「Gray Gray Great」Group Exhibition:

On April 13, 2024, at 4:00 pm, the Common Art Center presented an artist group exhibition titled "Why Gray Matters", with Mr. Xia Kejun serving as the curator. The opening ceremony of this exhibition was held in the form of a seminar, with curators Xia Kejun, artists Feng Lianghong, Yu Yang, and Professor Yang Guang taking the philosophy and art of gray as the starting point. While paying tribute to "Who Has Not Thought About Gray", they also explored the importance of gray in art and creation, as well as some issues related to its inherent connection.

Exhibition Site

The seminar led us to think from four aspects: cultural reflection on gray and contemporary climate, gray series in art history, how many levels of gray can be found in this exhibition, and deep philosophical thinking on gray. We will get answers to these questions in this seminar. This exhibition will continue until May 22nd.

Exhibition Site

「Gray Gray Great」Group Exhibition

2024.4.13-5.22

Curator：Kejun Xia

Forum on-site review

「Gray Gray Great」

Seminar site

Ms. Bao Yu, co-founder of the Common Art Center (left)

Curator Mr. Xia Kejun (right)

Ms. Bao Yu, co-founder of the Joint Art Center：

I am glad to be here at the Common Art Center today. We participated in the Miami Art Expo in the United States and Art Central in Hong Kong, and after comparing them, we found that Chinese artists still lack a sense of presence internationally. Therefore, we have become even more determined to plan this exhibition.

In fact, ten years ago, we interviewed teachers Liang Quan and Feng Lianghong in the "New Abstraction" and "New Ink Painting" series of themed books published by Jiangxi Fine Arts Publishing House and Xinhua News Agency. Our opening exhibition also continues this direction, curating "Zhishi" for five consecutive years, which provides background and materials for the research and academic value of this exhibition. Whether it is this exhibition or more youthful and diverse exhibitions in the past, we have always been committed to transforming traditional Chinese culture into a contemporary one.

《Art Wave》Series Theme Books

Exhibition Site

We spent two years preparing for this exhibition with curator Mr. Xia. Compared to previous exhibitions, today's exhibition is more academic, covering many practical and philosophical topics worth exploring in depth, exploring the differences between imagery and abstraction. You can also see that we have divided the exhibition hall into gray and colored areas to express the relationship between gray and color. After setting up the exhibition, we all felt very excited. It's been a long time since we had such an exciting exhibition. I think the four teachers are highly representative. Whether in terms of comparing painting materials or concepts, they can explore many interesting issues in this process. Next, let's invite curator Mr. Xia to bring you to the seminar session

Mr. Xia Kejun, philosopher, critic, and curator

Curator Mr. Xia Kejun：

Thank you to the partners, friends, ladies, gentlemen, and artists of the Common Art Center. Good afternoon! The Common Art Center is a center with academic qualities and is committed to promoting Chinese art. I am delighted to participate in this event. A few years ago, I held two white exhibitions in 798, comparing Chinese white with Western white. This time, we have decided to hold a gray exhibition, hoping to create a Chinese style gray instead of Chinese white. We have chosen four artists to explore the meaning of gray and why gray is so important, to understand their understanding of contemporary painting. After the epidemic, perhaps we can start exploring the contribution of Chinese art and the possibility of Chinese painting.

Exhibition Site

In this space, one can see a thousand levels of gray. Since the 1990s, Teacher Liang has been using collages to dye paper with gray for pasting. Some have been dyed with strong colors, and the gray covers layer by layer appear scattered, forming an inner touch that is detached, plain, and tasteless. It looks very disorderly, which is different from the taste of Western collages.

Exhibition Site

Teacher Yan wants to create a texture sense of abstract traces, in which Eastern memories are generated. Using abstraction to create more abstract traces, but in more abstract traces, historical and cultural memories must be generated. Teacher Yan's works are obviously abstract paintings, and the reason why there is a cultural memory inside is because he wants to replace the meaning of cultural history with Western abstractions. He has some printmaking works that produce strong charm in a humanistic way.

Teacher Feng's works are made of gray, using different strokes and traces. The power of strokes varies depending on the gray and white colors, as well as the confident and casual appearance of each stroke. It purely relies on the movement of strokes and color changes on the screen to create a multi-dimensional space, a breathable and breathing space. This is a very authentic and pure abstract painting.

Yu Yang's works can be said to have wooden blocks and blue collages in a gray tone, creating subtle creases and irregular rhythms on the screen through artificial means, bringing traditional charm to the extreme. They are very subtle and elegant. The humanistic production method is worth savoring in detail. This is a Chinese style production method, and unique Chinese style can indeed be seen in the works.

