Zhou Chunya (b.1955)
A Turbaned Woman(Painted in 1991)
Oil on canvas
53 × 41 cm. 20 7/8 × 16 1/8 in.
Signed in Chinese and dated on bottom right
Projection of Self, Question of the Meaning of Existence
Zhou Chunya's Intense Emotional Rare Portraits of Life

“Recently, I like to let my anxious emotions dominate my paintings, and I am even more enthusiastic about piercing the smoggy sky of Chengdu with the strong light of the sun. Since I left the pasture, many scenes have become blurred. However, the vivid colours of the grassland, the relaxed and simple images of the Tibetan people have remained in my heart forever.”

――Zhou Chunya, 1983

As a leading figure of contemporary Chinese modernism, Zhou Chunya, in contrast to other artists of his time, does not reflect on the violent fluctuations of history through his works, nor does he emphasize the grand narratives of his time. In his more than 40 years of a creative career, his iconic series of works such as Stones, Flowers, Peach Blossoms and Green Dog, reveal his full and consistent personal emotion and spiritual pursuit. Zhou Chunya's works are highly sought after in the market and academia.

In 1982, after graduating from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Art with a degree in printmaking, he visited the Tibetan region again and was deeply moved by the vastness of nature, as well as the simplicity and joyfulness of the Tibetan people despite their difficult material conditions. He was moved to create his famous Tibetan series. For Zhou Chunya, art is always rooted in real life; Male Portrait (Lot 124) and A Turbaned Woman (Lot 123) were completed in 1990 and 1991 respectively, after he returned to China with a degree in Bildende Kunst from the University of Kassel in Germany. The works were created around the same time, and have a mirroring effect with the aesthetic perspective of his Stones series.

The Real Meaning of Life

If Zhou Chunya's Taihu Lake rocks are often strangely shaped and twisted in a way similar to the human body, then these two portraits, while capturing the character's aura and personality through Zhou's fierce and rough brushwork, also reveal some of the visual sensations of stone carving, profoundly depicting one's baptism and the exploration of the meaning of life. For example, in Male Portrait, he used dark ochre to depict a middle-aged man with a round head and large ears, whose wrinkles are outlined by the seemingly random lines on his forehead; his sun-bleached cheeks, straight nose, gleaming eyes, and his tightly closed lips are like a statue carved by time. It conveys the unyielding character and the emotions of sentient beings.

In A Turbaned Woman, the protagonist's black hair and facial contours are clearly defined under the high-coloured turban, revealing the full appearance of a Tibetan woman. Her eyes look softly into the distance as if she is looking forward to someone or something; the woman's mouth and chest are deliberately decorated with a grey-green colour, which emphasizes the texture. At this point, they are no longer traditional portraits, but also confirm Zhou's further symbolic exploration of colour, texture, form, and quality in his future works. As he said, his paintings are not empirical evidence of reality, nor does he like euphemistic metaphors and profound symbols. He intends to bring out from his paintings those things hidden at the bottom of our hearts but are the most essential. The works are undoubtedly a clear projection of the artist's mind and a serious question on the meaning of life.

周春芽 (b.1955)
包著頭巾的女人(一九九一年作)
油彩 畫布
53 × 41 cm. 20 7/8 × 16 1/8 in.
款識
1991.4周春芽（右下）

自我的鮮明投射與存在意義的嚴肅叩問
周春芽流露強烈情感的早年稀罕生命群像

「我最近喜歡讓焦躁不安的情緒支配畫作，更熱衷於用太陽的強光刺穿成都那煙霧迷茫的一片天空。自從離開牧場，很多景象變得日漸模糊；然而草原的鮮艷色彩、藏民的悠然自得、親切簡樸的形象，永遠留在我心中。」

