孫國維

首都博物館里舉辦劉宇一從藝50年大型畫作回顧展期間，幾乎天天人頭攢動(dòng)，觀者踴躍。在不到20天內(nèi)，參觀者已經(jīng)超過4萬人，觀眾仍表示“時(shí)間太短，意猶未盡”。

留住歷史輝煌

半個(gè)世紀(jì)來，劉宇一在畫壇默默耕耘，勤奮探索，力求做到洋為中用、古為今用，在創(chuàng)作上獨(dú)辟蹊徑，兼收并蓄東西方繪畫藝術(shù)之精髓，逐漸形成了氣勢(shì)恢宏、構(gòu)思巧妙、形象逼真和創(chuàng)意靈動(dòng)的獨(dú)特藝術(shù)風(fēng)格。他用油畫記載中國歷史的發(fā)展歷程，先后創(chuàng)作了《良宵》《良辰》《偉業(yè)千秋》《開國盛典》《初春》《八一頌》《共鑄乾坤》《春回神州》《女媧之歌》《瑤池會(huì)仙圖》《和平頌》等一系列史詩性的大型題材作品，熱情謳歌中華民族的盛世輝煌和改革開放的時(shí)代精神。劉宇一認(rèn)為，杏花春雨固然迷人，金戈鐵馬一樣詩意盎然，但他偏愛史詩般的作品，因?yàn)檩x煌的歷史才最能激發(fā)他創(chuàng)作的靈感與激情。他認(rèn)為泱泱大國必須要有與之相稱的鴻篇巨制，只有這樣才能留住歷史的輝煌，不負(fù)時(shí)代的期望。正因?yàn)槿绱耍谛屡f世紀(jì)交替之際，他遵循聯(lián)合國憲章原則創(chuàng)作出像《和平頌》那樣的驚世之作，把截至2006年的世界190多個(gè)國家300余位中外各國元首和社會(huì)精英通列在同一幅畫上共同歡慶這樣偉大、歡樂場(chǎng)面。這一繪畫史上曠古無聞的壯舉，引動(dòng)50多位國家元首的書信電文祝福與鳴謝。

劉宇一的巨作均以群像為主，在構(gòu)圖上注重整體性，既強(qiáng)調(diào)對(duì)稱與對(duì)比，又注意肖像的傳神，這是他獲得成功的訣竅。他立意突破一般油畫的傳統(tǒng)模式，力求再現(xiàn)歷史的真實(shí)場(chǎng)面，這樣才能留住歷史的輝煌，讓我們的子孫有機(jī)會(huì)理解我們這個(gè)時(shí)代的甘苦和艱辛。

有道是天道酬勤。他長年累月嘔心瀝血所付出的辛勤勞動(dòng)獲得了國內(nèi)外藝術(shù)界的廣泛賞識(shí)和承認(rèn)，深受國際藝術(shù)界的廣泛歡迎。迄今已有15幅作品被珍藏在人民大會(huì)堂、天安門城樓、全國政協(xié)禮堂、毛主席紀(jì)念堂、釣魚臺(tái)國賓館等國家殿堂和重要樓堂館所，不少作品也為多個(gè)國家的博物館或收藏機(jī)構(gòu)收藏，有的還在國內(nèi)外拍賣市場(chǎng)上以破紀(jì)錄的價(jià)格售出。在香港就有為數(shù)不少的劉宇一作品的收藏家。1993年，《良宵》以836萬港元成交；1994年，《女媧之歌》以888萬港元成交；1995年，《瑤池會(huì)仙圖》以1080萬港元成交；1997年，《良辰》則以2300萬港元成交。這位中華大地哺育的著名藝術(shù)家如今已躋身世界名畫家行列，除了國內(nèi)藝術(shù)殿堂之外，其作品早已跨進(jìn)了比利時(shí)、卡塔爾和瑞典皇宮以及日本首相府、洪都拉斯總統(tǒng)府的門檻，在美國收藏界也有不少他的畫作。

這位走向世界的畫家1940年出生于四川，祖籍南京。由于在繪畫藝術(shù)方面對(duì)社會(huì)文化所作出的杰出貢獻(xiàn)，因此他當(dāng)選為第十屆、十一屆全國政協(xié)委員。現(xiàn)任北京師范大學(xué)宇一藝術(shù)研究院院長、香港宇一畫院名譽(yù)院長。

情動(dòng)五洲繪群英

首博“劉宇一從藝50年回顧展”分為“國家殿堂，典藏鴻篇”、“情動(dòng)五洲，大愛無疆”、“心系中華，力繪群英”、“姹紫嫣紅，吟古詠今”、“水墨石韻，速寫傳情”、“山水無言，丹青寄語”、“煉藝鑄魂，出品育人”、“父女畫家，藝苑奇葩”等9個(gè)部分，共展出179幅精品。

