are called "segment-lines". The appearance of the line here seems to be an unintentional act, but it is actually a manifestation of the artist’s subconscious. This place was originally within the sculpture, but became apparent due to the open posture of the work itself. So, the segment-lines appeared. It is not only a powerful support for shaping the inner character of the "KingWen", but also a unique language for artists. Segments-line will continue to emerge in other works, gradually becoming a grand spectacle.

Taoism advocates for doing things naturally and doing nothingwith doing anything. Compared tomythicalanimals named"Kunpeng" in "The Untrammeled Traveling", theimmortal in the sculpture "Happy Immortal" is closer to an ordinary person and implies the carefree nature of ordinary people. Here, thesegment-line appears again. Those smoothsegment-lines and shapes express carefree happiness and spiritual freedom. Moreover, thesegment-lines also form the "segment-surface", which refers to the folds of clothing on theimmortal thatlike the mountain range, thus serving the character shaping. In fact, segment-lines themselves can independently form language, that is, the composition of segment-lines.

《钟馗》，玻璃钢铸造，2023

"Zhongkui",fiberglass casting

The sculpture ’Zhongkui’ is another piece of composition. On Zhongkui’s body, simple segment-lines outline large sections, giving him a majestic and clumsy aura. The sharp sword he held also had segment-surfaces on it, what resemblingthe folds of clothing on the"immortal". From Zhongkui’s head, it can be seen that the segment-lines and segment-surfaces have become more complex. This creates a contrast of complexity and simplicity between the head and body, highlighting the individual characteristics of "segment-language" (segment-lines and segment-surfaces) through a flat and convex intertextuality.

In the ink painting work "South Wind", the artist’s breakthrough in traditional ink painting and its texturing techniques lies in the full use of segment-lines and segment-surfaces. Irregular lines run between the light and dark blocks, just like an artist’s exploration of take-heart. The segment-line becomes closed, no longer as prominent as inside the "King Wen" ’s body.

The segment-surface is based on the specification of segment-lines, but with the help of ink, it becomes extremely irregular. The arrangement and combination of those flowing segment-surfaces create a random beauty and grandeur, and the texture of ink can also be presented through the segment-surfaces. Since ink painting is ultimately only two-dimensional, segment-surfaces can continuously generate and transform between the five colors of ink and the ups and downs of lines, creating new ink abstractions.

What is more noteworthy is that the segment-lines and segment-surfaces present the same form in ink painting and sculpture. This fully demonstrates the reasonable value of segment-lines and segment-surfaces. From the bronze sculpture "Guangling Play", it can be seen that the segment-lines inside "King Wen" have transformed into the segment-surfaces of "Ji Kang" like "Southern Wind", fully expressing Ji Kang’s drunken madness and achieving the unity of man andinstrument.

Buddhism pursues emptiness and believes that matter and emptiness are the same. The material world of reality is constantly changing and uncertain. Therefore, in order to pursue eternity, one must seek beyond the real world. This is similar to the pursuit of Surstructuralism for surstructure, that is, surstructure entitys are more eternal than the things in normal time-space.

于是，罗汉的段线不再如“神人”那般流畅，而是顿感十足。其段面也不似“嵇康”那样起伏多变，而是直接呈现出了“段体”。罗汉的段体于清晰与混沌间，显示着渐悟之机。段体呈现缓慢柔和的线条，以及朴素无华的段面，使雕塑浑然一体，充满东方神秘主义。

As a result, Arhat’s line is no longer as smooth as the "immortal", but full of the feeling ofsetback. Its segment-surfaces are not as undulating and varied as "Jikang", but directly present a "segment-body". Arhat’s segment-body is between clarity and chaos, showing the opportunity to gradually comprehend. The segment-body presents slow and gentle lines, as well as simple and unadorned segment-surfaces, making it seamlessly integrated and full of eastern mysticism.

One of Duan Weiguo’s ways of take-heart is through art. So he created a lot of sculptures and ink paintings about Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, such as "King Wen Play", "Happy Immortal", "Guangling Play", "Arhat", and "Southern Wind". It can be said thathis art connects threedoors of religioustruth.His "segment language" (segment-line, segment-surface, and segment-body) is still in the exploratory stage, that is, the stage of take-heart.

Mr. Duan believes that all art is a manifestation of the artist’s life state, and there is art in whatever state there is.It’s good art as long as it can appropriately express the artist’s spiritual state and life realm, and is in line with the artist’s temperament.

Art is not very important, it is just a melody of life, a chorus to the main melody of life, and cannot replace or become life. So, what is important is our entire life process from beginning to end, as well as the part of our life process that we can grasp. We manage life well in this process, making the melody of this life more beautiful, joyful, and without regrets, more important than anything else.

汤军

Tang Jun

于上苑艺术馆

At Shangyuan Art Museum

2024年10月15日

October 15, 2024

我所认识的段维国

Duan Weiguo I know

段维国是一位很有才能而且非常勤奋的雕塑家。据我所知，他在疫情困难时期还做了很多雕塑，真是难能可贵。

Duan Weiguo is a talented and hardworking sculptor. As far as I know, he also made many sculptures during the difficult period of the epidemic, which is truly commendable.

