Between appropriate and inappropriate – a subjective interpretation of He Xi (excerpt) Chen Xiang, Vice-President of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy
The paintings of He Xi always have a strong sense of form, yet also offer unexpected interpretations. This kind of mental image produced through association imbues his works with an intriguing charm that is both pleasing to the eye and thought-provoking. Sometimes serious, sometimes playful, sometimes wishing to say something without actually saying it, sometimes seeming to be right, but actually wrong. From their own perspective, everyone can see their own experiences and their unique perceptions of life and art. He Xi has been focusing on glass for a long time. Glass is transparent and does not hinder our vision. On the other hand, glass acts as a partition that separates space. This kind of artificial partition suggests many associations to He Xi. He adds another layer of separation for the viewer by portraying a variety of objects in glass cylinders, glass cups, and glass walls. This effect seems to be the construction of a special stage. He wants to clearly tell
the viewer that this is a virtual space, and that where staged there is a wellplanned performance rather than a true reproduction of life, allowing us to understand the artist's unusual plot arrangement. In fact, art is a mirror of life, though this mirror is sometimes flat and sometimes uneven. All plots are traceable. They can be traced back to reality itself, back to the artist's heart. Perhaps, there is no truth, only our understanding of the truth. Although many problems are unsolvable, He Xi is thinking about the answers to all these questions in his mind, and portrays them in his paintings. Whether clear, ambiguous, realistic or imagery, all the entangled struggling thoughts are turned into clean and clear images. Intentionally or unintentionally, He Xi reflects problems back to the viewer by expressing rich and complex thoughts with clear and simple images. He Xi is an artist with rich affection. His keenness and wit make his artistic
creation a unique entry point. In particular, his reflections on reality make his works more enlightening and often inspire the viewer unexpectedly. He Xi is not a thinker, although he is good at thinking about problems; he is not a sociologist, although he is good at depicting relationships. He Xi is an artist who ponders and speaks through his own works. This kind of thinking is kind and pure while the artistic vocabulary is enigmatic. There are many things in his thoughts that are morally motivated, but not entirely practical. He has a sense of justice and simplicity that is rare among adults, and these qualities are still ingrained after being tempered by reality. The frustrations of reality lead him to return to the heart. He regards his heart as a safe haven, where he can think and reflect freely, and this kind of thinking and reflection is released into his creations, which makes his works unique. This is He Xi, a person who is true to himself.
The Art of HE XI John Russell Taylor
Artists who specialise in painting or drawing animals generally fall into one of two categories. One depicts the animals primarily from a scientific point of view, with a purpose to inform. The other uses the animals to signify something wider and deeper, to reflect in some way, symbolically, on the human condition. He Xi, impressively, bestrides the two. Unlike most symbolic artists, he has deep concern for strict accuracy in his depictions: whether it is an ape, a bird or a fish, what he shows is minutely, almost scientifically observed. You can tell exactly how the ape is furred, the bird is feathered, the fish is scaled. But then there is the context within which these diverse creatures are placed. The fish may be seen leaping out of the water, and the water itself meticulous rendered as it flies upward drop by drop, in seeming pursuit of the fish that has just left it, the bird flies low, close to a grassy upland, captured stalk by stalk, while the ape rears up against a glass wall, strongly present though invisible. So far, so realistic. But, as Edith Sitwell observed in Facade, something lies beyond the scene. He Xi's subject is freedom. The fish leaps free, the bird flies free, the ape seems to strive longingly to break free. Born in 1960, He Xi was too young
to have experienced fully Mao's socalled Cultural Revolution, with its demonizing of the intelligentsia. But he would have been a student when its effects started to be reversed and the era of China's real great leap forward in the creative and performing arts took place. For many would-be artists and performers, bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, and one cannot help presuming that such feelings were at the root of Xi's exaltation of freedom, particularly in a cultural context. Born in Beijing, He Xi trained at the Shanghai Arts & Crafts Vocational College, and the Chinese Painting Department of the Zhejiang Academy of Art (now the China Academy of Art). He has remained close to artistic education, being now a member and Creative Research Director of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy. Artists with such a background are frequently labeled, it is tempting to say 'branded', as academic. In He Xi's case this is both true and not true. His style and working method are certainly grounded in classical Chinese artistic practice. But this grounding is used to very modern ends. Classic style and material is stripped to an elegant minimalism, each work being defined as much by what is not there as by what is. He Xi is an absolute master of space.
