Dr Liu Xiaochun

　　(Famous art critic, researcher in the Chinese National Academy of Arts)

　　Liu Yonggang called his abstract oil paintings created in recent years “line and phenomenon”, and I am more accustomed to call them “calligraphy image”. The meanings of the two expressions are similar, both emphasizing the contextual relation between his abstract oil paintings and the meanings of line, calligraphy and writing in traditional Chinese writing.

　　In fact, this pursuit is not unique to Liu Yonggang. In the last century, the so-called “calligraphy abstract” arose in Europe and the United States. At that time, some artists, intentionally or unintentionally, extracted some factors from Eastern calligraphy to realize their different creations, such as Motherwell, Kline, Soulages and Hartung among others. So, is there independent value in Liu Yonggang’s exploration?

　　I think there is for sure. The reason being as follows:

　　Contemporary art is difficult to define. But one thing is clear, that is, the concept revolution in the sense of morphology has ended, so in the 21th century, the vanguard of concept revolution can no longer be the main critical standard. Therefore, criticism faces reselecting and reconstructing in the sense of pluralism and degree of depth: “theory of realistic painting being outdated”, “theory of abstract paintings being outdated” and a variety of outdated theories derived from avant-garde art as the criteria need to be reviewed. Didn’t Freud just open a new field in Realism? Didn’t Lannoy just open a new land in abstract painting? Weren't the Chinese paintings influencing the world at the turn of the century works of Realism?

　　The end of the concept revolution does not equal the end of art, in exactly the same way as the New World can't be discovered twice, but the discovery is just the start of a new life on the new continent. The possibility and diversity of art creation is hard to predict, and the artists often find meaning in places we deem meaningless. Based on the cognition above, the target of the criticism will be shifted towards the artist's creation system------whether the artists strike out on their own; whether their independence is inherently rational and systematic; how much development room the system has; to what extent it is currently being developed; what the best status of the system is; and what achievement has been made etc..

　　Liu Yonggang’s abstract oil painting, in an outward sense, is a subsystem of the abstract expressionists, “Chinese calligraphy abstract”, Japanese Bokusho and modern Chinese calligraphy respectively. In an internal sense, it is a subsystem of Liu Yonggang’s grand art system stemming from “standing text”. It is precisely because of its independence and rationality, and the possibility of continuous development that Liu Yonggang’s abstract oil painting can be called a system.

　　The greatest difference between Liu Yonggang’s “line and phenomenon” and western calligraphy lies in the different understandings of calligraphy itself. As for its formal structure, the subject of the “line and phenomenon" art is one or more bold and rough brush strokes. Different from western artists, Liu Yonggang pursues implications expressed by the thick brush, nib-centered brush, stiff and exposed strokes, as well as plot twists and sneaking around in the process of his ingenious handling of the brushes, namely more internal and essential calligraphic implications. This differs greatly from the western style which uses one big stroke or abstract stipple. Therefore there is a big distance between Liu Yonggang’s “line and phenomenon” and western calligraphy in the forms and cultures behind them. Compared with Liu Yonggang, the western “calligraphy abstract” has less calligraphic significance. In the past one hundred years, strong revolutionary earthquakes occurred one after another in the art world dulling people in wasteland-like cities to the less stimulating changes that came after the earthquakes. In another hundred years, the resensitized people of the future might just naturally assume that Liu Yonggang’s line and phenomenon art and calligraphy abstracts and European art are worlds apart.

　　Here the key is a strong continuity, embodied in the expression: “the bones may be broken, but tendons still hold things together”.

　　According to generations of calligraphy theory which started from the early Han, Wei and six-dynasty periods up till to now, the concerns of the great calligraphers were not in what was written, but on how to write and the quality of the writing itself. It was his taste and morality, his impressive strength of character, romantic charm, intellect and passion, courage and insight, style and significance that the calligraphers really paid attention to, and this is where the meaning of the calligraphy was thought to have lain. The content expressed by characters is called the meaning of the context. The significance of the calligraphy and the meaning of the context form the two aspects of calligraphic content, the contradiction between which is the basic catalyst that boosts the development of calligraphy. The developmental process of calligraphy, in short, is the process in which the significance of the calligraphy is more and more evident while the meaning of the context becomes more and more reclusive. Kuangcao(unconstrained cursive script)is a turning point, in which the factors of the meaning of the context is less explicit. If you don't specifically study how the characters are written in Kuangcao, you will have no idea what is written. Even if you had studied it, the writing standard of Kuangcao can be changed by calligraphers who make spontaneous creations. When writing Kuangcao, there is a consistent expression of creative brilliance, of raw power, this is the meaning of calligraphy. Why do calligraphers like talking about the one stroke theory? So-called "one stroke calligraphy" is not written with a single stroke, its meaning has more to do with the artist keeping a consistent breath from beginning to end, for instance, the significance of the second line is attached to the first one, so it is referred to as one stroke. The calligraphy of the Qing Dynasty is very significant in the history of Chinese calligraphy, which was considered a “Calligraphy Revival”. The emphasis on the meaning of calligraphy in this era was unprecedented. Personalized handwriting styles sprang up and calligraphy styles diversified. Since the opening up and reform, modern calligraphy has experienced another post Qing Dynasty reform. Some people threw away the meaning of context, throwing calligraphy into complete deconstruction to be replaced by the art of the significance of the calligraphy -- construction of the abstract paintings closely associated with the calligraphy. Liu Yonggang seized this historic turning point, and elaborated on the significance of calligraphy, ousting the meaning of context. His work seems to have no contextual content. Compared with the branch of modern calligraphy known as “art calligraphy”, Liu Yonggang’s personality is stronger and more powerful.