Through dialogue among artists, discussions were conducted around the unique language of gray and Chinese style painting. Through "Who hasn't figured on gray yet", we try to think through painting and color. By showcasing a thousand layers of gray and the tension between gray and blue, we attempt to shape perception and even influence our thoughts. This is the academic significance of this exhibition

Mr. Yang Guang, Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Freiburg in Germany and Professor of Philosophy at Tongji University

Mr. Yang Guang, Professor of Philosophy at Tongji University：

Thank you for the invitation from Teacher Xia. Teacher Xia asked me to talk about color, and my recent research direction is color phenomenology. I would like to delve deeper into this topic. In Western and Chinese philosophy, there is a color blindness syndrome where color is not important enough. However, I believe that those who have not thought about gray are not true philosophers, and those who have not used gray are not true painters. Most philosophers hold a derogatory attitude towards color and consider it a secondary attribute. In the current era of online and AI drawing, color has become exceptionally rich, but how can we reintegrate the thinking of color into our thinking?

Exhibition Site

In 15th century Europe, there was a type of gray painting or gray art where people painted gray paintings on glass or inside churches. However, prior to this, gray was not considered a color for painting. The word gray originates from the Greek word for gray hair, and the naming of colors is usually related to the characteristics of objects. Over time, colors gradually become symbolic, such as red representing love. So, what is the symbolic significance of gray? Slotedek emphasized several characteristics: Is there gray between day and night? Gray represents the state of uncertainty, conviction, and ambiguity, which we describe as gray areas, anonymity, and so on. This is the symbolic meaning of gray.

From the perspective of cultural criticism, we know that life is a lasting process. The so-called theoretical gray reflects the qualities of the wise. Gray is considered boring, boring, and uncertain, but it can actually stimulate reflection on the possibilities of color and the depth of color expression. In this sense, gray raises questions about the current proliferation and depreciation of colors, while also reflecting on the potential of colors. Who could not have thought about gray? Hegel once said that the life of philosophy is like a concept, in a gray state. This is similar to the white in the white in the exhibition, and the operation of dialectics is to operate within the grey mechanism. This means that owls always fly at night, and philosophical work always takes place at dusk. In short, the connotation of grey thinking includes elderly style, late style, etc.

Exhibition Site

Slotedek's understanding of gray is very concise and profound. He believes that gray is not a color because it does not have a specific color value. So why say it's not a color? Firstly, gray has no obvious opposite or contrasting colors, black and white have contrast, but what is the contrasting color of gray? Or rather, what is its antonym? In a book, it is written that the opposite of gray is luminescence.

Exhibition Site

So, how do we understand gray? It is both gray and full-color. In the current era, colors exhibit a transitional state, but gray can help us get rid of the intense color details that are too tense and uncomfortable. At the same time, gray also has a permeability, dispersibility, and atmosphere, which can accommodate other colors, highlighting the contradictions, conflicts, and tension between contrasting colors. In a sense, black requires white, red requires green, and there is a mutual demand relationship between contrasting colors, which requires us to define them visually.

Gray does not require this requirement. Our retina requires us to produce contrasting colors for gray, while producing contrasting colors for other colors requires our subjective visual intervention. Gray, to some extent, removes subjectivity. It is decentralized and a symbol of reflection. In short, gray brings a sense of freedom to people. It is both colorless and pure because it reflects the solid color of specific objects, and at the same time, it can connect with other colors, penetrate into other colors, and bring a color touch of free reflection. This is my understanding of gray

艺术家冯良鸿先生

Artist Mr. Feng Lianghong：

Hello everyone, I just listened to the discussion between Mr. Xia Kejun and Mr. Yang Guang about gray, and I have also benefited a lot. I am glad to have the opportunity to share my works with you and exchange ideas. I think the theme of this exhibition is very interesting, exploring the blurry areas of art, which are closely related to various possibilities and gray. Therefore, I think of the change of gray between color and purity. Gray does not have a certain standard color, it exists in our feelings. As a painting artist, I find it often difficult to express the real feeling in my works when the sun is bright, the sky is blue, and the water is clear. Why? Because gray is missing. If gray is not present, it is difficult to draw. The works of Impressionism are like a postcard, lacking depth and spirituality. At most, they only give people a feeling of sightseeing without personality. Therefore, gray can achieve many things in certain situations, such as Impressionism. Impressionist works often depict a hazy scene, and when the colors are not clearly defined, they capture the impression of things, so they are called Impressionism.

Exhibition Site

Because without gray, there would be no Impressionism. After Impressionism became the mainstream of painting, later art schools such as the Abstract School, such as Mondrian, emphasized the contrast of various colors as much as possible to achieve maximum possibilities. But he chose dark gray, why? Because dark gray can provide stability and coordination, allowing it to clearly define what red is like.