《開國盛典》記載了毛澤東主席在天安門城樓上向全世界莊嚴(yán)宣告：“中華人民共和國中央人民政府成立了！”《良宵》《初春》《偉業(yè)千秋》和《共鑄乾坤》等主題畫則通過中秋夜月、春節(jié)團(tuán)拜或國慶佳節(jié)的喜慶場(chǎng)面來著意表現(xiàn)中國共產(chǎn)黨人與各民主黨派、少數(shù)民族互賀新禧、和衷共濟(jì)的熱烈氛圍。劉宇一認(rèn)為，我們都是“地球人”，人類應(yīng)和諧共處，同唱一首歌—愛與和平。在聯(lián)合國成立50周年之際，他費(fèi)時(shí)5年創(chuàng)作的《和平頌—人類千禧交響詩》，表現(xiàn)人類進(jìn)入新千年之際，不同種族、不同國籍、不同膚色的人們共同奏響和諧的天籟之曲—和平頌。畫作反映了劉宇一對(duì)世界和平的向往。2008年北京舉辦奧運(yùn)會(huì)時(shí)，劉宇一又與女兒劉浩眉合作了《奧林匹克頌》。這幅耗時(shí)7年創(chuàng)作的百米油畫長卷，通過穿越時(shí)空的獨(dú)特構(gòu)思和氣勢(shì)恢宏的創(chuàng)作手法，藝術(shù)地描繪了百年奧運(yùn)的輝煌歷史和英雄人物，歌頌了奧林匹克精神。劉宇一情動(dòng)五洲，大愛無疆，多次游歷美國、英國、法國、德國和日本、意大利等國家及中國的臺(tái)灣、澳門等地，沿途創(chuàng)作和寫生了無數(shù)佳作，用彩色和線條傳播友誼與大愛。

從1981年到1984年，他身背畫箱遍訪北京、上海、天津、南京、廣州、福州、鄭州等地的學(xué)者名家—當(dāng)面寫生，為他們?cè)煜瘛Ｋ豢跉猱嬒铝税儆鄠€(gè)人，其中活靈活現(xiàn)的要數(shù)巴金、冰心、齊白石、徐悲鴻、劉海粟、蔣兆和、艾青、凌子風(fēng)、白淑湘、李谷一、貝聿銘、金庸、馮友蘭、夏衍、陳龍、何鴻燊、李嘉誠、霍英東等。當(dāng)他為葉圣陶先生所作肖像成像時(shí)，葉老連連滿意地說：“這就是我，就是我呀！”為此，作家丁玲稱劉宇一的神筆為“我國肖像畫史上實(shí)屬罕見的創(chuàng)舉”，認(rèn)為這批作品“具有可以傳世的文獻(xiàn)價(jià)值”。劉宇一崇尚“真、善、美”，他認(rèn)為，人體美是美的極致；以美術(shù)之法去揭示人格之美，是畫家的天職。因此他最喜歡畫人，他不僅畫了我國古代傳說中的“沉魚、落雁、閉月、羞花”四大美女西施、王昭君、貂蟬、楊貴妃，而且還為本世紀(jì)的各國元首畫了肖像。

人們十分欣賞宇一大師寄寓于畫作中的活潑詼諧意趣，最具代表性的當(dāng)推《白石大師四季怡樂圖》以及《一舉三得》《知音》和《風(fēng)止蟬靜聽呢喃》。這些是他為數(shù)不多的國畫嘗試；另一幅《和聲—張大千與畢加索在一起》別具浪漫情趣，正如他的附詩所言：“丹青自古道東西，線面形神各玄機(jī)，畢調(diào)張音臻妙曲，達(dá)情言志九歸一。”

中國油畫要走向世界

有識(shí)之士認(rèn)為，當(dāng)代以史實(shí)為題材、有深度創(chuàng)作并獲得認(rèn)可的鴻篇巨作的畫家非劉宇一莫屬；用油畫記載共和國發(fā)展的第一人也當(dāng)推劉宇一。他所塑造的歷史畫作給予社會(huì)、美術(shù)界及市場(chǎng)一種推動(dòng)力，因?yàn)樗淖髌芳扔狭水?dāng)代大眾的欣賞品味，又具有當(dāng)今市場(chǎng)的升值潛力。中國油畫要走向世界，必須面對(duì)博大精深的西方油畫傳統(tǒng)，然后結(jié)合中國幾千年的繪畫傳統(tǒng)，走出自己的路來。劉宇一所設(shè)計(jì)的“宇一經(jīng)緯”創(chuàng)作規(guī)劃便是一種開創(chuàng)自身品牌、走向世界的可貴實(shí)踐。而《開國盛典》《良宵》《良辰》《偉業(yè)千秋》《初春》《女媧之歌》《人民萬歲》《月明星亮歌兒甜》等作品正是劉宇一風(fēng)格的體現(xiàn)。他在《瑤池會(huì)仙圖》《耘天》和《歌日》等作品中則大膽將中國年畫的表現(xiàn)手法融入了油畫創(chuàng)作，使作品透出中國民俗畫的底蘊(yùn)。這正是一種油畫民族化的嘗試。

