Ma Sibo Solo Show Catalog

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Scaffolding of Light

by Zhu Zhu

Using light and shadow to create space is one of the everlasting magic powers of painting. However, in Ma Sibo’s practice, he has an inverted interpretation. His approach can even be seen as building light and shadow by space and objects.

When associated with his favourite artist, Edward Hopper, it becomes less difficult to interpret. Mark Strand once commented, “In Hopper’s paintings, light doesn’t yield to shapes; or strictly speaking, Hopper’s paintings are built on the shapes formed by light, to this, it should have made a strong impression on us all.” 1 In Hopper’s later work, a beam of light in an empty room became a prominent subject.

Interestingly, Edward Hopper’s style of light has “no liquidity”—Pennsylvania Coal Town (1947) and this may well be called a typical example of this. Here we see a man holding a rake, a wall and some plants being placed among a strong glare, and the rest of the scene is immersed in a deep shadow. To Ma Sibo, though Hopper constituted one of the methodologies, his passion lays in the mystical quality of light –the extraordinarily subtle changes in brightness and darkness. With this in mind, one can say he is closer to Monet, who is quite the opposite of Hopper. “Think about how Monet used light to turn the majestic Lun Cathedral into a vain wedding cake, or how the heavy stone slab of Waterloo Bridge is transformed into a bluish purple fog.” 2

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运用光影来结构空间，是绘画历久弥新的魔法之一，在马思博的具体操演中，这个向 度有所颠倒，他的方法更可视为运用空间及物像来结构光影，联想到他所喜爱的霍 珀，解释起来就变得不那么困难，马克·斯特兰德(Mark Strand)就谈论过：“霍珀 的绘画里，光并不迁就造型；倒应该讲，霍珀绘画是在由光决定的造型上建立起来 的”，【1】对此我们应该都抱有深刻的印象，在霍珀的晚年作品中，空房间里的一 束光成为了显著的主体。

然而，霍珀式的光“并无任何流动性”——《宾夕法尼亚煤镇》（Pennsylvania Coal Town，1947）称得上典型的一例，拿着耙子的男人、一整面墙和一些植物被 置于强光之中，画面的其它部分则深陷阴影。对马思博来说，尽管霍珀构成了方法论 之一，但他热衷的是带来迷离感的光，具有格外细微的明暗变化，由此他更接近与霍 珀相反的莫奈，“去想想莫奈是怎样用光将雄伟的鲁恩大教堂变成一个虚浮的婚礼蛋 糕，或者是如何将滑铁卢桥那沉重的石板幻化为偏蓝的紫雾”。【2】

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Ma Sibo’s work references not only impressionism but rather a multidimensional list of things. For example, in Ma Sibo’s view, Giorgio Morandi’s “colours do not jump off the canvas, but by focusing on the greyness and by softening the chrome, a sense of haziness is imbued.” Perhaps we can return to the fifteenth century and listen to Da Vinci’s way of thinking, “You should paint under a faint light from the overcast, gloomy sky because it makes the most beautiful stream of light.” 3 It is not classical beauty that the artist pursues, but silence, and this invisible and unspeakable silence becomes Ma Sibo’s destination. It is a place that is nourished by the abstract. Contemplating the works of Mark Rothko, Ma Sibo says - “The large areas of colours, the movement, shock, and resilience of the brush strokes, the acoustics within the painting, the dominance of the colours […] there is an unseen emotion in these colour-oriented scenes”, which along with the erasing of its contents, ultimately, brings us back to the word “silence”.

Light plays the lead in Ma Sibo’s paintings. Constantly transforming and integrating, it takes on the roles of loneliness, weariness, calmness, openness, and mystery. The fluid and misty quality of light dissolves the weight and volume of matter at all times, allowing the space to remain in an unfocused state.

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不只是印象派，可以参照的经典是多维的，譬如莫兰迪，在马思博看来，这位大师 的“色彩不具有跳跃性，而注重灰度，通过减弱色度对比的方法，产生出迷雾般的 朦胧感”，我们还可以回到十五世纪，听听达·芬奇的表达：“你应该在阴霾漫天 或浓云密布的天气里就着昏濛的光线作画，因为那时的光线最美”。【3】 《背景》 ，布面油画，200x160cm，2018 并非古典框架中的美，而是沉默，不可见与不可说 的沉默，才是马思博的目的地，这里存在着抽象的滋养：马思博对罗斯科的深入研 析——“宽大的色彩面积，刷子的运动、震荡、回弹，画内的音响性，色彩的主导 性”，“那种以色彩为主导的画面里有一种不可视的情绪”，伴随着内容的消除感， 最终，仍然要归之于“沉默”这个词。 在马思博的绘画里，光作为真正演出的主体，在不断转换和融合之中，演示着孤寂、 困顿、平静、空茫和神秘，流动的、雾化的光随时在遣散物质的重量和体积，让空 间处在了虚焦状态，色彩的颗粒悬浮到空气中，如同银盐泛出了旧照片，场景和图 像由此变得不确定，成为了第二性的存在，更准确地说，物像与空间不过是光的脚 手架，它们架设在具象与抽象、可见与不可见、表达与沉寂之间， 譬如，他的《

