展览前言：拒绝阐释的灵魂神游三万里

　　拒绝阐释的灵魂神游三万里，来自八百里洞庭的周艺文，他将以何种方式去爱这个世界?

　　一万只洁白的鸽子飞临黄浦江，一颗颗鲜红的樱桃静静躺在上海宝龙美术馆的一张床上，等待当代艺术家、诗人、童话作家周艺文先生的阐释。

　　但艺术家拒绝阐释。在艺术家这里，艺术不需要阐释，艺术只需要敏感的心灵去感受。

　　“1/2加1/2：周艺文个展”，8月10日至9月17日在上海宝龙美术馆进行，这是周艺文当代艺术全球巡展继深圳市木星美术馆首展后的第二站。

　　周艺文以减法的方式在上海展出了三组系列作品：《和平广场》《保鲜期》《生命中不能承受之绿马》，他坚持架上绘画的文本主义原则，将架上绘画视为他创作的核心，以装置艺术为延伸，表达了爱、和平与环保的主题。

　　八月的上海，亚热带海洋性季风气候，温暖而湿润，我们仿佛可以听到鸽子在当代艺术家周艺文的身体里发出咕咕咕的低声鸣唱，代表了爱的樱桃在人类的床上好像也在发出甜蜜的喊叫。当代艺术正在悄悄发生一场变化，周艺文通过他独特的创作关注人类精神困境，试图回答当代艺术何处去。

　　周艺文的艺术创作承载了诸多人类精神与文化命题，他的艺术首先来自于他生命的源头--母语文明，然后走向更加广阔的世界。爱、和平与环保的艺术不是主题先行的创作，而是从他生命里自然生长出来的当代艺术，因为作为诗人与童话作家的周艺文，他的内心柔软而悲悯。爱如滚滚热泪时常滑落到他的宣纸上，这是一个无法改变的事实。

　　周艺文的毛笔拖着或浓或淡的墨汁与颜料，画出羽毛、樱桃与绿马，画出爱、和平与环保的时候，毛笔与墨汁与颜料成为了他身体的一部分，成为当代艺术人类学的一部分。

　　当代艺术人类学，是关注人类生存与精神境况的当代艺术，是与当代时间同步的艺术，是此时此刻的艺术，而不是在彼处的艺术，更不是充满了仿制的虚假的当代艺术。卸掉当代艺术多余的面具，回到生活的现场，这是周艺文给我们的启示。他毛绒绒的情感与鲜活的观念，他具有启蒙意义的思想，构成了他的当代艺术坚实的底座。

　　周艺文从林凤眠、赵无极那一代艺术家身上看到了希望，当代艺术不会永远在历史的误会中陷入绝望。爱的力量可以拯救平庸、无趣与苍白，让当代艺术直抵人类灵魂，复活古老的文明，创造属于未来的崭新的当代艺术。

　　从“1/2加1/2：周艺文个展”，我看到了当代艺术正在走向人类的精神深处，试图回答我们从哪里来、到哪里去的问题。当代艺术正在走向爱的怀抱，从颤栗中挣脱痛苦的肉身，像羽毛一样轻盈，像绿马一样飞翔，像樱桃的一生，新鲜、甜蜜，在自然中腐烂，然后在空气里扩散，如同时间，如同我们的生命，这就是当代艺术，周艺文先生诚实的当代艺术。

　　学术主持：周瑟瑟

　　2023年7月27日于北京

Foreword

A Soul that Rejects Interpretation Covers 30,000 Miles

　　--An Interpretation of Yiwen Zhou Solo Exhibition

　　A soul that rejects interpretation covers 30,000 miles. Yiwen Zhou, an artist from the spacious Dongting Lake of 800 miles, how would he reveal his love for this world?

　　Ten thousand white pigeons are flying over the Huangpu River, and fresh red cherries, one by one, are lying quietly on a bed in Shanghai Powerlong Museum. They are all awaiting an interpretation from their creator, Yiwen Zhou, a contemporary artist, poet and fairy tale writer.

　　But the artist rejects any interpretation. To the artist, art needs no interpretations. Art invites only the sensitive souls and minds to feel.

　　ONE HALF PLUS ONE HALF：Yiwen Zhou Solo Exhibition will be held from August 10 to September 17, 2023, as the second venue of Yiwen Zhou Contemporary Art Global Touring Exhibition following the first exhibition at Jupiter Museum of Art in Shenzhen.

　　In a diminishing way Yiwen Zhou will exhibit three series of works in Shanghai: "Peace Square", "Shelf Life ", " The Unbearable Green Horse in Life". He sticks to the textualism principle of Easel Painting and regards Easel Painting as the core of his creation, and installation art as the extension, to express the themes of love, peace and environmental protection.

　　Under the subtropical oceanic monsoon climate, it will be warm and humid in Shanghai in August. It seems we heard pigeons cooing in the body of the artist , and cherries of love shouting sweetly on the human bed. A change is underway in contemporary art. Through his unique creations, Yiwen Zhou casts his eyes on human spiritual predicament, as an attempt to address the issue of where contemporary art goes.

　　Yiwen Zhou 's artistic creations carry rich human spirits and cultural propositions. His art comes first from the source of his life--mother tongue civilization, and then goes to a broader world. His art works featuring love, peace and environmental protection are not theme-driven creations, but natural growths out of his life, because Yiwen Zhou, as a poet and fairy tale writer, is tender and compassionate in his heart. It’s an undeniable fact that love often comes onto his Xuan paper naturally as falling tears.

　　With a brush of rich or light colors, Yiwen Zhou draws feathers, cherries and green horses, and draws love, peace and environmental protection. Brush and colors have become part of his body and a portion of contemporary art anthropology.

　　Contemporary art anthropology is the contemporary art that pays attention to human existence and spirit, the art that synchronizes with the contemporary time and the art of this moment. It is not the art of other place, nor the contemporary art of fakes and mimics. Removing the superfluous mask of contemporary art and returning to the scene of living: that’s what Yiwen Zhou is revealing to us. His fluffy feelings and fresh ideas, together with his enlightening thoughts, have formed a solid base for his contemporary art.

　　Yiwen Zhou sees hope in the generation of artists represented by Lin Fengmian and Zhao Wou-Ki. Contemporary art will never fall into despair in the misunderstanding of history. The power of love can save mediocrity, boredom and pallor. Let contemporary art reach the human soul directly, revitalize ancient civilization, and create a brave new contemporary art belonging to the future.

　　Through ONE HALF PLUS ONE HALF：Yiwen Zhou Solo Exhibition, I see contemporary art is moving towards the depths of the human spirit, trying to answer the question of where we come from and where we go. Contemporary art is moving towards the embrace of love, breaking away from trembling painful flesh, as light-footed as feathers, flying like a green horse, fresh and sweet like a cherry’s lifespan that rots in nature, and expands in the air, like time, like our life. This is contemporary art, and this is the candid contemporary art of Mr. Yiwen Zhou.

　　Academic moderator: Zhou Sese

　　Beijing, 27 July 2023