What might in other hands be empty space is in his vibrant with life. He says he is fascinated by fish because they think they are free, but in fact they are confined to the watery element, even though they may temporarily leap free. But the freedom is illusory, since in the air they cannot continue to breathe. A situation both sad and funny: in The Fish Being Watched, we must ask ourselves, does the fish know it is being watched? Does it care? Does it feel it is confined to its bowl, or is it content with its own small world? For that matter, do the plants in the terrarium in As Long as You Live Better Than Me feel confined, or do they relish their privileged comfort? Or none of the above? Who knows? After all, if you strike a match close to a potted plant, it undergoes a seismic shock equivalent to a heart attack in a human. The human condition is actually universal, and He Xi sees the funny side of life as well as the tragic. The word "cool" in its multiple meanings might have been invented to describe him. Or, to put it another way, his art is academic in all the best senses: it is elegant, controlled, confident of its own skill, respectful of tradition even when it travels beyond traditional limits. Like China itself today, it knows where it is going, but also knows and reveres where it is coming from.
何曦的艺术 John Russell Taylor 英国评论家、作家
不同于人物画家，专注于描绘动物
经历过文化大革命时期对于知识分子的妖
焕发出了勃勃生机。他说他对鱼很着迷，
的艺术家大致可以分为两类：一类主要
魔化，但那场运动的影响力延续了十年。
因为鱼认为自己是自由的，但其实它们始
从科学的角度出发描绘动物，其目的是
在他求学期间这一影响力开始发生了逆
终被局限于水之中，即使可以通过跃出水
展示；另一类借用动物来指代更广泛、
转，并且迎来了中国大跃进时期艺术与创
面获得短暂的自由。这种自由是虚幻的，
更深远的东西，其目的是以隐喻映射出
作的复兴。对于许多梦想成为艺术家和投
鱼在空气中无法呼吸。有一种场景既悲伤
人类自身的状况。
身文艺的人来说，能够生活在黎明到来的
又有趣，像是《被观赏的鱼》，我们会忍
时代就是一种幸福。我不由得猜测这可能
不住问自己，那条鱼知道它正在被观赏
就是何曦渴望追求自由的根源，尤其是就
吗？它在意是否被观赏吗？它是觉得被鱼
其文化背景而言。
缸囚禁了还是满足于自己的小世界呢？又
令人印象深刻的是，何曦两者兼而有 之。与大多数借物寓意的艺术家不同，何 曦在创作时严格注重物体的准确性，无论
如《只要你过得比我好》，那些在玻璃容
是猿、鸟或鱼，他的描绘都非常精准，观
出生于北京的何曦曾先后就读于上
者可以清晰地看到猿的毛发，鸟的羽毛和
海工艺美术学院和浙江美术学院中国画
鱼的鳞片，几乎达到了科学观察的程度。
系（现名中国美院），现为上海中国画
然而通过这些物体被摆放的环境，何曦表
院创作研究室主任。有如此背景的艺术
谁知道呢？靠近一棵盆栽植物划着
达着自己的隐喻。鱼跳跃着离开水面，溅
家通常会被贴上学院派的标签，甚至被
一根火柴，它所经受的地质震动就如同
起的水珠像是要向上飞起捉住离开它的
打上烙印，这种标签对于何曦来说既真
人经历了一次心脏病的发作。人的境况
鱼；鸟贴着芦苇荡低空飞行，像是要被芦
实却又不正确。他的风格和技法无疑是
有着普遍性，何曦同时看到了生活中的
苇绊住；猿攀爬在玻璃之间，玻璃虽若有
以中国传统艺术为基础的，而何曦却把
趣味和悲伤。“酷”这个有着多重含义的词
似无却强烈地存在着。
传统以极为现代的方式展现了出来，传
语可能是为了形容何曦而发明的，或者
统的风格和素材被剥离成为优雅的极简
换句话说，何曦的艺术从任何层面上来
主义，那些不存在于画面中的东西与真
看都具有学术性，他的作品是优雅的，
正存在的一样重要。
收放自如的，对技艺充满自信的，尊重
一切看起来都很真实，但正如 Edith Sitwell 在 Facade 中所说，有些事情远远 超出了所见。何曦的主题是自由，鱼自由
器中的植物是觉得受到了限制还是享受着 被看护的特权呢？又或者，以上皆无？
传统的，即使它们已经超越了传统的限
飞跃，鸟自由飞翔，猿正奋力挣脱束缚获
何曦无疑是一位掌控空间的大师。对
得自由。1960 年出生的何曦虽因年幼而未
于其他人来说空无一用的空间在他手里却
制。何曦如同今日的中国，知道自己前 进的方向，并且深知并尊重自己的根。
1
盗梦空间 绢本设色 100 × 67 cm
Pirates of the Dream Space Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 39.4 × 26.4 ins (100 × 67 cm )
2
鹿鸣 绢本设色 45 × 46 cm
Singing Deer
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 17.7 × 18 ins (45 × 46 cm)
3
追鱼 绢本设色 40 × 37 cm
Chasing Fish
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 15.7 × 14.6ins (40 × 37 cm)
4
秋天的果实 绢本设色 45 × 42 cm
Autumn Fruits
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 17.7 ×16.5 ins (45 × 42 cm)
5
速度与激情 绢本设色 46 × 44.5 cm
Speed and Passion
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 18 × 17.5 ins (46 × 44.5 cm)
6
被观赏的鱼 No.2 纸本设色 43 × 47 cm
The Fish Being Watched II
Ink and Chinese pigments on rice paper 17 × 18.5 ins (43 × 47 cm)
7
乘风 绢本设色 76 × 65 cm
Rides the Wind
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 30 × 25.6 ins (76 × 65 cm)
8
只要你过得比我好 纸本设色 45 × 45 cm
As Long as You Live Better than Me Ink and Chinese pigments on rice paper 17.7 × 17.7 ins (45 × 45 cm)
9
看海 No.3 纸本设色 46 × 44 cm
See the Sea III
Ink and Chinese pigments on rice paper 18 × 17.3 ins (46 × 44 cm)
10
瓶中初夏 纸本设色 70 × 70 cm
Early Summer in the Bottle
Ink and Chinese pigments on rice paper 27.6 × 27.6 ins (70 × 70 cm)
11
迷宫 No.2 绢本设色 40 × 37 cm
Maze II
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 15.8 × 14.6 ins (40 × 37 cm)
