Let Heart Comprehend the Earth's Broadness

　　When appreciating Zhang’s paintings, we could comprehend the characteristics of her works; through these works, we could further understand how she captures the common but classic beauty, how to gradually approach the art realm of distinctive individuality, how to pursue the perception of walking on the earth, and how to construct the world of art in scientific means.

　　‘Capturing the common but classic beauty’ is the first characteristic. Zhang’s painting is unsophisticated, profound, confident, steadfast, vigorous, bold and unrestrained, forming a tranquil, comfortable, peaceful and spacious atmosphere of Chinese style.

　　Among Zhang’s works, profundity is a temperament, which originated from gratitude to the nature, awe to the history, comprehension of life, and sorting-out the experiences during the years. In this profundity, we could discern the painter’s inexorable pursuit for art, the multiple considerations about aesthetics, the arduous practice of creation, and the cultural accumulation of experiences. This profundity is a spontaneous result of the accumulated art experiences and the integrated culture and art, the ‘cultural revelation’ after walking through the mountains and the rivers, and the ‘inevitable consequence’ of overlapping and fusion of ink art. The art’s profundity goes beyond superficiality, approaches maturity, eulogizes plainness, and accentuates temperament. As a large-sized painting at the length of more than 3 meters, Prospect not only manifests its massiness with the huge size, but also presents the broadness of time and space, the glory of prospect, the solemnity of mood and the sobriety of pattern through the fertility of the earth, the endless delicate beauty of reed flowers, the vigorous vitality of flying birds, and the peaceful and refreshing close-up scenery. Though the size of Reed Flowers is not large, it still seems to be solemn and imposing, as the relations among black, white and grey reveal the basic elements of the painting, the unrestrained and profound lines support the time and space of art, the stretches of reed flowers show the emptiness, tranquility and peace, and the poetic application of brushwork symbolizes broadness and spectacularity. Plum Blossoms in Moonlight brings the viewers into such a scene: the quiet and deep night in the moonlight, the plain, heavy and unsophisticated mid-winter, the carefree and vigorous plum branches, and the energetic and flourishing plum blossoms. In Red Lotus, the painter uses limpid water to set off the lotus leaves’ exuberance and abundance, uses the lithe dragonflies to set off the lotus flowers’ profound beauty and purity, uses the left space to present the splendor and depth of years, and uses the relaxed and natural ink dots to carry on the work’s simple and unsophisticated beauty.

　　In Zhang’s works, simplicity and unsohpistication is a sort of magnificence, which originated from the refinement from the flourishing and exuberant arts, the experiences of the tranquil and remote life, the summary of the unsophisticated and straightforward aesthetics, and the revelation of the meaningful and powerful vision. Within the simplicity and unsohpistication, we may conceive the painter’s essential interpretation about art, the deep understanding about history, the discernment about life, and the confident and easy grasp of the painting. The simplicity and unsohpistication is an important aesthetic complementation after seeking for valiant charm, a cultural support to splendor and grace, an artistic foundation for profundity and serenity, and the return to trueness after pursuing the brilliant galaxy. In the work Wing to Wing, compared with the plain and lonely space, the lively ink color in the top uses the simple team pattern of 1, 3 and 2 to symbolize the vivacity and uniqueness of the matrix of life, uses the plain combinations of white lines to construct the artistic composition of reed flowers, and uses a little vermilion to slightly indicate the vitality cultivating the art work. The composition of In Full Bloom is neat and plain, but still upright and lofty; the colors are light and refreshing, but still splendid and brilliant; the lines are sparse and unrestrained, but still magnificent; the theme is carefree and wild, but still solemn and graceful. Blooming White Magnolia Denudata No. 1 shows the vigorous and spectacular pattern changes in the simple and unsophisticated full composition, accentuates the refreshing and peaceful magnolia denudate among the simple and clear lines, presents the unconventional and charming temperament inside the basic color tones of red, green and yellow, and embodies the graceful flowers in the sparse and candid treatment of specific details. In the work Wandering in the Woods, she blends the remote mountains into one integral whole, but we could still discern the ‘flat and distant’ spatial layers; she minimalizes the trees into a few ones, but we could still perceive the exuberant trees; she summarizes the colors into strong and light ocher, but we could still acknowledge the clear, sparkling and pure scene; she omits the details in the lower part of the painting to achieve the effect of ‘nothing better than something’, but we could still feel the profuse connotations.

　　In Zhang’s works, sunshine is a mood. Sunshine is the penetration of clouds; sunshine is the farewell to haze; we couldn’t intentionally pursue sunshine; we should enjoy sunshine to the utmost. We may discern, Zhang’s mood during the course of creation is always full of sunshine; most of Zhang’s works are sunny, bright, elegant, graceful, rhetoric, classic and refreshing. In the work Striving for Spring, we could see the vivacious spring scenery, the straightforward and bold steps of spring, the free, easy and meaningful information of spring, and the emotional and delicate awakening of spring. In the work Red Lily, we could comprehend the elegant and shimmering water, the sedate, clean and moist pleasure, the radiant and glowing demeanor, and the glorious and fascinating elegance and talent. In the work Red Fruit, there is the mutual interaction between red and green, the fusion of water and ink, the summoning of sunshine, and the guidance of righteousness. In the work Easiness and Freedom on the Wall, there is the indulgence towards the sun, the straightforward relaxation and candidness, the frank character, and the delightful amenity.

