Quest for and Interpretation of Eternity
                　　  --Liu Yonggang’s quest for art and his practice
　　Xu Encun
　　Fine Art Historian, Art Theorist, Editor of The Chinese Fine Art
　　The long history of art demonstrates clearly that creation and breakthrough is both an irresitable law and a natural phenomenon of human progress. Great artists and their works invariably come out of certain cultural environment at certain point of history, and will stand in the history of art forever. The greatness of the works lies in their irreplaceable style. Past experience shows that great art works can always abstract the theme of eternity from the process of life and the meaning of existence. Touching moments in life, ideals and ultimate care, which are eternal, are not intangible concept, but are humanistic and lively. The theme of eternity is the essence of art works, without which the works will fail to touch our hearts. .
　　The works of an artist will go beyond the techniques, means and meaning of subjects and convey the message of life when he/she integrates all his/her feelings, forms and images, and sees art as his/her destination. Thus, his/her works, concrete or abstract, complicated or simple, all give expression to the essence of life.
　　As a painter rising in the 1980s, Liu Yonggang showed his talent and endowments in art with his practice and creation. His life as an artist in the past two decades is a special one that denies conventional criteria of value. Overwhelmed by his capabilities, people are following his works with great interest. It is the distinctive value of his art that distinguishes Liu Yonggang in contemporary art.
　　Liu Yonggang, from Inner Mongolia, surprised the art community with  his painting Shepherd Girl of North Sala after he graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts. With its independent value, pure artistic language, ichnographic design, decorative color and imagery the Shepherd Girl of North Sala undoubtedly brought fresh air to Chinese art in the late 1980s when art works are small in number and lack variety and creativity.
　　Ever since then, Liu’s works have been centered around the form, beauty and meaning of life, which established his position as a painter who aims at the meaning of life and the theme of eternity and tries to seek and interpret the profound meaning of “human beings”.
　　As an art work, the Shepherd Girl of North Sala symbolizes an awakening of art, an expression of feelings, a change of mindset, an reversion of humanity and an reflection of inner-self without any conditions attached. It is simple in form but rich in substance—the simple symbols exploring the essence and law of art, an art orientation which has been neglected for long.

Apparently, in painting the Shepherd Girl of North Sala, Liu was inspired by the poetic pastoral life of Inner Mongolia and the custom of his hometown Argun River. The work epitomizes his love for his hometown, his mixed feelings and his thoughts.
　　Therefore, the painting shows us that the power of art may lie in its structure, its form, its color, or its stroke, but more importantly, in the vigor and vitality of life.
　　The thick grass of Inner Mongolia prairie and the ever running water of Argun River teached Liu Yonggang art in the most direct and natural way. As time goes by, Liu becomes increasingly aware that his hometown is endowed with rich culture, which is indispensable to his development and has become the constant source of inspiration for him.
　　For a true artist, the structure, theme, thoughts and feelings of his/her work must be built under the framework where the art of an ethnicity integrates with that of the world, be accumulated, consolidated and born on a platform full of hope and vitality; they should unify the form and the spirit through the interaction between the inner structure and the outer form and stir our inner selves and echo our experience. Therefore, his/her work has to be penetrating so that everyone can find a way to his soul, a way that forms a kind of insight that is by no means superficial and breaks the limitations of experience.
　　To gain such an insight, Liu went for further study in Germany, a country reputed as cradle for philosophers. In the country where the least resemblance of poetic oriental culture can be found, Liu immersed himself in a rational environment of expressionism. His aim was clear—to seek common ground in art between different countries and cultures, and display the meaning and value of life with shared language and space.
　　Since then, Liu’s works, be it paintings or sculptures, have all focused on the meaning of life, a fundamental theme under which he tries to demonstrate eternity. His oil painting entitled “Hug of Love” created during his stay in Germany is a typical example. A work of abstract expressionism, the painting demonstrates the autonomy of art, and describes autonomy as a unique feature of humanity with symbols. The indirect yet clear picture reflects the painter’s quest for the esscence and meaning of life. The painting turns the subject of love into symbols to express certain physical and mental experience. The use of symbols gives order to the subject of love-- the order of space and that of symbols, and links the flow of consciousness. It not only expresses the feelings of the painter, but also reflects the feelings common to all human beings, thus becoming a record of emotional evolution.
　　There is no doubt that the process of creation is also a process of self-liberalization and self-expression, a process in which the creator constructs and improves his spiritual world, and demonstrates the power of logic in an ideal world.
　　As Mr. Lu Xun once said, dissatisfaction is a driving force. The convergence and comparison between western and eastern culture, wisdom and concepts introduced Liu Yonggang to a new and strange world, in which he must challenge conventions as well as himself, and was motivated to create and explore in seeking for and interpreting the theme of eternity.
　　A work of abstract expressionism, Hug of Love is regarded as a direct result of his exploration, encompassing the eternal theme of life in his inimitable and abstract image, which is an indispensable element of aesthetics. It’s fair to say that the painting to some extent echoes the saying that “real arts are unexceptionally abstract” (translation) in Problems of Art by Susanne. K. Langer. This is because the work is not restrained to individual feelings but carries a universal value, i.e. the fundamental nature of life and the common aspiration of mankind.
　　More importantly, such an aspiration is independent from objects; it arises from the painter’s inherent need for beauty. This kind of psychological need is always satisfied in real art works.
　　With its abstract form, language, color and stroke, the painting Hug of Love creates instinctive feeling of life.
　　Since the three dimensions on which paintings depend is limited, it is natural for a painter to choose forms of more dimensions（更多维向的空间表现形式？）, in order to strengthen the expressive force and maximize the inherent power of logic of art when he/she tries to push the theme to a new high and touch our heart.