遗憾的是这些作品我均未见到，很难评说。但在几年前我曾应邀参观过他的工作室，给我留下了很深印象。他做了许多佛像以及佛教题材作品。起初我以为他在研究我国古代佛教雕塑，探索模仿唐风宋韵之作。但待我注目细看之后，发现他所表现的佛像、观音、菩萨似隐似显，似有似无，既端庄又和蔼，既神圣又慈祥，隐隐约约散发一种虚幻的灵性，令我沉浸在禅悟的虔诚之中。

Unfortunately, I have not seen any of these works and it is difficult to comment on them. But a few years ago, I was invited to visit his studio, which left a deep impression on me. He has created many Buddha statues and Buddhist themed works. At first, I thought he was studying ancient Buddhist sculptures in China, exploring imitations of Tang style and Song rhyme works. But after I looked closely, I found that the Buddha statues, Guanyin, and Bodhisattvas he portrayed were both hidden and visible, both tangible and intangible, both dignified and kind, both sacred and benevolent, emitting a kind of illusory spirituality that immersed me in the devout meditation.

我看过很多佛像复制临摹作品，也看过一些新建或修复庙宇里的佛像。很多佛像做得相当到位，但总感觉缺点灵性和佛性。

I have seen many replicas of Buddha statues, as well as some Buddha statues in newly built or restored temples. Many Buddha statues are done quite well, but I always feel that they lack spirituality and Buddha nature.

段维国做佛像并不停留在摹仿上。他对佛学很有研究，也是一个崇尚佛家思想的悟道者。所以他的作品有佛性，有灵性。可见但凡一个艺术家你想表现什么，你得下功夫去研究和理解，才会有感情，有激情，才能创造出好作品。

Duan Weiguo did not stop at imitating Buddha statues. He has a deep understanding of Buddhism and is also a practitioner of Buddhist philosophy. So his works have Buddha nature and spirituality. It can be seen that any artist who wants to express something needs to put in effort to study and understand it in order to have emotions, passion, and create good works.

在他的工作室另一角有件作品，我还没看清楚是什么内容，但它整体造型的悲壮气势强烈地吸引我。当我走近细看，原来是一位风卷残鬓、挥臂颤指地击打琴弦的老人，这更加扣住了我的心弦。作者说，这是表现竹林七贤……他的话未说完，我就想到，啊！这是嵇康，他在临刑前悲愤交加地索琴弹奏了千古绝唱《广陵散》。这件作品充分表现了嵇康的坚强孤傲，正直坦荡的文人志士风骨。看得出作者对嵇康是理解的，敬仰的，深有情感的，否则做不出这么动人的作品。在这件作品中，作者在艺术处理上首先抓住了主题所需的基本气势，在大形上造成悲壮的抽象性基调，给观众以强烈感染。又在细节中抓住重点，精心刻画，从而引人入胜，耐人寻味，发人深思。整体与细部有机组合得很完好。工作室还有很多作品都是佳作，如作品《瘦马》令人感到孤独与沉寂，联想到断肠人在天涯。

In another corner of his studio, there is a piece of work that I haven't seen clearly, but its overall tragic and imposing design strongly attracts me. When I approached and looked closely, it turned out to be an old man with twisted temples and trembling fingers waving his arms to strike the strings, which further gripped my heartstrings. The author said that this is a portrayal of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove... Before he could finish his words, I thought, Ah! This is Ji Kang, who played the timeless masterpiece "Guangling Play" on the qin with a mixture of grief and anger before his execution. This work fully demonstrates Ji Kang's strong and proud character, as well as his upright and straightforward literati and ambitious spirit. It can be seen that the author understands, admires, and has deep emotions towards Ji Kang. Otherwise, such a moving work would not have been possible. In this work, the author first takes the basic momentum required by the theme in artistic processing, creating a tragic and abstract tone in the grand form, and strongly infecting the audience. Grasping the key points in the details and meticulously depicting them, thus captivating, and thought-provoking. The overall and detailed organic combination is very well done. There are many works in the studio that are excellent, such as the work 'Thin Horse' which makes people feel lonely and silent, reminiscent of the heartbroken man at the ends of the earth.

段维国很勤奋，经常住在工作室。工作室放了很多雕塑台。他同时做几件作品，什么灵感来了就抓起泥巴做什么。有时半夜兴致大发，从床上爬起，披上衣服就工作，叮叮当当的，太阳当头了也不停歇。他的创作热情与勤奋精神十分可敬。

Duan Weiguo is very diligent and often lives in the studio. The studio has installed many sculpture platforms. He works on several projects at the same time, and whenever inspiration comes, he picks up mud to make something. Sometimes in the middle of the night, he get up from bed, put on my clothes, and work without stopping even when the sun is above his head. His creative passion and diligent spirit are highly admirable.

雕塑

Sculpture

水墨

Ink Painting

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