　　‘Gradually approaching the art realm of distinctive individuality’ is the second characteristic. After the baptism of years, the cultivation of heart, the practice of art and the experimentation of creation, Zhang’s works present increasingly more distinct personality, gradually form her style, and reveal progressively more elegant qualities.

　　Firstly, she integrates the Chinese with the western, and the light and color interact with each other. During her days in college, she extensively appreciated western paintings, quite familiar with the light-and-color interaction in the works of Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse. Van Gogh’s exciting application of colors bestowed unique vitality to light and color, changing the visual images in people’s naked eyes into expressive symbolic pictures with light and color interacting with each other. With an extraordinary strength in his oil painting, Paul Cézanne sometimes interwove some icons together to form an integral whole with light-and-color interacting with each other and color-and-pattern keeping in harmony. Henri Matisse pursued the perfect integration between themes and brilliant colors. He believed, beautiful color tones could only be obtained from independently extracting colors from themes and then transforming them into things the painter wanting to touch and feel, instead of being obtained from copying the nature. According to the concept of light-and-color interaction, he extended the largest range of colors’ expression through the means of filling, intensifying, relaxing, purifying, heating, cooling, and etc. As for ‘the integration between the Chinese and the western and the interaction between light and color’, Zhang once elaborated, ‘Many years of training of brushwork has endowed me with the techniques of Chinese painting, the acceptance of the western has endowed me with romantic art imagination, the seeds of conceptual liberation have been scattered in the fertile soil bestowed by the nature, and the traditions have obtained vigorous vitality. I like unsophisticated, elegant, powerful and passionate Chinese painting. I hope my paintings on wall would be original, unique, radiating joy and strength to the surroundings with the emotion and spirit inside the paintings.’ In the work Daffodils, the narcissus’ elegant, unique, vigorous, and delicate beauty actually benefits from the integration and interaction between light and color. In the work The Look of Spring, the fascinating, carefree, brilliant and also sedate beauty also benefits from the unique comprehension and the innovative application of light and color. In the work Green Waves in Lotus Pond, the painter uses simple, graceful and understated tones of light and color to reveal the white lotus flowers’ traits — containing energy and vigor inside its beauty and embodying straightforwardness and trueness with grace. In the work Rich and Colorful Mountain Fields, the painter uses the means of ink, light and color interacting with each other to depict the mountain field, refreshing, extensive and profound.

　　Secondly, the painter splashes ink, unrestrainedly expressing her feelings. Melody No. 2 is tranquil, graceful, moist, meaningful, profound, but also vigorous and powerful. Dyeing Green is delicate, gentle, carefree and willful. Brilliant Autumn in Mountain Field is powerful, distinct, munificent, vigorous and firm. Water Field and Ink Field No. 4 is exuberant, clear, endless and ingenious.

　　Thirdly, she applies flexible lines and peaceful atmosphere. With the demonstrations of her father and friends during her childhood, Zhang already knew about the beauty of ink lines, and understood the crucial position of lines in Chinese painting from the works created by painters of different dynasties in museums. In her creation of Chinese painting, she has taken full advantage of her flexible brushwork and extraordinary talent for countless times, and eventually achieves an admirable result. In the triptych Freehand Mountain Field, she draws the lines in a na?ve, indulgent, carefree, vigorous and unsophisticated way. In the work Bright Mirror, the lines are upon the water and the sky, the feelings are fused into the splashed ink. In the work Melody No.3, the lines are harmoniously dense and sparse, thick and light, seemingly elegant, serene, gentle, and refreshing. In the work Mountain Ridges and Ravines, the lines are profound, peculiar, magnificent, solemn and unsophisticated, presenting a flexible and tranquil style.

　　‘Pursuing the perception of walking on the earth’ is the third characteristic. Zhang loves the nature, and loves the feelings of walking on the earth. He footprints have spread from the picturesque Yellow Mountain to the Siming Mountain and the Yandang Mountain surrounded by clouds and mist and covered by blooming mountain flowers; from Jiangnan with green hills and clear rivers to Luoyang, the ancient capital of the culture of central plains (comprising the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River); from Sinkiang, Tibet, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, mountains in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces in west China to Colorado, the Grand Canyon . . .’ ‘I go to more and more remote places, and my mind becomes increasingly more open. After climbing up the steep peak of the Tian Mountain, I surveyed the extensive and endless prairie; bathing in the hot air, I looked up at the mythical Flaming Mountain lying across the Gobi; climbing up the mysterious and spectacular Colorado, the Grand Canyon, I was stunned by the magnificent and peculiar precipices; in front of the relics of an ancient city, I stared at the scene marked by the ancient Chinese civilization and vicissitudes . . . The nature is magnificent, splendid, broad, and powerful.’ In Zhang’s Chinese paintings, she measures the extensive and truthful nature, seeks for and releases the ‘feelings of walking on the earth’.

