33展览预告 | 《应物随心》——大熙禅师作品展

3 3  C O N T E M P O R A R Y  A R T  C E N T E R

展期：2023.8.5~2023.10.7

Open times：2023.8.5~2023.10.7

观展需预约。

预约方式：关注33当代艺术中心微信公众号，后台发送预约人数及时间。

“物”字始见于商代甲骨文。《列子》里说“凡有貌象声色者皆物也”，意思是说“凡是有外形、有声、有色的东西都是物”。在《说文解字》里说:“物，万物也。” 这已经是“物”的引申义了,“万事万物”之义。指所有客观存在的东西, 又引申指自己以外的事、物等社会、自然环境，还特指人活众人。成语“物换星移” 是说景色改变了，星辰也移动了。宋欧阳修 《道无常名说》:“无常以应物为功， 有常以执道为本。应物还体现了“圣人之情”。应物，亦应人、应世、应事、应道、 应己、应心， 一种豁然开朗, 觉悟的智慧和途径顺其自然的彻悟境界。佛法认为，心就是物，物就是心，心物是一体的，是一不是二。画之为物, 是物的表象描述和揭示。画之为心, 即呈现为心所见闻觉知。物随人意而变化，应物随心也。

梅花·9 Plum Blossom ·9

综合颜料、手工皮纸，Mixed media、 Bast paper /55cm×39cm /2023

大熙，当代中国佛教著名法师。

1964年秋生于上海，幼承家学，熟读文史，复受海上名宿熏陶指授书画艺术。

The character "物" (wù) first appeared in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty. In the masterpiece Liezi列子, it is stated that "all things with appearance, sound, and colour are '物' (wù)," meaning that anything with a physical form, sound, or colour is considered a "物" (wù). In the Shuowen Jiezi说文解字, it is explained as "物, all things," which is an extended meaning of "物" (wù), referring to all objective existences. It also refers to things and phenomena outside of oneself, such as the social and natural environment, and specifically refers to human activities and interactions. The idiom "物换星移" (wù huàn xīng yí) describes a change in scenery where even the stars have moved. In the Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu wrote in Daowu Changming Shuo 道无常名说, "Inconstant things accomplish their functions by responding to the environment, while constant things adhere to the Dao."应物" (yìng wù) also embodies the sentiment of the "sage." "应物" means responding to people, society, matters, the Dao, oneself, and one's own heart — a state of sudden comprehension and enlightened wisdom, a realm of thoroughly awakening to and flowing along with the natural way. According to Buddhist teachings, the mind is the object, and the object is the mind. The mind and the object are inseparable and not two separate entities. Painting represents the object, describing and revealing its appearance. Painting represents the mind, which is what the mind sees, hears, senses, and knows. The object changes according to one's will, following the mind's intention. This is the essence of "应物随心" (yìng wù suí xīn) or "Following Nature with an Original Mind."

Master Daxi's artwork ingeniously presents "物" and space using a flattened background, creating a two-dimensional canvas that becomes an entry point to a three-dimensional and even higher-dimensional or infinite-depth landscape. The handling of space on the canvas and the expression of emotions through "物" make the artwork a gateway to infinite imagination. In terms of composition, depicting plum blossoms or mountains and rivers on an empty background without a perspective dimension creates a sense of " voidness". This "voidness" is a specific state, or a state of   "emptiness, (Śūnyatā)". In the paintings of mountains, Master Daxi only depicts mountains, yet through the serene emptiness of compositions, it evokes the imagery of rivers. The "山川" (shān chuān) or mountains and rivers in the artwork have abstracted from their material form, becoming non-material from a material perspective.

Mountains and rivers have long been regarded as retreats for transcendent sages to cultivate. The book Bowuzhi 博物志 provides a visual depiction of mountains and rivers. The eternal landscape’s interrogation of finite lifetimes has always existed in Chinese painting. The multidimensional imagery of mountains and rivers and the realm of seclusion and delight provide a field for both history and the present, as well as a gateway between the finite and the infinite, imprinting the traces of the master's life and triggering the experience and awakening of life. Master Daxi particularly enjoys painting plum blossoms, rocks and mountains. Plum blossoms have always symbolised a lofty and transcendent state beyond worldly concerns, as expressed in the saying, "With jade-like bones, why worry about miasma? With an icy disposition, one naturally possesses celestial qualities." According to Xu Fuguan's research in The Spirit of Chinese Art 中国艺术精神, the highest state of painting is not to depict the object but to create it through one's own spirit. Observing landscape paintings allows the viewer to achieve a transcendent state of "self." Ye Lang also proposed Hegelian transcendentalism, emphasizing that the scenery in paintings allows the viewer to reach a unique state of "being." Master Daxi's freehand brushwork is deeply inspired by the teachings of the Song Dynasty monk Fachang, characterized by simplicity and absence of adornment. The technique of broad brushstrokes and expressive painting conveys symbolic meaning, highlighting the images of plum blossoms and Landscapes with concise forms, distinct themes, and bold, vigorous, and simplified brushwork. The varied brushwork for rocks and mountains utilizes dryness, wetness, transitions, and weight to create spatial and dignified representations.

"应物随心" means that objects follow the mind, and the mind creates the state of being. The image arises in the mind, and the brush in the hand depicts that image, merging the mind and the hand into a state of selflessness and thoughtlessness. The painting, in the form of a "mind-object," creates an infinite extension of space that transcends the realm of the painting itself. The fusion of technique and artistic expression, concentration and the present moment of selflessness, and the merging of objects and the mind lead to the presentation of "物" beyond the superficial aspects of things, embodying a more liberated, flexible, and spiritually transformed essence. It encompasses the vast and profound, like the boundless "listening sound with the eyes and seeing objects with the ears" of the present moment and the enlightenment of the true nature of life and the "formless Dharma body."

The spirit of art is transmitted from heart to heart. Painting as an object not only embodies the material properties of the canvas, paint, and various tangible aspects but also encompasses the represented objects and the emotional power of brushwork and ink. In sensing the object, emotions gradually refine, and it is hoped that every individual becomes a Zen master in the art of living, expressing the ease and joy of seventy, eighty, or even ninety years on the canvas of life.

Born in Shanghai in the autumn of 1964, Daxi was educated by his family in literature and history at an early age, and was taught the art of calligraphy and painting by famous masters of the school of shanghai painting.

At the age of twenty, he converted to Buddhism and inherited the teachings of Tien Tai School 天台, Zen School 禅宗, Mantra School 真言. In addition to his Zen practice, he also dabbles in traditional culture and art.