郭燕是美术圈里公认的美女。一般美女都有些争议；郭燕属于无争议的那类，这就少见了。天生丽质难自弃，象这样的美女通常都开着香车，出入时尚场合。可是郭燕每天在画室能呆七八个小时，这就更少见了。
人们好奇；过着美好生活的郭燕，这么刻苦的工作，有什么样的内心需要表达呢?的确，过去她那些紫灰色的画面上，如儿时梦境一般的背景，两个时尚的男女或坐或站，或款款走来，似乎正是她完美家庭生活的心里投射。不过这些画面要告诉我们的，也许远远不止这些；正如郭燕虽是正点美女，细细品味来她的形象也别有不明朗之处。有位外地朋友初见郭燕，后来谈起对她的印象；她笑起来很开朗，但笑容缓缓消失，凝固在一种大理石般的落寞中。不论他的观察是否纯属想入非非，郭燕的内心世界肯定比其外表更朦胧。她反复刻画的男女形象，姿态，服装都很清晰，唯有面孔模糊而刻板，犹如面具一般不可捉摸，如同作者本人，总在我们身边却又拒人于千里之外。
以上文字写于一年前。一年后的今天，郭燕除了人没变，画大变了，其他情况也大有进展。她的作品开始出现在各个展览上，既有国内的，也有国外的，有些是相当重要的展览。有时，我会应邀去她那间窄小、整洁的画室。在那些命名为《飘》的一系列大画中，背景似乎是最重要的元素，也是郭燕内心世界（如前文所述）的偶然透露。仍然是深厚的紫色，笼罩着黑暗的城市；天边露出一带桔红色的云彩，游移不定，象动荡不安的预兆。这些复杂的图像以大笔涂成，细节和整体处理得简略而有效果，显示出作者处理复杂对象的能力。
在动荡不安的背景上，人物大多是作者自己与她所挚爱的家人，在深深的睡梦中飞翔，掠过神秘的不可知的城市和荒原，犹如但丁《神曲》的人间版本。
在别人苦苦追求而不可得的成功，在郭燕似乎是顺利成章的事情。我认为，除了每天八九个小时的刻苦劳作外，郭燕的成功来自于她的平衡天赋；技巧和表现的平衡、现实和幻想的平衡、以及最重要的—美和修辞手法的平衡。这就是郭燕作品的魅力，也是郭燕的魅力。
—何多苓
2008-10-15
About Guo Yan
Guo Yan is universally recognized as a beauty in the circle of fine arts. Generally speaking, a beauty often creates some argument. However, Guo Yan is a rare case in that there is no argument. An endowed beauty like this seldom can give up herself and should drive fine cars and shuttle around in trendy venues. But it is even rarer that Guo Yan stays in her studio for seven/eight hours a day.
People are curious why Guo Yan, who could just live a simple and pleasurable life, should work so hard, and what kind of personality does she have that needs to be so urgently expressed? On the greyish purple surfaces of her paintings, in dream-like backgrounds of childhood, a man and a woman are either sitting or standing, or walking daintily. This seems to be the reflection of her ideal of perfect family life. Nevertheless, this configuration tells us far more than this. Just like Guo Yan: although she is unquestionably a beauty, there are perhaps ambiguities about her image upon detailed rumination. A friend from abroad first met Guo Yan and later talked about the impression of her: she laughed open-heartedly, but the smile gradually faded and froze in a marble-like indifference. Whether or not his observation was purely imaginary, Guo Yan's personality is definitely more obscure than it appears to be. Time and time again, she depicts clearly the images, manners and costumes of the men and women. Only the faces are blurred and deadpan, elusive as masks, and in this sense they are just like the creator herself, always by our side yet far and far away. The non-earthly pictures appear surreal, but help the viewer clearly feel the intimacy together with the creator's unique sentiment. Maybe, this is the charm of life and also the charm of Guo Yan's works of art.
The above text was written a year ago. Since then, Guo Yan herself has not changed much, only the size of her paintings has become noticeably larger. More importantly, however, her career has undergone some major developments. Her works began to appear on many exhibitions, both in China and abroad. Some of these events are very significant and widely recognized.
One day, she invited me to her small but tidy studio to show me her paintings. In the "Floating" series, the background of the paintings is particularly important, as it is supposed to depict the artist’s inner world. It is usually represented by dark purple sky over the city and orange clouds in the horizon, which seems like a disquieting premonition. The artist used thick brushes to create these complicated images: the general idea is definitely more important than the care for details.
In the unstable background, one can always see the figures of the artist herself and her family. They are flying in their dreams across the unknown cities and wastelands similar to those from Dante's Divine Comedy.
It may seem that Guo Yan achieved with relatively little effort the success that others have to chase for years. In my opinion, her achievements are the result of both hard work – she works 8 to 9 hours a day – and her talent for maintaining balance: the balance between technique and expression, between reality and illusion as well as, most importantly, between aesthetics and rhetoric. The balance is the secret of Guo Yan's art and also the secret of her personal charm.
By He Duo Ling
2008.10.15
【编辑：霍春常】