　　With the unique insight of a painter, Zhang deciphers the nature and customs in west China, pays attention to the ‘traces of time and life’, ‘uses lines, ink blocks, light, melody, life, time and space to construct, polish, deconstruct and then reconstruct a new nature.’

　　In the work Expressing Feelings in a Journey to the West, the painter reveals her emotion, ‘In Shanxi, I perceive the majestic vigor of the Taihang Mountain, strengthening and encouraging me. However, I prefer the stretches of yellow earth unfolding up and down in the Loess Plateau, as the fertile, thick, seemingly gentle but actually tough yellow earth cultivates Chinese descendants one generation after another… In Yuanyang of Yunnan province, there was a stretch of silver light, and the terraced fields going straight to the sky, which really made me surprised and reverent… In Tibet, when walking between the immortal mountain and the sacred lake, the pure and beautiful natural scenes made me unable to grasp the paintbrush, and I began to seek for the beauty hidden in the daily life of Tibetan fellowmen… In Sinkiang, there were the endless wild fields, the Gobi, the prairie, and forever changing hills and trees. And the relics of the ancient city greatly shocked me. When walking among the relics, I could perceive the past splendor.’ In the west, she sought for the feeling of walking on the earth, which originated from the nature and the eternal ‘art works’ accidentally left by the ancestors; in the west, she captured the frank and unsophisticated beauty, which was ‘permanent among the special’; in the west, no longer wishing to climb to the peak of each mountain, no longer being obsessed with the details of the nature, she expected to comprehend the ‘righteousness and broadness of the Chinese nation’, and to eulogize the ‘perseverance and tenacity of life proved under the sunshine’.

　　The nature is not cold or indifferent, as long as you carefully taste it with your heart, you could discover endless beauty, magnificence and splendor. What’s more, with the painter’s refinement and summary, she artistically accentuates the visual impact, the emotion for the mountains and rivers and the cultural amazement before the viewers and readers. In the work Ode to Autumn Beauty, she applies sophisticated lines, brilliant autumn yellow and comprehensive composition to construct the Ode of Autumn that shines upon the Han and Wei Dynasties. In the work Green over Hilly Fields, she uses the unrestrained water colors and the dynamic ink dots to present the dark green hills and fields, expressing her feelings for the harmony between humankind and the nature. The work Blooming around Stones is a vivid depiction of the unique scene of flowers blooming along the stone cracks and turning the stones into a beautiful view in west China. Dazzling Earth unfolds a stretch of passionate and endlessly golden earth in front of us. The Summer in a Valley narrates the story of black tiles, white walls and the valley. Charm of Yellow Earth embodies the soul of the earth in west China and the unique rhythm. Loftiness eulogizes the majesty and splendor, Moonlight over the Mountains incorporates profundity and romance, Misty compliments the glittering translucency and delicacy, Numerous Mountains and Ravines eulogizes character’s strength and perseverance, and Light in a Valley expresses the painter’s feelings for the overlapping and undulate days and nights. Melody of the Nature attracts many viewers, as it’s meticulously composed in spite of its large size, the colors’ application is dazzling despite the main colors of black and white, the brushwork still follows the fixed standards despites its fluency, and the vision is still melodious despite being artistic. When carefully appreciating Zhang’s works, we may perceive Lhasa in spring, the flying wild geese in cool autumn, the floating reed flowers in the sky, the undulate green sea, the red earth and blooming flowers in the south of Yunnan, the impression of loess in the north of mountains, the reflection of the valleys, and the magnificent ancient city in Jiaohe.

　　In recent years, Zhang brings us to her art realm with great mountains and rivers. Representing the west China requires the spirit of daring to go west, the capability of grasping magnificence, the talent of manifesting broadness, and the calmness of boundless splendor in memory. We delightedly comprehend: the art discovery experienced through life seems to be more moving; the broadness of the earth represented by broad-minded talent seems to more indicate the integration of time and space; the huge mountain behind a woman painter seems be to be harmonious between the strong and the soft.

　　‘Constructing the world of art in scientific means’ is the fourth characteristic. Zhang reveals her great wisdom, being good at summarizing experiences, enhancing techniques into methods, promoting theoretical methods and methodology into the level of philosophy to be analyzed and refined, and constructing a realm of creation with scientific methods and artistic philosophy. Her art considerations are full of philosophy, such as, ‘I often look at myself from a stranger’s perspective’, ‘Watching a mountain could encourage myself… The mountains under my paintbrush are not mountains, but a sort of vigor, spirit, and a state of mind that I try to manifest ’, ‘ The general tone of Shanghai and the perception of artists’ life seem to lighten up’, ‘A painter always faces a piece of white paper’.

　　What a good point, ‘A painter always faces a piece of white paper’. Based on this, Zhang Leiping perseveringly said, ‘With the time elapsing, the epoch changing, the concepts innovating, and the vision being widened, my dream gradually shows its clear outline. I want to continue my dream with a smile, and could I manage to do that? Life is short, and are my experience, knowledge, willpower, skill and emotion enough? Dream, is surely to be continued.’

　　Chen Xiejun

　　Director of the Shanghai Museum