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Particles of colour are suspended in the air, as if an old photo reflected on silver salt, thus causing the scene and image to become uncertain. The obscured environment and subject becomes a secondary existence, or more accurately, they become scaffolding for the light, bridging the representational and the abstract, the visible and the invisible, the expressive and the silent. For example, his work Island (2018) can be seen as a variant or variation of Hopper’s Nighthawks (1942). The bus stop in Ma Sibo’s painting and the diner in Hopper’s both stand alone in a city after dark, conveying a sense of loneliness and isolation. However, if the diner is an island emitting light in the darkness, drawing the viewer’s attention and body closer and inwards, then the bus stop in Island would be floating algae, losing itself as it is taken over and swallowed by the foggy night. Another example would be Ma Sibo’s Invisible Angel (2018), in which the subject is erased to the utmost extent. Though the work is depicting Fra Angelico’s Annunciation, the original characters and narrative scenes have been deleted, leaving merely the empty interior of the architecture. The work leans on the emptied structure for composition, and liberates the spread of light. Under the arches, the colours form a Bach-style polyphony, presenting a rare tranquility that echoes beyond the canvas.

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Mark Strand, HOPPER, Guang Zhe, Democracy and construction press, 2017

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Mark Strand, HOPPER, Guang Zhe, Democracy and construction press, 2017

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John Walker, Portraits 5000 years, Mao Jianxiong, Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, 1993. 5.

岛》可以视为霍珀《夜游者》（Nighthawks，1942）的一种变体或变奏，画面中那座巴 士站如同后者的小餐馆，矗立在都市的夜色中，述说着孤寂之感，然而，如果说小餐馆像 一座黑暗中发光的岛屿，引诱观众的视线与身体向它靠拢和进入，那么《岛》中的巴士站 却显得像漂浮的藻草，正被四处弥漫的大片夜雾挤占和吞噬，几乎丧失了实体感；而物像 得以被最大限度地消除的例证， 则是他的另一幅作品《不可视的使者》，安吉利科（Fra Angelico）原作《天使报喜》中的人物和叙事性场景被抽离，留置的仅仅是建筑内部空 间，一座空的空间，作为一种结构性的依凭，放任着光的扩散——在拱形的穹顶之下，色 彩组成了一部巴赫式的复调乐章，演绎着罕见的安宁愉悦，携带着回声扩散到画面之外。

【1】引自《寂静的深度》，马克·斯特兰德著，光哲译，民主与建设出版社2017年版。 【2】同上。 【3】引自《肖像艺术 5000 年》，约翰·沃尔克著，毛建雄译，湖南美术出版社1993年版

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Enclosure 2018 Oil on canvas 200 x 160 cm

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Doll 2018 Oil on canvas 200 x 160 cm

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Island 2018 Oil on canvas 200 x 160 cm

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Background 2018 Oil on canvas 200 x 160 cm

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Stairs 2018 Oil on canvas 160 x 200 cm

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Invisible Angel 2018 Oil on canvas 200 x 160 cm

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First Day 2018 Oil on canvas 200 x 160 cm

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Nirvana 2018 Oil on canvas 200 x 160 cm

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Quicksand 2018 Oil on canvas 200 x 160 cm

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CV

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De Sarthe Ma Sibo b. 1979 in Tianjin, China Currently works and lives in Beijing, China 2001 2004 2006

B.F.A. Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Oil Painting Department, Tianjin, China D.N.A.P. École supérieur d’art et de design (ÉSADTPM), Toulon, France D.N.S.E.P. École supérieur des beaux-arts de Nîmes (ÉSBAN), Nîmes, France

Solo Exhibitions 2018 2016 2015 2012 2010

Ma Sibo, de Sarthe Gallery, Hong Kong Habitat, de Sarthe Gallery, Beijing, China There Will be Light, Galerie Paris-Beijing, Paris, France Apparition, Galerie Loft, Paris, France Les solititudes, Galerie Loft, Paris, France

Group Exhibitions 2017 2016 2015 2014 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2006 2005 2004 2001

Exhibition of Han Feng’s Private Art Collection, Han Feng Art Space, Shanghai, China Standing by Themselves: China Now, de Sarthe Gallery, Hong Kong Artists at Play, de Sarthe Gallery, Beijing, China You, I, Among Us, de Sarthe Gallery, Beijing, China Don`t Look Back, Galerie Paris-Beijing, Brussels, Belgium 70/ 80 – La mutation générationnelle de l'art contemporain chinois.

