Huang PAN
When passion permeates the art, truth dissipates into the air. There lies no absolute truth, only the essence of the soul. Remarks for Pan Huang's solo exhibition By Liao De Zheng
Pan Huang has always been a cherished and closely watched student of mine. As his teacher, I am deeply gratified and delighted to know that Zhen Chuan arranged his first solo exhibition. Our mentor-student relationship has lasted for forty years. With his natural talent, diligence, and perseverance, he has been painting for forty years before holding his first solo exhibition. In today's superficial commercial society, such persistence and dedication are indeed rare. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss several artistic principles, which I have deeply contemplated since I began my artistic journey, and have often discussed and debated with Pan Huang.
Firstly, as an artist, one's artistic life should mature over time. However, this phenomenon cannot simply be summed up as "progress." It must be a solid and gradual process, allowing time and experience to enrich the work's "cham." This is a challenging realm to achieve, requiring both innate talent and continuous effort.
Generally speaking, an artist's creative life spans from birth to death. Some shine brightly but briefly, like summer flowers, such as Van Gogh and Mozart. Some have a steady and enduring brilliance, like Settai and Bach. However, artistic achievements cannot be judged by the length of one's life. I believe that a true artist, regardless of the length of their life, usually has only one tone, one theme, throughout their life. Although the expressions and contents may vary, the fundamental spirit and ultimate pursuit of art are consistent.
Such eternal artistic fruits become richer and more fragrant with time, never withering.
With decades of experience in painting and teaching, I believe that sketching from life is crucial. Taking a tree as an example, it is not enough to just observe the branches and leaves or merely focus on coloring. The artist must delve deeper into observing and analyzing the changes that occur in the growth process of trees with the changing seasons. In other words, without observing the bare branches of winter trees, one cannot depict the lush scenery of spring and summer. This concept and spirit of learning from nature are indispensable. Artists should not only depict nature but also surpass it, aiming for a naturalness and harmony beyond nature itself.
In particular, for oil painting, due to the limitations of canvas and pigments, artists must have a scientific and meticulous understanding of the subjects and materials they are painting to fully exploit them. Therefore, engaging in the art of painting requires the aforementioned spiritual attitude, combined with scientific rational analysis, and must also have ideals and passion, without seeking immediate benefits, in order to achieve success.
These viewpoints are actually the rigorous attitudes that Pan Huang has consistently maintained in his artistic creation process. I entered Kainan Commercial and Industrial School in 1949 and became an art teacher in the junior high school architecture department the following year. Pan Huang was a student in the class. At that time, he was at an age when he began to question life, and his concepts and thoughts gradually took root. His sketching skills were already quite good. As a teacher, I had strict requirements for students and rarely kept their exercises. However, I have always kept one of Pan Huang's plaster sculpture assignments, which left a deep impression on me. The solid foundation he laid and the hard work he put in this area greatly benefited his later creations.
A few years ago, when I saw Pan Huang's paintings, I felt that his works already had their own thoughts and styles, as well as humanistic connotations, but the vibrant vitality was slightly weaker. In terms of the painting "engineering," the relationship and harmony of colors in the works had not been fully resolved, so they had not yet reached the realm of skillful mastery. Therefore, overall, Pan Huang's works at this time already had internal emotions and atmosphere; everything was ready, just awaiting the right opportunity.
How to arrange and coordinate colors between colors? This question is universally present in the creative process of every artist but is often either neglected or difficult to overcome. Once one has a grasp of color and can use it skillfully, even the purest monochrome can touch people's hearts and shake their souls! Pan Huang is very attentive to this point and is willing to put in the effort to study. Each of his works undergoes several years of contemplation and revision, which has become a habit for him. I often tell him, "Learn from nature." The harmonious scenes of all things in nature never have glaringly discordant colors! In recent years, when I look at Pan Huang's paintings again, his use of color has become more proficient. With time, I believe his paintings will become more spiritual and free, eventually achieving a seamless integration of mind and hand, and effortlessly executing his ideas.
The artistic path is lonely and long. In terms of Pan Huang's talent, his artistic fruits have approached the stage of ripeness. As the saying goes, "Good wine lies deep in the jars." What remains is the sublimation and sedimentation of color and mood, as well as the persistence of artistic morals. From his depiction of death, funerals, and other themes, and his frequent exploration of profound issues of life and time in his paintings, one can see that Pan Huang is an artist who does not flatter or seek shortcuts but adheres to artistic beliefs.