​　　看了童雁汝南的作品增加了我对中国当代油画发展的信心。现在有一些年轻人艺术观念怪异，选题偏狭，表现荒诞，个人主义情绪浓厚，这是油画当代发展之路面临的一种困境。油画发展到今天，如何突破，如何创新？我觉得童雁汝南用他的艺术实践给我们做了正面的回答。看完他100多幅作品，形成以下印象跟大家分享：

　　第一，童雁汝南的人物肖像画在本质上体现了人文主义精神。童雁汝南的绘画坚持以人为本；坚持对人，包括对不同个性的人的关注、珍视和尊重；坚持对当代人的生命状态、生活状态、情感状态做持续的艺术性观察和表达。这是童雁汝南20多年来始终不变的创作选题。从这个意义上看，童雁汝南的人物肖像画属于时代的积极的主流文化范畴。

　　第二，童雁汝南的人物肖像画是写实主义的时代突破。他的画看上去很当代，很有表现性，技法上很创新，但是它的基础和起点是写实主义的。比方说，他的绘画选题全部是现实生活题材；他的作品全部是对真人写生；他的造型十分讲究整体上的真实和准确；他的艺术群像与千姿百态的社会众生像高度吻合等。在此基础上，他又在艺术理念和技法上追求大胆的突破和创新。

　　童雁汝南的艺术从写实出发，就像19世纪法国现实主义开派人物库尔贝所说，只画眼睛看得见的东西。童雁汝南的艺术又突破了写实，就像中国元代的文人画家倪云林所说，“逸笔草草，不求形似，以形写神，形神兼备。”这大概是他放弃传统肖像画刻画五官细节，更注重表现他对写生对象的主观感受的理性原因。

　　第三，童雁汝南的人物肖像用油画的表现性技法表达了中国传统的审美精神。观看童雁汝南的人物肖像画，一个突出的印象就是他的反传统性。西方形成的人物肖像画传统，是注重人物五官，特别是对眼睛的刻画。童雁汝南人物肖像画却省略了对五官，特别是对眼睛的刻画。这种看上去反传统的艺术处理手法，如果放在东西方文化比较的大视阈中审读就不难理解了。童雁汝南画人物肖像没有遵循西方的艺术传统，但却遵循了中国古老的艺术传统——写意传神。诸如概括、取舍、含蓄、留白、趣味，律动、神韵等等。所有这些构成中国特有的传统审美内涵。童雁汝南的人物肖像画恰好通过写意性艺术处理生动地体现中国样式的审美情趣和审美精神。这才使他笔下的西洋油画变得别开生面。

　　第四，童雁汝南的人物肖像画形成了当代油画界很有辨识度的艺术语言。范迪安先生说童雁汝南有油画艺术语言的“专利”，我觉得这个的话是有道理的。我们不妨把童雁汝南人物肖像画的艺术语言做一个简单梳理：20年来，他只做真人的现场写生；只画人物的正面肖像；始终把画面固定在41cm×33cm的篇幅内；小画面、大笔触，在限制中寻求自由奔放；刻意弱化光影素描的硬转折，寻求画面的柔和静穆；小心经营人物面部的结构位置，确保肖像整体真实，模特可以对号入座；大胆省去五官刻画，寻求细节的写意性；背景平涂的单一色彩的静，和人物面部色彩笔触多变的动，构成了以动止静的艺术节奏等等。所有这些构成了童雁汝南艺术语言的独到之处和特有的个性。至此，属于童雁汝南的艺术风格业已形成。在众多的油画作品中，不看作者名字，只看作品，就能明确辩认出童雁汝南。这是十分难能可贵的。

　　第五，童雁汝南的人物肖像画生动地体现出他学术思想的深刻性。高水平艺术创作一定要有高水平学术思想做支撑。童雁汝南的油画创作在艺术上是有高度的，主要是他找到了突破传统油画人物肖像画的新画法。有新画法就得有新办法，有新办法又得有新想法、新看法。所以与其说童雁汝南用手作画，不如说他是用头脑作画；与其说童雁汝南在画画，不如说他在陈述自己的学术见解。从他作品反映出来学术思想是丰富的，但最核心的是他艺术观的辩证法。我把它总结为八点：一是在小技中寻求大道；二写实中寻求写意；三是在客观中寻求主观；四是在模糊中寻求精准；五是在安静中寻求律动；六是在限制中寻求自由；七是在简约中寻求丰富。八是在变化中寻求稳定。