　　If “line and phenomenon" art only transferred modern calligraphy from the paper to canvas, Liu Yonggang’s exploration would be very hard to establish. It would have to be transformed into abstract oil paintings. Long-term practice and deep fascination with the oil paintings has given Liu Yonggang the chance to bring out the charm of his elaborate paintings in color, construction, strokes and texture through the use of brushes and knives and twists and turns both intentionally and unintentionally. In painting, it seems that the feelings of brush, ink and paper are not real, but paradoxical. His grand strokes crossing the image are both writing and oil painting. They are artistically rendered Chinese characters.

　　Once the basis of line and phenomenon is finished, the stout brushwork is no longer “writing” but has become “form", Liu Yonggang changes writing to the art. He began to match the magnificent main melody with light and complicated minor chords, where the minor strokes are associated with the major ones, seeming to have the feeling of ink spluttering, but a symphony structure consisting of palette knives, brushes and paintings is formed.

　　Small brush strokes and large brush strokes are part of the same cultural family, and express the same pursuit of meaning through the use of thick brushes, nib-centered brushes, stiff and exposed strokes, as well as twists and turns of the brush. Thus, we find elements of calligraphy within the painting.

　　Sometimes line-like, sometimes form-like; sometimes incredible brush strokes, sometimes color painting; sometimes start or finish, sometimes space and texture. Painting after writing and writing after painting are integrated as one, and have achieved the status of co-existence. There is no rawness, no piecing together, but an organic whole, namely LiuYongGang’s “art calligraphy” system.

　　Its rationality lies in its being systematic.

　　This mention of a system brings to mind Mr. Shi Tao. Although his “one stroke theory” came from painting and calligraphy, its significance has extended all the way up to the contemporary era. What does the “one stroke” refer to? It simply means the system. Why is “one” used? Simply because the system germinates from a very small point of origin. Li Yu discussed the first thought in the creation in his book “Xianqing Ouji”: “When the essence and blood initially agglutinate and the fetus is not yet fully developed, a drop of blood gives birth to the whole form; the features and the skeleton.” A drop of blood gives birth to the whole form, that is to say “from one source all things depend”, the point from which all things are born.

　　In Liu Yonggang’s “line and phenomenon” art, the images are very concise, some with only one vertical or horizontal stroke in the whole picture. I believe, in the process of determining his own origin, the testing field should be narrower and narrower, and the point of attack be smaller and smaller. Less is more.

　　Because they haven't determined their origin, too many painters create massive volumes of meaningless work their whole life, and this lends credibility to the idea that Shi Tao’s “one stroke theory” ought to be considered a yardstick of sorts. An artist's origin is like a seed which, though it may never necessarily grow into a big tree itself, is nonetheless essential to this metaphorical arboreal development.

　　Perhaps through his countless searches or ongoing meditation and scrutiny, Liu Yonggang discovered suddenly his one stroke theory, which I found to be nothing less than a stroke of genius.

　　“One” is holographic rather than a single factor. Although it is not the whole expression of the art, it already possesses all the basic elements, in exactly the way that an egg is not a chicken, but it already has all the life elements of a chicken. In Liu Yonggang’s paintings, pen and momentum, form and meaning, feeling and reason, and writing and drawing all come together to reach a state of “oneness”, expressing his feeling by virtue of brushes.

　　Unfortunately, many artists who had established their own style never reached their full potential. Their reputation establishment work usually becomes unique. I think one famous work is only the first step in the long march. I don’t believe that as long as a good plan prevails in contemporary art, it doesn’t matter whether the plan is implemented or not. I'm expecting that after one generates two, two generates three, Liu Yonggang can meet the majestic spectacle that three generates all nature, and nature returns to one. “Ten thousand" doesn’t mean repeated production, but continuous growth.

　　“One” runs through the process of the bud, growth and the entire development. Without the establishment of rules, there can be no “one”. So Shi Tao wrote: “the rule for one stroke painting has now been established by me”. With the rule established, the creation was new, so he wrote, “when unspoiled pristine nature is broken up, the rule of one stroke painting is established”. The rule is derived from nature and reflects nature, therefore, “ if we understand the one stroke theory from the bottom of our hearts, all obstacles will disappear, and our own emotion can be expressed through painting”. The newly coined rule derives everything afterwards, so it is “origin of all existence, and root of all of nature”and “no matter how much ink we use, we all begin with this and end with this”. The system determines the entire artistic life, therefore, “I believe one runs through the whole process”.

　　Only transferring modern calligraphy from paper to the canvas is meaningless. However, once a system is formed, transferring it to the canvas is modern Chinese calligraphy's salvation. How is that? In the “art calligraphy” branch of modern calligraphy, the enthusiasts outnumber the beneficiaries. The most important significance of Liu Yonggang's work is the way it sweeps the restrictions imposed by the mediums of modern calligraphy and allows Chinese artists to enter a new world of free selection of materials. Both form structure and integrated medium infuse fresh blood into “art calligraphy”. The rule is unaltered, but forms are ever-changing. Principles are the same but the instruments vary. The promising prospects in this wide field will offer more possibilities for development for Liu Yonggang’s line and phenomenon art!

　　How will future possibilities develop? That depends entirely on Liu Yonggang.

　　June 7th, 2012 Beijing