12
看海 No.4 绢本设色 57 × 46 cm
See the Sea V
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 22.4 × 18 ins (57 × 46 cm)
13
都市生活 No.2 绢本设色 129 × 67.5 cm
Urban Life II
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 50.8 × 26.5 ins (129 × 67.5 cm)
14
谁在那里歌唱 No.3 纸本设色 66 × 90 cm
Who is Singing Over There III
Ink and Chinese pigments on rice paper 26 × 35.4 ins (66 × 90 cm)
Notable Sales 2017 – 2019 with Jonathan Cooper
迷宫 No.1 纸本设色 101.5 × 72.5 cm
Maze I
Ink and Chinese pigments on rice paper 40 × 28.5 ins (101.5 × 72.5 cm)
看海 绢本设色 100.5 × 73.3 cm
See the Sea
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 39.6 × 28.9 ins (100.5 × 73.3 cm)
海阔天空 绢本设色 100 × 70 cm
As Boundless as the Sea and Sky Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 39.4 × 27.5 ins (100 × 70 cm)
风生水起 绢本设色 100 × 70 cm
A Brighter Future
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 39.4 × 27.5 ins (100 × 70 cm)
第二次跳跃 绢本设色 100 × 70 cm
The Second Jump
Ink and Chinese pigments on silk 39.4 × 27.5 ins (100 × 70 cm)
HE XI Born in Beijing in 1960, He Xi graduated from the Shanghai Arts & Crafts Vocational College, and the Chinese Painting Department of the Zhejiang Academy of Art (now the China Academy of Art). He is a member and Creative Research Director of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy; National First-Class Artist of China; a member of the China Artists Association; a syndic of the Shanghai Artists Association and China Hue Art Society, and a committeeman of the Chinese Painting Committee. He Xi is also Visiting Professor of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai University and the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1991
Flower and Bird Paintings by He Xi, Taipei Changjiang Art Centre
1992
Chinese Painting Institute of Shanghai, Shanghai
1994
Taipei Changjiang Art Centre
1998
Works by He Xi, Strasbourg, France
2000
City Flower-Bird, Taipei Art Centre
2000
Fine Fish in the South: He Xi Ink Painting Exhibition, Original Song Gallery, Shanghai
2011
Sit by and Watch - He Xi Ink Painting Exhibition, 15th Shanghai Art Fair, Shanghai
2013
Between the Appropriate and the Inappropriate – Ink Paintings by He Xi, Suzhou Museum, Suzhou
2013
Mind’s Eye by He Xi, Original Song Gallery, Shanghai
2014
Mind’s Eye II by He Xi, Original Song Gallery, Shanghai
2015
Labyrinth - Ink Paintings by He Xi, Art Museum of the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou
2019
Drawing the Classic – an Exhibition of Works by He Xi, Japan-China Friendship Centre, Tokyo, Japan
What is the system: He Xi solo exhibition, C+Collection Space, Tomson Riviera, Shanghai
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 1997
Basement included in 97 China Art Exhibition, Shanghai Library
1998
Untitled included in the 1st National Chinese Painting Artists Academic Exhibition, National Art Museum of China
2000
Sample Series, and Bird - dialogue with He Jie’er, included in Sea Horizon - Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures, Liu Haisu Art Museum
2002
Pop Plants series included in the Shanghai Excellent Chinese Painting Exhibition, Shanghai Art Museum
2003 Photograph City Woundplast series included in the International Invitation Exhibition of E Time Ink Elements, Berlin, Germany 2005
Second-hand Plants I selected for the Shanghai Art Exhibition, Shanghai Art Museum Second-hand Plants series included in the Contemporary Chinese Painting Academic Forum and 1st Contemporary Chinese Painting Academic Exhibition, National Art Museum of China
2006
Sea World series included in the Touring Exhibition of Chinese Painting (Flower-Bird) Excellent Works by
2007
Coexistence - 2007 International Exchange Exhibition of Contemporary Arts of South-Korea and China,
2008
Ascending a Height selected by Olympic Fine Arts 2008, Beijing