Furthermore, for example, abstract expressionism, which we will not mention for now, integrates life and art. Life and art are equally fascinating, as they directly transform reality into painting language and symbols. But what I want to say is that there is another form of art that uses gray and white as the main color in painting, returning to gray. The abstraction of this art lies in the use of brushstrokes, where different strokes produce different grayscales and strokes in different directions form different images. At the same time, it does not create any clear form, which is different from the abstract school, cleverly avoiding formalism. It focuses on how to express, not what to express. It is not artificial, not deliberate, and ultimately shows how to express.

 Exhibition Site

Personally, gray is a constantly changing substance that encompasses a feeling, an emotional experience. It is located between the black and white poles, and is a concept of average in the middle, which has brought great help to painting. I often use gray for painting, constantly adjusting colors and levels during the process. I also use color, and through the blending of contrasting colors, there is a decrease in purity. Compared to bright colors, gray appears contradictory and conflicting with the contrast of purity. This is my understanding of gray.

Exhibition Site

Through gray painting, I am able to release my inner struggles and various thoughts, and I believe gray is a way of expression. In addition, it can be further discussed that gray represents the middle way, which is a thinking pattern. For example, when we watch a sports match, the referee will remove the highest and lowest scores and then take the average to evaluate the athlete's true performance. This approach removes two extremes and reflects the meaning of gray

Artist Yu Yang

Artist Mr. Yu Yang：

In fact, my understanding of gray is that it can be seen as one of the colors. Color is not necessarily a bright color, but represents a color composed of pure colors. Gray is a bridge between all things and a safe color. The smoke of war is gray, although blood may be the red of spring, it is gray. When clothes get dirty, it is also gray, which constantly reflects the concept of survival. Gray has purity, such as some revolutionary things. In grand narratives, I believe that gray is very important, just like religion. When we see gold or red in large Buddhist temples or halls, it is reflected in the refraction of light." In the end, gray will form, which gives us a higher experience of faith. Even in European churches, the color of marble is gray, which elevates the entire human spirit to the extreme.

In China, there was no concept of gray in the past, but the description of gray is constantly changing. Whether in music, painting, literature, or even in daily life, everyone's personality can be expressed in gray. Whether it is elegant or simple, it can be carried by gray. Therefore, artists pursue their own gray, pursuing a grayscale. Just like in his later years when Monet's eyes were no longer clear, he still depicted lotus flowers and gardens, using gray to create scenes. Another artist's work is abstract and ethereal, with both landscape and air textures, belonging to the category of ink painting abstraction. I believe that the comparison between the artists Monet and Huang Binhong showcases the cultural differences between the East and the West, both emphasizing cultural differences through gray, and from a creative perspective, emphasizing regional cultural differences. For gray, I will continue to explore and experience it in depth.

Exhibition Site

Mr. Yang Guang, Professor of Philosophy at Tongji University：

Gray is different from other contrasting colors. It looks like an inconspicuous color, an inconspicuous color, so it is precisely because there is not much color that reveals the possibility of manifestation. The logic of negation, the dialectics of negation, and whether it is a qualitative experience, I think gray is in line with the basic mood. Then comes boredom. After prolonged time, we become bored at home during the epidemic, and after prolonged time, we can realize the importance of time. The single direction is broken, highlighting the importance of time. These are all qualitative experiences.

Exhibition Site

Finally, ascending to the spiritual life experience, as a painter, constantly painting and immersing oneself in purple and red, ultimately obtaining gray. Only through extreme experience of color and negative experience can we reach the depth of life and death, otherwise it would be like ordinary photos. How should we handle photos taken with criminal intent as the base plate? Why choose painting? Between life and death, gray reflects a negative side and is the cruelest abstraction of life, transforming all colors into gray.

Exhibition Site

Curator Mr. Xia Kejun：

"We cannot reproduce violence again, we can only erase the traces of violence, but in the process, we must preserve some traces. Gray glass is meant to preserve these last traces. We cannot show violence again, because that is affirming it. We can only preserve the traces of violence that have been erased, and cannot let them disappear completely. We can only express it through ashes and remnants, using the least amount of residue to enrich it. Today's discussion is already full, and finally, I want to say that some people say that truth has always been gray, and I want to say that we need to turn gray into truth. Thank you all, thank you for patiently listening!"

About Curator

Curator: Xia Kejun

Philosopher, critic, curator.

Doctor of Philosophy, currently teaching at the School of Literature, Renmin University of China as a professor and doctoral supervisor. Activating core concepts such as "emptiness" and "uselessness" in China and transforming them into contemporary forms, publishing more than ten personal philosophical and artistic works, planning over 300 art exhibitions, and advocating for the study of Eastern and Western philosophy and contemporary art, won the "2023 European Poetry and Literature Homer Award". Recent representative works include "A Waiting and Useless Nation", "Useless Literature - Kafka and China", "Useless Theology - Benjamin, Heidegger, and Derrida", "Smoke and Veil", "Surplus and Strangeness: A New Beginning of World Philosophy".

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