──周春芽，1983

身為中國當代表現主義的領軍人物，周春芽與同時期的其他藝術家相較，既非透過創作來省思歷史的劇烈波動，也不特別強調時代的宏大敘事；在他超過四十年的創作生涯中即使不斷地出現轉折變化，放眼「山石」、「綠狗」、「桃花」等標誌性系列作品，在他或狂放或內斂的主題跟畫面，流瀉出的是飽滿且一以貫之的個人情感與精神追求。此使其作無論在學術或市場表現上都備受世人矚目與認同。

事實上，當周春芽還在求學期間就已曾遊歷四川景色壯闊的阿壩草原，留下深刻的印象。1982年，自四川美術學院繪畫系版畫專業畢業後，有別於其他同學紛紛前往大城市與沿海地區發展，周春芽選擇再次踏足藏族所在之處，去面對大自然的廣袤無邊，也更加深刻地體驗了「風吹草低見牛羊」那無拘的放牧生活。此外更重要的是，當地藏民雖物質條件艱苦，卻始終保有善良淳樸、樂天知命的處世態度，在深受感動之餘，周春芽也從這番親身經歷中汲取靈感，創作出他賴以成名的「藏民」系列作品，真誠地反映了彼時的人文生態。

歲月風霜下生命的真實意義

無論是「藏民」，或是後來「黑根」─以陪伴他多年的德國牧羊犬為題材發展而得的「綠狗」系列等，對周春芽來說，藝術絕非空中樓閣，而是始終根源自真實的生活；也唯有如此，才能打動人心。像是此處所見的《男人像》（拍品編號124）、《包著頭巾的女人》（拍品編號123）兩件肖像先後完成於1990年及1991年四月，正是在他取得德國卡塞爾綜合大學藝術系學位返國後所作。作品創作時間相近，並與其知名的「山石」系列作品亦略有重疊，於美學的切入視角亦有對鏡觀照的巧合意趣。

如果說，周春芽筆下所描繪的太湖石往往有著怪異的造型，以及與人體相似的扭曲姿態，來形成揉雜幾分神秘，或帶點尖銳的暴力美感；那麼從另一個層面來看，這兩件肖像作品在透過周春芽低沉深思，還帶點激烈粗獷的筆法，試圖捕捉人物不易表現的氣息與人格特質之餘，也流露些許「石刻造像」般的視覺感受，深刻地描繪了人們歷經風霜的洗禮，以及對於生命意義的探索。如在《男人像》中，周春芽採用了色調較暗的赭色來描繪一名圓頭大耳、留著平頭的中年男子，額上以看似隨意塗抹實則老辣的線條勾勒出皺紋、被陽光曬紅的臉頰、筆直挺立的鼻子、炯炯有神的雙眼，乃至於緊閉堅毅的雙唇……在觀者的凝神注視下，畫中人彷彿化為一尊被時間雕鑿而成的石像傳遞人物堅強不屈的性格，及有情眾生的七情六慾、喜怒哀樂。

而在《包著頭巾的女人》一作中，在彩度較高的頭巾包裹下，主角中分的烏黑頭髮以及臉龐輪廓顯得益發清晰立體，展現了十足藏族女性的模樣。只見她眼神柔和地望向遠方，似乎在期盼旁人無從臆猜的某人或某事；尤其女子嘴巴與胸前兩處刻意以略見抽象的灰綠點綴，更見強調色彩肌理的用心，使此作脫離現實主義藝術的框架，寫意而內斂地傳達了畫中人物揉合孤獨和浪漫、難以一眼望穿的複雜心緒。

至此，它們不再是傳統的肖像畫，也確立了周春芽日後對其創作中色彩、肌理、造型、質感等元素更進一步的象徵性探究。如其所言，他的繪畫不是現實的實證，也不喜歡婉轉的隱喻和深沉的象徵。他所在意的是將那些隱藏在我們內心最底層而又最本質的東西乾淨俐落地從畫中導引出來。而潛藏在這兩件作品中的，無疑是周春芽自我心靈的鮮明投射，以及他對生命存在意義的嚴肅叩問。