罗敏在纽约

文 / 李蕊

2020的一次暂停键，让人们冷静的望向外界看向自身，再次成为了真正意义上的“观看”者，这一理性审视，从而更加凸显了观看原本中立的意义。世界在灾难中需要重新自我修复，同样，艺术也需要找回理想的开端，那个真正有归属感的精神领域，也是艺术家罗敏多年来所探求的方向。 在日常中，罗敏关注着纽约的建筑、纽约的天际线、纽约的26号码头、纽约的行人，如同置身事外的疏离感带给她一种冷静，她真实的感受着外界与自己内在的变化，思考寻找着“绘画”最初的本质，那是从西方的绘画程式中抽离出来，去除既有的技法与个人风格，舍弃偏见的思想立场。 于是，她尝试在一种新媒介“合成纸”上去寻找这种答案，过程缓慢而又艰涩。在陌生的纸张上，她结合了丙烯、中国颜料、墨的特性，留下既不讨巧他人、也不炫耀自己技法的作画痕迹。面对密集簇拥的建筑，甚至如同笨拙的孩童用上了直尺，耗费近两个月的时间来完成一幅《窗外通往新泽西》作品，只是在衡量着绘画这一“描绘”的意义。在罗敏深远意境的美学中，她的作品更为趋向写意的表达，构成了独特的张力。而人性化依旧是罗敏作品中的精神灵魂，不变的是她对事物背后的隐喻意义的追求，和用这种平实的绘画方法强化这隐喻的力量。 米兰昆德拉曾说：“表面是清晰明了的谎言，背后却是晦涩难懂的真相。”罗敏的新作，以一种干净洗练的色彩与生动的形态开启故事的开端，促使我们深入的去读取画作背后隐喻的语言。她用女性艺术家独有的细腻、充满温情的手法，诠释了对这个熙来熙往繁华都市中遇见的孤独、寂寥的另一面，或许透过这些现实的存在表象，往往被人忽视的一面才更为真实。一如日常的生活中她对自己的内在反省，那一只因为失误操作而被她偷偷替换的《绿水壶》，看似幽默的自嘲了她试图掩饰自己失误的一刻，谁说又不是对现实的一种隐喻? 罗敏，这位成熟的当代艺术家，她恪守内心的理想信念。在她的绘画中充满了她对生活那种鲜活的感受，留下了经过她的感觉和记忆过滤过的景象。她以一种回归艺术最本质的态度，来唤醒人们内心对世界的再一次的重新审视。她又一次向我们展现了，绘画其实是种心灵的自由，同样，这也是艺术与人的自由。

2020.12.7

随 记

文 / 罗敏

2020年是一道魔咒，从年初到年末，人类从大慌乱中开始，而后是席卷全球……一切的恶都浮出水面，反思和忏悔只是假象，伤疤会好的，痛比伤忘得更快。好吧，尽情发挥，假想我们真的站在了游戏高潮。 此时我抽离于一个遥远的角落，从清晨到日落，最是喜欢那无人时的街道和寂寥的码头，没有风格，没有修饰。我用简单的语言和陌生的纸，俯身在洁净的玻璃窗边去仔细描绘。“描绘”这个动词有多土呀!但那是我年少时经常使用的，所以我不嫌弃。用这种方式画房画街画海水，画码头边的少年与狗，他们是这个凄清世界的最好，我由此去找回理想的开端。 绿色的壶是一个意外。儿子从LA买回一只和家里完全相同的黑色电咖啡壶，价格不菲，但在一个月内，我把这两只电壶都盛满水，错位地放在旁边的天然气炉上点燃了。完全相同的荒诞错误我竟在短短的时间内犯了完全一样的两次，而且两次看到燃烧起来的锅底，我都同样头脑一片空白不知何故。我惊愕于自己的错误，两次都是第一时间把烧坏的壶扔掉，抹去一切作案现场，心虚不已。事后我买回一只绿色的烧水壶，放在那个作案的燃气火头位置，看上去一切完美，真相彻底消失，再也不会有错。其实每每看到绿铁壶我就想起这个案底，当然，一切都已掩藏和销毁，因为真相实在不利于健康，岁月需要静好。