On artistic dialectics of implicitness and explicitness

Lian ji

　　My confidence on the development of Chinese modern oil painting increases after appreciating Tong Yanrunan's works. Nowadays, some of the young own unearthly artistic conception with some partial topics, absurd expressions and strong personal sentiments, which is a predicament of development of modern oil painting. Up till now, how can we make a breakthrough? How to make a creation? I think Tong gives us a positive answer by his artistic creations.

　　Firstly, Tong's portraits essentially reflect the humanism spirits. His works is people first; he adhere to the attention, cherishing and respect of human, including different people with different characters; he persist in conducting consecutive artistic observation and expression for modern people's life status, life style and emotional condition. All the above are the invariable topics that Tong has chosen for the past 20 years. From the sense of that, Tong's portraits are involved in positive cultural mainstream of age.

　　Secondly, Tong's portraits are the epochal breakthrough of true-life style. His works look modern, being full of expressive force with creative techniques while base on the true-life style. For example, his topics come from real life; his objects are real person; his style stresses on integral reality and accuracy; his artistic group highly matches with different living lives in society. On account of that, he pursues bold breakthrough and creation in artistic concept and techniques.

　　Tong's arts proceed from true life, as Courbet, who was a pioneer of realism in France in 19th century, said that only paint what our eyes can see. At the same time, Tong also makes a breakthrough in true life. As the saying from Ni Yunlin, who was a Chines artist in Yuan dynasty, goes that "hasty painting brush unites spirits and forms rather than mere similarity in forms." That is why he lays emphasis on reflecting his subject feelings of objects from life rather than details from the five sense organs in traditional portraits.

　　Thirdly, Tong's portraits reflect Chinese traditional aesthetic spirits by his expressive techniques. People are usually impressed by anti-traditional style in his portraits. Western portraits stress the five sense organs of human beings, especially the eyes while Tong omits that, including eyes portraying. This style looks against the traditional artistic techniques, but it will be easily to understand when being appreciated from the micro perspective of comparison of oriental culture and western culture. Tong's portraits follow Chinese ancient artistic traditions ——freehand brushwork rather than that of western arts. The elements, such as summarizing, choice, implicitness, copy space, interest, rhythm, charm etc., constitutes Chinese characteristic aesthetic connotation. His works exactly and vividly embody aesthetic temperament, interest and spirits with Chinese styles by freehand brushwork. That's also why his western oil paintings get to special.

　　Fourthly, Tong's portraits form an obvious language in the field of modern oil paintings. Mr. Fan Dian thinks that Tong's works are worthy for "patent" of artistic language in oil paintings. I do agree with that. Let's make a simple summary of his portraits artistic language: he only paints from real life in the scene in the past 20 years; he only paints the frontal portraits; he always paints on the space with a scale of 41cm×33cm; he stick to small portraits but great brush-works; he runs facial structure location carefully to ensure integral reality and models can sit in the right seat; he boldly creates without painting the five sense organs to pursue freehand brushwork; he pursue the peace in the flat monochrome and changeable brushwork on facial color to form artistic rhythm of showing still in movement. It is those elements that form characteristic and individual artistic language in his works. By this way, he forms his own unique art style. It is also rare and commendable that his works are easily recognized by themselves without seeing painter's name between numerous oil paintings.

　　Fifthly, Tong's portraits vividly reflect his academic profound thoughts. High standard artistic creation must be supported by high standard academic theories. His oil paintings creation reaches a highly standard, which mainly lies in the new painting style that breaks through the traditional portrait oil paintings. New painting style means new methods, new ideas and attitudes. Tong doesn't paint with his hands so much as painting with his brain; he doesn't paint but states his own academic understanding. The academic thoughts in his works are affluent, and the core is his artistic dialectics. I summarize them into eight aspects: seek from small techniques; seek freehand brush work from reality; seek subjectivity from objectivity; seek accuracy from vagueness; seek rhythm from peace; seek freedom from limitation; seek affluence from simplicity; seek stabilization from change.