Galerie Loft, Paris, France Circusée — Yan Club Arts Center 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Yan Club Arts Center, Beijing, China La vie est ailleurs, Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok, Thailand Made in China, Hélène Bailly Gallery, Paris, France The Yangjingbang Culture, Galerie Dumonteil, Shanghai, China Depths, Yan Club Arts Center, Beijing, China Journey to the End of the Night, Yan Club Arts Center, Beijing, China Fromage et Dessert, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Nîmes, France Histoire d’Eau, ville de Gréou, France From a Figure to Another, Carré d'Art- Mur Foster, Nîmes, France Pay Attention, Fresh Paint!, City Hall, Garons, France Drawings, Galerie La Palette, Toulon, France Eight Academies of Fine Arts (graduate exhibition), National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), Beijing, China

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Ma Sibo

b. 1979 in Tianjin, China

Ma Sibo was born in Tianjin, China in 1979. In 2001, he received his B.F.A. at the Oil Painting Department at the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. He furthered obtained a National Diploma in Plastic Arts (D.N.A.P.) at the École supérieur d’art et de design in Toulon in 2004. Two years later he received an Advanced National Diploma in Plastic Expression at the École supérieur des beaux-arts in Nîmes.

Within his canvases Ma Sibo shows us fragments of intimate landscapes, like windows into the soul. Their evocative power derives from portraying scraps of daily life in dreamlike lightness. A strange mixture of reality and imagination, Ma Sibo’s luminous visions recall an evocative emotions. Viewers feel as if the paintings are closed to the outside world, but lit from within by a dazzling and vivid candle, revealing the poetry of our dreams.

Ma’s solo exhibitions include Ma Sibo, de Sarthe Gallery, Hong Kong (2018); Habitat, de Sarthe Gallery, Beijing, China (2016); There Will be Light, Galerie Paris-Beijing, Paris, France (2015); Apparition, Galerie Loft, Paris, France (2012); Les solititudes, Galerie Loft, Paris, France (2010). His work has also been included in group shows around the world, including Exhibition of Han Feng’s Private Art Collection, Han Feng Art Space, Shanghai China (2017); Standing by Themselves: China Now, de Sarthe Gallery, Hong Kong (2016); Artists at Play, de Sarthe Gallery, Beijing, China (2015); You, I, Among Us, de Sarthe Gallery, Beijing, China (2015); Don’t Look Back, Galerie Paris-Beijing, Brussels, Belgium (2014); La vie est ailleurs, Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok, Thailand (2011); Fromage et desert, École supérieure des beaux-arts de Nimes, Nimes, France (2006).

Ma Sibo currently lives and works in Beijing, China.

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馬思博1979年出生於中國天津。在2001年天津美術學院油畫係獲得藝術學士學位。 隨後2004年赴法國土倫國立藝術學院造型藝術獲得國家文憑並兩年之後獲得法國尼 姆國立美術學院高登造型表現國家文憑。 馬思博的繪畫，向我們展示著片段式的小景風光，有如通向我們心靈的窗戶。這種難 以忘懷的力量是源於想實現對日常生活中片段非真實化的探求，這種轉化既神秘又夢 幻。馬思博的作品是一個現實與幻想的混合體，呈現出的視象能夠喚起相熟的情感。 畫作在觀眾看來貌似接近世界的邊緣，但其實是一支明亮耀眼的蠟燭，照出夢中的詩 意情景。 馬思博的個展包括：《馬思博》，德薩畫廊，香港（2018）；《棲息地》，德薩畫 廊，北京，中國（2016）；《There Will be Light》, Paris-Beijing 畫廊，巴黎，法 國 （2013），《Apparition》, Loft 畫廊，巴黎，法國；《Les Solitudes》, Loft 畫廊，巴黎，法國（2010）。他的作品曾參加過以下的聯展：《韓楓私人藝術收 藏展》，韓楓藝術空間，上海，中國（2017）；《屹立：中國當代現狀》，徳薩 畫廊，香港（2016）；《藝術家在戲劇》，德薩畫廊，北京，中國（2015）；《 你，我，間》，德薩畫廊，北京，中國（2015）；《Don’t Look Back》，ParisBeijing 畫廊，布魯塞爾，比利時（2014）；《生活在別處》，唐人藝術中心，曼 谷，泰國（2011）；《Fromage et dessert》，尼姆美術學院美術館，尼姆，法國 （2006）。

馬思博現工作及生活於中國北京。

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Ma Sibo’s Solo Exhibition November 24, 2018 - January 19, 2019 Hong Kong

de sarthe 20/F, Global Trade Square, No. 21 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong Opening hours : Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 7 pm T: (852) 2167 8896 F: (852) 2167 8893 E: hongkong@desarthe.com Design by de Sarthe (Mario Bobbio)

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