2020.11.29

Min Luo in New York By Rui LI The year 2020 is like a pause button, encouraging people to slow down in our fast-paced world and take time to be present with themselves. We become “observers” to this world as well as our lives. The rational examination of “observing” implies the neutrality attitude. The world needs to repair itself amidst disasters. Similarly, art also needs to go back to the ideal beginning. The spiritual realm that represents a sense of belonging is what artist Min Luo has been seeking for these years. During the quarantine, Luo pays extra attention to New York’s architectures, skylines, piers, and the pedestrians, as if the alienation from the outside world brings her calmness. She has been experiencing the changes of the outside world and within herself, exploring the essence of the art. The journey of exploration is not only extract from the Western canon, techniques, and personal style, but also discard from the prejudiced ideology. Attempting to find an answer, she tried to create arts on a new medium – synthetic paper. The process was slow and difficult. On this unfamiliar paper, she combined the characteristics of acrylic, Chinese pigments, and ink, leaving traces of painting that neither flattered others nor showed off her techniques. In the creation of densely clustered buildings in New York, she even used a ruler, like a clumsy child. It took her nearly two months to complete a piece of “Outside the Window Leading to New Jersey,” only to measure the concept of the depiction. A natural master of the artistic conception of aesthetics, Luo expresses representation through her unique freehand brushwork. Humanization is still the core of her artworks. Despite the changes in media, what remains unchanged is her pursuit of the metaphorical meanings behind any subject and the utilization of simple yet powerful painting methods that strengthen the metaphorical languages. As writer Milan Kundera once said, “On the surface, an intelligible lie; underneath, the unintelligible truth.”Min Luo’s new series presents us with the story of clean and refined colors and vivid forms, only urging us to decipher the depth of the metaphorical languages underneath the painting. Using the delicate yet gentle techniques that especially speak to female artists, she expresses the loneliness that she has encountered in this prosperous city. Perhaps only underneath the surface of reality shows the often-overlooked truth. Just like how she self-reflects in her life, the “Green Kettle” that was secretly replaced by her because of her mistakes in burning the other two kettles seemingly humorous self-deprecating moment when she tried to bury her mistakes. Isn’t this another metaphor for reality? A mature contemporary artist, Luo abides by her inner ideology. Her paintings are full of her vivid feelings of life, depicting the scenes filtered by her memories and emotions. With an ongoing search of returning to the essence of art, she awakens people’s inner world to reexamine the outside world. She demonstrates to us that painting can be an expression of freedom from the soul, as well as freedom of art and people.

2020.12.7

Notes By Min Luo The year 2020 seems like a curse, from the beginning of the year till the last few days. It started as a panic among mankind, then swept the whole world… All evils surfaced, regrets and repentance are just illusions. Pain is forgotten where scars heal. Sure, let’s get it – just imagine we are standing still at the climax of the game. Meanwhile, I was pulling away from a far corner. From sunrise to sunset, I prefer empty streets and lonely piers when the city is asleep with no people wandering. No styles. No decorations. Using simple language and unfamiliar paper, I leaned over my window to depict. How cliché is the verb depict! But it was used frequently in my childhood, so I don’t dislike it. In this way, I depicted houses, streets, seas, as well as the teenagers and dogs on the piers. They are the best in this bleak world, so I could travel to where all this started. The green kettle was an accident. My son bought back a black coffee maker from LA that was exactly the same as the one at home. They were not cheap. Within a month, I burned both kettles by filling them with water and placing them on the heated stove, which burned them. I made this absurd mistake twice in a short amount of time. My mind went blank both times. I was amazed by my mistake. Both times, I threw away the burnt kettles as if I was erasing evidence from a crime scene. I felt guilty. After I burned the second kettle, I bought a green kettle and replaced it on the exact same spot where I committed the “crime.” Everything seemed to be perfect, and the truth is buried. There would be no more mistakes. However, every time I land my eyes on the green iron pot, I think of the “crime.” Of course, no evidence can be found, because there’s some truth is not needed in a peaceful and healthy life.

2020.11.29

关于艺术家/ABOUT THE ARTIST 罗敏 ，中国当代艺术家，曾在亚洲和欧洲多个国家举办过个展和联展。 近期个展：

• 2020年 “观看” 纽约时代画廊 美国
• 2018年 “幸存的诗意” 米格画廊 巴塞罗那
• 2017年 “它界之花——罗敏个展” 马拉加阿拉劳林罗宾松文化中心 西班牙
• 2016年 “看见时光——罗敏作品展” 復言社 北京
• 2015年 “归心两畅——罗敏油画作品展” 北京画院美术馆 北京
• 2013年 “路过 既成为风景——罗敏纸本绘画展” 今日美术馆 北京
• 2011年 “日常之镜——2011 罗敏绘画展” 今日美术馆 北京

Min Luo , Chinese Contemporary Artist, has held solo and group exhibitions in multiple countries in Asia and Europe. Recent Solo Exhibitions:

• 2020“Observe”, Timearts Gallery, America
• 2018 “The Surviving Poetry”, Miguel Marcos Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
• 2017 “Flowers of Another World--Luo Min Solo Exhibition”, Robinson Cultural Center of Alhaurín de la Torre, Malaga, Spain
• 2016 “Seeing the Time--Exhibition of Luo Min´s Artworks”, Fuyan Association, Beijing
• 2015 “Back to the Heart--Luo Min´s Oil Painting Exhibition”, Beijing Art Museum, Beijing
• 2013 “Passing by, It Becomes a Scenery--Luo Min´s Paper Art Exhibition”, Today Art Museum, Beijing
• 2011 “Mirror of Daily Life--Luo Min´s Painting Exhibition in 2011”, Today Art Museum, Beijing