　　The sculpture under the same name of Hug of Love is also seeking for and interpreting the theme of eternity, however, it focuses more on the structure and form in a multi-dimensional space.  The artist is not reproducing his life experience; he is seeking for ways to demonstrate the power of art and the beauty of humanity, and shows us what he is feeling inside..
　　The innovative sculpture Hug of Love, made of black jade, is basically in the shape of Chinese characters, a combiniton of mostly erect and large square column or arch beam and many spur posts Each looks like two  lovers hugging each other, one powerful and mighty and the other gentle and feminine, demonstrating the Chinese philosophy of harmony between yin and yang, human’s common aspiration for love and the law of life.
　　The sculpture is 3.4 meters high, 2.2 meters wide and 1.5 meters thick. It reflects the unique power of art forms and language. The artist not only demonstrates spirit and emotions through an action, but also gives life the features of eternity, solemnity and serenity. The 102 pieces of components unfold the indestructible power of life, and hold the abstruse and inexpressible secret of life.
　　Hug of Love reflects Liu’s philosophy of art and way of creation, inspired by his feelings and bring the quest for and interpretation of the theme of eternity to the height of a subject of art. The extraordinary charm of the artist is underlined by the breakthrough in form, the epitomization of life experience and the power of thinking. It also lies in the overall impression of the work as well as its image, i.e. something expressed other than by language, object, form and shape, which can provoke endless imagination .
　　As a mature artist shuttling between the western and eastern culture and seeking for the common ground, Liu witnessed the cultural invasion of technology worship and the trespass of technicism upon art, which mean the downfall of art, even a spiritual calamity from a humanistic perspective. As a result, the light of our mind began to fade, we lost our interest in the perfect world, and we no longer pursued the theme of eternity, a tragedy for all of us. This pathetic situation prompted Liu Yonggang to think about his theme of art, and adopt a new approach to seek and interpret his eternal theme—life and love, so as to make art an eternal home for our mind and soul.
　　His recent work Blue and White Porcelain is a perfect combination of his personality and modern concept. With life bubbling out of coldness, the wear of time behind smoothness, and the process of perfection to destruction taking on a color of fatalism, it shakes our value of beauty and order. However, witnessing the process from perfection to imperfection and from existence to destruction, we are also touched and enlightened.
　　Blue and White Porcelain embodies cultural and conceptual consciousness. The meaning of everything is reflected by the process from perfection to destruction.
　　However, the work itself is just a symbol before it is endowed with  meanings. Only after the artist puts experience and feelings in it, will it become a symbol of life. Therefore, the artist’s talent and wisdom is exhibited by his ability of discovering and arranging the materials as well as what he conveys in the process.
　　More important than the fluent rhythm, cadence and beauty is the symbolic meaning of rediscovery in destruction.
　　Like Hug of Love, the Blue and White Porcelain goes beyond the conventional perspective by focusing on feelings instead of meanings. Their abstract symbols blur the artist’s aesthetic intention, but bring more food for thought.
　　In Liu’s work, people find out the meaning of life, which is essential for interpreting the theme of eternity. As shown by the history of art, any thought, no matter how abstruse, may end up a common sense, however, the meaning of life and its value will always remain unchanged.
　　In this sense, Liu’s art has put an end to the era when we were interested in the physical world and physical aspect of life, when outward expression was regarded as vogue. Liu has created a brand new approach of art expression with his profound, logical and reasonable thinking.
　　His work series, be it Shepherd Girl of North Sala, Hug of Love or Blue and White Porcelain, are all engraved with the theme of life and love, as can be seen from the choice of image to humanistic interpretation, from life process to thoughts on value, from the work per se to the cultural context. In the contrast and interaction between love and affection(建议改成hatred, 怀疑原文有误) , life and death, beauty and ugliness, soul and body, the artist’s intention to seek for the meaning of life is unveiled.
　　The three above-mentioned works all bear the theme of eternal life with distinctive features. The artist, from a humanistic perspective, takes the process of creation as a life experience, including the awakening of humanity, feelings and rationality. The meaning of life has thus been deepened.
　　In other words, glorifying the love for life, the purity of emotion and integration of body and soul, Liu reveals the natural process of life, namely the process of love and humanity. He also purifies the concept of love lifts it to an artistic level. Moreover, he enriched the implication of love from truth, kindness and beauty to affectionateness, sentimental attachment, perfection, destruction, and revival of humanity and love. Love deepens and enriches with ongoing life, satisfies the desire of soul, and revives humanity, thus gaining its irreplaceable value. The harmonious movement on the surface is underlain by the quest for truth of life, for everything that originates from and goes back to nature, the source of life.
　　It should be pointed out that life, love, perfection and destruction in Liu’s work are not expressed by concrete images but abstract symbols, implicating the process from stillness to movement, from rectilinear motion to circular motion, from integrity to fragmentation, and from the physical level to the spiritual level. It is not only a poetic expression of the life of the artist, but also a complete process of life.
　　To sum up, Liu’s works are featured by their profound meanings which lie in his reproduction of the complete process of life. His works take  our relations with the soul as the axes, and our care for life as the core. They convey the artist’s aesthetic aspiration, i.e. to display the color of nature, the nature of love, the essence of humanity, and eternal poetic beauty from the perspective of natural laws and essence of life.
　　Liu’s works are poetic. Based on both the nature and his heart; his works are not only tangible signs, but also a reflection of his inner world. Therefore, in seeking for and interpreting the theme of eternity, he reveals the nature of art and the irresistible law, thus approaching the truth of life.
 Shenzhen E’ergu’na Cultural and Art Development Co. Ltd