Ten years after introducing the work of Lu Shengzhong to American collectors in the exhibition First Encounter, Chambers Fine Art is pleased to announce the opening on November 11 of Lu Shengzhong: A Decade. In 1988, the exhibition Paper-Cut Art by Lu Shengzhong at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing announced what was to become a life-long and in-depth exploration of the folk art tradition of the paper-cut, henceforth to become the inspiration for his work in both two and three dimensions.
Born in Shandong Province in 1952, Lu Shengzhong’s first exposure to paper-cutting occurred as a child when he watched his mother fashion flowers from scraps of paper. Not sharing the growing enthusiasm for everything western among his contemporaries during the 1980s, he focused instead on an in-depth investigation of the history and practice of the paper-cut, gradually coming to the realization that this technique could be utilized in large scale works and installations. As used traditionally, the paper-cut was used largely for decorative and symbolic purposes. For Lu Shengzhong, however, the technique itself had a meaning above and beyond its use in the creation of pleasing decorations. As his knife or scissors cut into the paper, he is constantly aware of the relationship between positive and negative forms. Nothing is wasted, the scraps that other artists would probably discard being used to complete the rhythm of his creations.
A constant presence in his works is the Little Red Man, with feet touching the earth and hands supporting the sky. As Lu Shengzhong said ten years ago: “Similar forms can be found in early civilizations from many parts of the world. As the earliest self-portrait and the earliest evidence of self-awareness, the shape illustrates the congruities among early civilizations.”
In the current exhibition two series of works illustrate the consistency of Lu Shengzhong’s concerns. In Human Walls, 2005, thirty-two Plexiglas bricks house thick stacks of red paper, bound together with thread, from which the human forms have been cut out, sheet by sheet. Adjacent to the bricks, many thousands of the liberated figures are superimposed on each other, the formless clouds of Little Red Men contrasting with the geometrical rigidity of the bricks. Opposite stand three steel sculptures utilizing the same imagery, the positive and negative forms echoing each other in an ongoing dialog.
While many of the earlier paper-cuts are characterized by the formality of the manner in which the constituent parts are arranged, others reveal a much greater spontaneity. Using small pieces of paper, Lu Shengzhong begins cutting without any preconceived ideas. When there is no more paper to cut, the scissors are laid aside and the long strip of paper falls into place as it reveals a fantastic dreamscape in which figurative and abstract elements exist in harmony. A group of new works representative of the lyrical side of Lu Shengzhong’s personality was specially commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the gallery.
前波画廊于十年前首次将吕胜中的作品介绍给美国收藏家，举办了展览《初次见面》。十年之后，我们将于2010年11月11日起举办展览《吕胜中：一晃十年》。1988年，吕胜中在中国美术馆举办的《吕胜中剪纸艺术展》中表明了自己对于剪纸这一民间传统艺术长期而深度的探索，而剪纸也从此成为他创作平面及立体作品的灵感源泉。
1952年出生于山东省的吕胜中自孩童时期开始接触剪纸。儿时的他常常看母亲从一张张零碎的纸中剪出精巧的花儿来。八十年代时期，人们对于所有来自西方的东西都有着极大的热情，相比之下，他则潜心研究剪纸及其历史，并逐步意识到这项技术可以用于大型作品和装置作品中。从传统角度而言，剪纸大多用于装饰和象征。而对吕胜中而言，此项技术除了用于创作悦目的装饰品外，其本身还有着一种更为高深的意义。随着他的刻刀或剪刀切开纸张，他时刻留心正负形状间的关系。他的作品中任何东西都没有浪费，就连其他艺术家可能会丢掉的碎纸也被他用来完善创作的旋律。
四肢张开、顶天立地的小红人一直在他的作品中出现。正如吕胜中10年前所说：“在世界各地的早期文明中都可以找到相似的形状。该形象作为最早的自画像及自我意识的最早证明，表现了各类早期文明中的一致性。”
一部分早期的吕胜中剪纸作品都是经由事先精心设计，有着强烈的形式感，而其他一些作品则自发而随性。只需一些小纸片，吕胜中就可以开始即兴剪出作品。当纸都剪完了，他才把剪刀放在一边。长长的纸条飘下，呈现出一个奇幻梦境，在这梦境中，具象与抽象和谐共存。吕胜中为画廊的十周年纪念还特意创作了代表其性格中诗意一面的一组新作品。