周勇油畫作品系列

Yong Zhou's Oil Paintings

周勇教授周勇教授在獲得聯合國環境發展藝術交流展榮譽獎後首次在美國舉辦個人畫展時，聯合國環境發展委員會主席 Theodore W. Kheel 這樣評價他的作品:"七百多年前，馬可波羅把中國的古絲綢之路帶給了歐洲，而今天周勇先生以其精湛的油畫作品使美國人民得以領略真正的絲路風彩。"

After receiving an honorary award at the Environment and Development Art Exhibition organized by the United Nations, Yong Zhou came to the United States for his first solo exhibition. Mr. Theodore W. Kheei, chairman of the U.N. environment and Development Committee, commented about Yong Zhou’s works: “More than seven hundred years ago, macro Polo brought the ancient Silk Road of China to Europe and Yong Zhou is today bringing the true elegance of the Silk Road to the American people through his excellent oil paintings”.

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在亞洲的崑崙山脈和天山山脈之間，靜臥著一片廣闊的地域，這片地域被稱之為亞洲腹地，世界最凹的盆地吐魯番好似腹地之肚臍。數千年來這鮮為人知之地一直是聯接亞歐大陸經濟文化的橋梁。周勇教授正是在這片土地上生活，修業，勤奮探索了二十多個寒暑，在這裡完善了人生和藝術的積累，帶著豐富的閱歷和深厚的藝術功底及他多年工作的結晶來到美國。

The hinterland of Asia is found between the Tian Shan and Kunlun mountain ranges and its naval is the Turpan basin, the lowest surface depression in the world. For several thousand years, this little known territory served as a bridge for economic and cultural exchanges between the European and Asian continents. It is here that Yong Zhou, now a famous painter, lived for over twenty years, perfecting his knowledge of Life and Art. He now steps into a different but just as colorful world, the United States. More importantly, he brings to this world the gifts of his experience and artistic accomplishment. From his oil paintings, we share with the artist what he has seen and felt on the Chinese Silk Road.

一個來自中國西部並以絲路風情為題材的畫家，他的作品是否會失於局限呢? 的確，在美術創作活動中，一些以區域性民風民俗為題材的繪畫，常使人感到狹隘的地域或簡單的紀實傾向，這種傾向束縛了審美活動的外延，消弱降低了作品的藝術品位和價值。周勇教授的創作雖也是以西域大地為土壤，也是以特定地域的風情為素材，但他的作品中毫無上述偏頗，他筆下的田園農舍，風情人物完全不是簡單的地域和紀實，而是通過對創作素材的適切處理，力求油畫語言的純正，在長期不懈的探索中逐漸形成自己的風格。周勇教授深知只有對生活和藝術進行多方位地思考，把特定的題材放在一個超越地域的大的文化框架中昇華，再以自我的個性為支撐點，才能使作品具備兼容廣博的內涵。基於此，來美以後周勇教授進行了長期實踐和探索，他的作品日臻成熟，完美流暢，形成了一種含蓄而浪漫的風格。這即是東方藝術的絢麗與西方油畫傳統典雅豐富的統一，也是畫家真摯的情感和純熟的技巧和諧的統一。周勇教授的作品強烈地體現出他的氣質，獨特的造型，自如的色彩，鮮明的主題，充滿著生機與活力，既不是單純的寫實，也不是無憑的臆造。無論是明快跳躍還是凝重深沈，都隨著畫家的靈感舒暢地流淌，絕無妖飾造作，每幅作品都準確地表達出畫家得心靈之聲，這就是周勇作品撥人心弦的魅力所在！

As Yong Zhou’s paintings reflect the natural conditions and social customs of a remote part of China, one may question whether or not his works are limited to that particular region. People often feel that paintings of a certain geographical and social environment have narrow “regional” and simple “realistic” inclinations. It is assumed that these inclinations either hinder aesthetic extrapolation or weaken the painting’s artistic value. Although Yong Zhou uses the country’s western territory as a background for his artistic creations and the “natural conditions and social customs” of a particular area as the source material of his art, his works do not exhibit these tendencies. The composition of his paintings is not simple “regional” or realistic”, but results from the proper treatment of the source material with an insistence on the purity of the language of oil painting. Moreover, the paintings demonstrate a style that has been developed through years of unremitting artistic practice. The artist himself is sensible enough to realize that exotic geographical feature neither guarantee artistic success nor result in a new school of painting. The contemplation of Life and Art allows the artist to introduce into his paintings a broad spectrum of meaning. In addition, the artist’s personality distills and transforms a regional vision into an art that can be understood trans-culturally.

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在賞析周勇教授的作品時，除了對那些純繪畫範疇的探討外，其更深層的潛質更值得去體會和領悟。周勇教授的作品無不洋溢著對生活的摯愛和對未來的憧憬，這種潛在正是人類始終關注的主題，從史前文化萌發之初直至現在。默察自石器時代始，人類就用簡單率真的繪畫語言記錄著對生存的感知，世界各地都散落著這種原始岩畫。對比亞細亞中部阿爾泰地區和歐洲比利紐斯半島的原始岩畫，得出的結論是令人感嘆的。相去萬里完全不同的原始部族，他們的岩畫負載的命題是那麼驚人地相同。這些原始岩畫反映著人類對生存的感受，反映著對生殖繁衍的崇敬，前者是對生存和生存環境的關注，後者則是對未知的憧憬與求索。可以斷言這種命題也是藝術家永恆的命題。周勇教授的繪畫正是以此為基石而展開的，這是他的創作之源。他用他的作品向世界展示了自己的信念 - 藝術是世界大家庭共有的財富。

It is from this standpoint that the artist has begun his search for artistic perfection, a trait which characterizes the increasing maturity of his works. As a result, Yong Zhou’s works manifest a “carefully controlled romantic” style, which combines the rich tradition of Chinese art with the elegance of classic western oil painting. In addition, the artist has achieved a unity of feeling and skill, allowing him to express the wonder of discovering the Silk Road. The work of a successful artist reflects temperament, as does the work of Yong Zhou. His work is full of vitality and energy, unique in structure, free in color and distinct in themes. He is not limited by the rules of realism but also values the truth of imagination. Thus, the artist’s heart is present in every brushstroke, the inspiration of the Silk Road vividly recalled in every image. It is this quality which makes Yong Zhou’s vision of the Silk Road an invitation to cultural understanding.

周勇教授近期作品 (latest works)：