National Youth and Middle-Aged People, Beijing, Jiangsu, Shandong Shanghai Art Museum Swimming Around included in the Contemporary Chinese Painting Academic Forum and 3rd Contemporary Chinese Painting Academic Exhibition, Yanhuang Art Museum, Beijing 2010
Tying me and you included in the G-20 International Art Festival, Seoul, Korea Seoul-Shanghai’s Pulse: Communicational Exhibition by Chinese and Korean Artists, Korean Cultural Service, Shanghai Tying Me and You, Visible You-Invisible Me included in Academy Classic: National Art College Fine Brushwork Classic Masters Exhibition, Hubei Academy of Fine Arts
2011
Nine works including Strangeness exhibited in the 1st Chinese Painting Biennial, Zhejiang Art Museum Birds - Dialogue with He Ji’er series and Sample series included in Joint Exhibition of Modern Painting by Chinese and French Artists, Xuhui Art Museum Sea World - Year by Year Enough awarded Excellent, Magnolia Denudata Art Award, 6th Shanghai Art Exhibition, Shanghai Art Museum
2012
Summer Joint Exhibition, Original Song Gallery
2013
Asian Gallery Art Fair, Shanghai Exhibition Centre 17th Shanghai Art Fair My home selected for Shanghai Art Exhibition in Beijing by Shanghai Artists Association
2014
1937 · My home selected for Shanghai Art Exhibition in Hong Kong by Shanghai Artists Association Five Painters of Ink Paintings from Shanghai, Original Song Gallery 18th Shanghai Art Fair Specimen · Ma Yuan Specimen · Ni Yunlin selected for Looking back to sea by Shanghai Artists Association
2015
19th Shanghai Art Fair
2017
Exhibited at Masterpiece, London
2018
Exhibited in Jonathan Cooper: 30 Years, Jonathan Cooper, London
2019
Joint show at Han Feng Art Space, Amanyangyun, Shanghai
Exhibited at Masterpiece, London Exhibited at BADA Art & Antiques Fair, London Exhibited at Masterpiece, London
AWARDS 1994
Rare Bird selected by the 8th National Art Exhibition, Shanghai Art Museum
2001
Flower House selected by the 1st National Painting Institute Biennial Exhibition, Xi’an Art Museum Pop Plants selected by and awarded the Bronze Award by the Shanghai Fine Art Exhibition, Shanghai Art Museum
2003
Spring Breeze Blew Over selected by the 2nd National Painting Institute Biennial Exhibition, Guangdong Art Museum
2004
Sad Fox selected by the 10th National Art Exhibition, Hangzhou International Exhibition Centre
2005
Second-hand Plants III selected by and awarded Award for Best Work at the 3rd National Painting Institute Biennial Exhibition, Henan Museum 1937 · My Home selected by Fine Art Works Exhibition Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Anti-Fascist Victory, Shanghai Art Museum
2007
Sea World VI selected by the Biennial Exhibition of Excellent Works by the National Painting Institute, Wuhan Just Clear after Rain selected by the National Art Exhibition for the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Liberation Army, National Art Museum of China
2008
Ascending a Height selected by Olympic Fine Arts 2008, Beijing
2009
Strangeness awarded Silver Award of the 11th National Art Exhibition, and entered the collection of the National Art Museum of China Strangeness selected by the Shanghai Fine Arts Work Exhibition for Celebrating Nation-Building 60th Birthday, and 5th Shanghai Art Exhibition, Shanghai Art Museum
2014
Strangeness II selected by the 12th National Art Exhibition
PUBLICATIONS Collected Edition of Chinese Contemporary - Painter He Xi, published by Culture and Art Publishing House, Beijing, China HE Xi Special, published by Shanghai Artists Painting Warehouse, China Chinese Painting Master · Flower - bird He Xi He Xi, China Contemporary Artists’ Works Collection Beautiful as Peach Blossom – The Photography of He Xi He Xi’s State of Art Creation, Chinese Fine Arts Chronicle Fine Fish in the South - Ink Paintings by He Xi Between the Appropriate and the Inappropriate – Ink Paintings by He Xi, published by Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, Shanghai Labyrinth – Ink Paintings by He Xi Mind’s Eye – Photography by He Xi Mind’s Eye II – Photography by He Xi