劉宇一的創(chuàng)作技巧采用“直接畫法”，即“綜合畫法”，一筆或數(shù)筆下去，造型、色彩、明暗等同時(shí)解決。這要求畫家具備敏銳的洞察能力和熟練的創(chuàng)作技巧。他的畫傳神、生動(dòng)，線條流暢，色彩豐富，對(duì)比強(qiáng)烈，特別善于運(yùn)用細(xì)致入微的中間色，這是一種既省料又省時(shí)的“薄涂法”，且立體感出奇的強(qiáng)；而在處理風(fēng)景畫時(shí)則采用散涂法，不僅準(zhǔn)確而快捷，而且能產(chǎn)生雕塑感。畫肖像時(shí)善于抓住最能反映人物性格特點(diǎn)的表情與神韻，縱筆揮灑，一氣呵成，使之神形兼?zhèn)?。這一點(diǎn)連豪氣如虹的海粟老人也不免贊佩說：“劉宇一真不簡(jiǎn)單，他做了許多我想做而做不到的好事；畫了許多我想畫而沒有畫的好畫?！庇谑呛Ｋ诶先思で椴l(fā)地當(dāng)場(chǎng)揮毫一幅“大風(fēng)起兮云飛揚(yáng)”書法作品送給后生，這不但表明了前輩對(duì)劉宇一藝術(shù)成就的認(rèn)可，同時(shí)也寄望他繼往開來，再鑄輝煌。

Oil Painter Holds Solo Exhibition in Capital Museum

By Sun Guowei， our special reporter in Beijing

Artist Liu Yuyi held his solo exhibition from July 10 through 29 at Capital Museum in Beijing in commemoration of his 50-year artist career. More than 40，000 people visited the exhibition in 19 days. Many said the exhibition should have lasted longer so that they could have had more time to go through the paintings there.

Born in 1940 in Sichuan Province， Liu Yuyi has his family roots in Nanjing， a historical city in Jiangsu Province near Shanghai. The 72-year-old now serves as director of an art institute named after him with Beijing Normal University and an art academy in Hong Kong， which is also named after him.

The oil painter is celebrated for his figure paintings. Over the past five decades， he has created quite a few large-size artworks depicting real people and legendary figures. His “Ode to Peace” portrays more than 300 leaders and celebrities of the worlds 190 countries and regions. His historical oil paintings fetched mind-boggling awards at auctions in Hong Kong. “Fine Moment”， for example， auctioned off for 23 million Hong Kong dollars. Three other oil paintings previously auctioned off in Hong Kong brought him more than 25 million HK dollars. His paintings are now in the royal collections of Belgium and Qatar. Many are in private collections in USA.

At the exhibition were 179 artworks in nine sections， including epic paintings in memory of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949， portraits of celebrities， landscape， and ink-wash paintings. Some paintings at the exhibition were jointly created by Liu Yuyi and his daughter Liu Haomei.

From 1981 to 1984， Liu Yuyi spent about four years visiting prominent artists， authors， poets， and other social celebrities in Beijing， Shanghai， Tianjin， Nanjing， Guangzhou， Fuzhou and Zhengzhou. His complete series of portraits include such celebrities as Ba Jin， Bing Xin， Qi Baishi， Xu Beihong， Liu Haishu， Jiang Zhaohe， Ai Qing， Ling Zifeng， Bai Shuxiang， Li Guyi， Pei Leoh Ming， Louis Cha， Feng Youlan， Xia Yan， Chen Long， Ho Hung San， Li Ka Shing and Henry Fok Ying Tung. Ding Ling， an author of the 20th century， commented that Lius oil portraits of the celebrities were like a documentary of historical significance， a legacy to future generations for a peep into the spiritual worlds of these big names.

Liu Yuyi believes human bodies are the ultimate beauty and serve as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. For him， art is a means to the end of expressing the beauty of personality and temperament. That explains why his preference is painting people. He has painted hundreds of the heads of states in the 20th century and he has created portraits of four ancient beauties of China. He also dabbles in the traditional Chinese painting. A few artworks at the exhibition showcase his achievement in this oriental art genre.

Liu Yuyi is critically acclaimed for having recreated history in oil painting in China by capturing moments of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. His historical paintings are appreciated by both the public and artists， as testified by the auction results.

His career achievement seems to suggest that oil painting in China needs to absorb the best of western traditional and integrate it with Chinese art tradition that is several thousands of years.

Liu Yuyi is more than an artist who creates historical paintings. He is an accomplished artist. Technically， he is celebrated for what he calls direct painting： he often paints directly and his brushstrokes create form， color， light and shadow all together in harmony. While doing portraits， he can easily capture the expression that best describes a person. Liu Haisu （1896-1994）， a master of traditional Chinese painting， commented that Liu Yuyi was extraordinary. Liu said， “He creates paintings I want to do but fail to create and he does great things I want to do but cannot achieve”.