(UN)AWARENESS

People in society deal with a confliction and compromise in their lives. Since this is part of everyday life of a human being, people are unaware of it; yet when they are in pain or have to give up on something for compromise, people become aware of the law of life—a conflict, compromise, and harmony—in facing a moment. There is only a paper-thin difference between awareness and unawareness in our lives, sometimes, however, the difference can be substantial. Likewise, there is only a slight difference between Alex and Huan’s work, they convey different meanings. The work of Alex and Huan are expressed in ways that transcend the boundary between awareness and unawareness.
In the Black series by Alex, the tangible textures visible on the surface are impressive. The artist coated the canvas with numerous layers of acrylic paint, and they appear as if waves are raging. Alex’s work is completed solely based on his instinct and intuition without a predetermined end under his
(un)awareness. The unintended movements of the stick on the canvas create textures that are uneven yet in harmony. When the unaware movements collectively arrive at the state of awareness, the work becomes complete. The contrast between matte and glossy paints form a sense of depth, and at the same time, create an optical illusion on the two dimensional surface.
Unlike those of Alex, Huan’s works are two dimensional. The deep and tranquil work of Huan are completed under a meticulous plan. The length and thickness of the lines are utterly calculated, so is each brush touch the artist makes in the work. Huan’s canvas filled in white conveys the Zen philosophy and the Eastern aesthetic of yin yang. The Lines and Shadows series are like a well written story. The artist is well aware of a preconceived scenario and completes it with a brush touch in awareness. The lengthy line in the Lines series runs across the canvas, connecting both ends of the canvas. The straight line seems intermittently disconnected, then again appears to be reconnected; the two lines look like a single line as well.
The obliquely drawn line prompts us to think if the canvas is crooked or the line is. In the Shadows series, the shadow areas are too vague to be distinguished by the eye. Thereby, we are to think if what we are seeing is a reality or an illusion, if we are aware of it or not.
Research on a two dimensional surface has constantly been conducted. Abstract expressionists began Color Field painting which divided a canvas by color; Neo Dada and Pop artists collaged objects onto a canvas. Alex and Huan filled and divided a two dimensional surface in unawareness within awareness or vise versa. In Alex and Huan’s work, are we aware of things that are only visible to us? Or is it that things we are aware of are only visible?

(UN)AWARENESS

存在于社会中的人们总是在冲突与妥协的双重作用下生存，这是人类每天在生活中不可避免又自然而然应该承受的状态。当然也会有人难以顺应这一种认知的过程，而一味地试图通过冲突来解决，结果反而陷入了漫长的痛苦之中；也有人则勇于放弃某些东西而与冲突握手言和，最终实现了幸福安逸的人生。其实，在我们的生命中，认知与非认知的划分与转换有时候就像那一张薄薄的白纸一般，看似那么微不足道却又能够带来天壤之别的改变。就像认知与非知识一样，亚历克斯.丹波亚努和黄幻的艺术作品差别是无关紧要的，但是他们的作品却意义有别。在亚历克斯和 黄幻的作品中，这种认知与非认知的转换被淋漓尽致地表现了出来。
在亚历克斯的“黑色”系列作品中，通过平面向观众展现出了一种强烈的有形的质感。画布中通过数十条、乃至数百条的丙烯颜料色彩堆积，制造出一种波涛汹涌的色彩动感。亚历克斯在进行创作时根本不会进行任何事先的创作计划，只是在一种无预想状态下通过作家自身的本能和直觉来完成作品，进而在作品中也往往体现出一种非认知性的认知情绪。完全不存在刻意设计的画笔游走在画布上，虽然显得毫无规则感，但是通过整体画面却又能够使人感受到一种相互协调搭配的质感。通过非认知性线条的移动展现出一种认知的感性状态，最终达到作品的创作目的。光滑和不光滑的画作之间的反差则在作品中形成深深的层次感，带给观众一种视觉上的变化效果。
黄幻的作品与亚历克斯创作的作品不尽相同，更多的是平面空间上的展示。黄幻的每幅作品都是要事先制定详细的创作计划才能够完成的，包括线条的厚度以及延伸长度，这些都是需要事先经过精密计算的，甚至包括笔墨的落脚点都是需要事先确认。黄幻通过作品在白色画布上展现出了一副唯美的禅意和东洋的阴阳美学氛围。而“线条”和“影子”系列作品更像是相互相成的一种故事的叙述，通过事先编好的剧本使用笔墨在画布上一丝丝地铺展开来。在作品“线条”中，通过长长的绘画线条将画布连接成为一面整体，同时又流露出一种经过线条切割而显示的支离破碎的感觉。画布中的线条也不是常见的那种流畅而又一气呵成的形态，有的线条在跃动的过程中会突然中断，在给人一种突如其来顿挫感的时候又继续向下延伸出去；有的线条则会在画布的某处合二为一，使人进而产生这样的疑问：究竟是因画布的歪斜而导致线条出现了扭曲，还是画布本身原因导致视觉发生错觉？而在作品“影子”当中，所描绘的阴影部分边沿很难通过观察进行清晰地确认。面对作品，很容易使人自认而然地产生我们的眼睛所看到的物品究竟是虚实的还是实际存在的困惑。
关于平面绘画创作始终存在着各种类型的探索和尝试。例如，抽象表现主义者就尝试着将画布划分为数个空间，然后在其中涂上各自对应的颜色形成色面绘画效果。而新达达和波普艺术家则还会在画布上点缀一些物品以达到特别的视觉效果。亚历克斯和黄幻通过认知中的非认知意识、以及非认知中的认知意识在平面画布中展现着自身的创作理念。而我们从亚历克斯和黄幻作品中所看到的信息，究竟是我们通过认知而感受到的，还是只是认知在我们眼中的一种形式上存在？我想每个人都会有自己的解释。