前言 

面对“水墨”下的诸多问题，不得不又一次的老生常谈，我们面对的哪个“水墨”？这是中国当代水墨年鉴的第六次学术邀请展又一次抛出问题。2020年，同样在南艺美术馆，李小山先生提出的主题“逐渐形成的闭环”，将“水墨”画放置在一个假想中却又极度真实的现状下来进行讨论，水墨画的创作和与其有关的批评都好像都被封锁在闭环之中。其表露出一些悲观的情绪和与之而来的担忧。在展览中李小山先生感慨到：“水墨画与传统相比，它是当代的；与西方相比，它是本土的。在这样的闭环里，一切都是自我循环、自我论证、自我定位。万事万物皆有裂痕，那是光照进来的地方。在水墨的闭环并非铜墙铁壁，趁着光透进来，艺术家仍然是有所作为的，我深切地满怀希望地期待着”。

面对上期所谈到的“闭环”，以及一直期待着的“裂缝”。我们似乎需要更加锋利的“器物”来完成挑起“裂缝”的工作。展览作为提出问题的一种实践方式，本该就是一件有棱有角的“器物”，面对逐渐叠加与扩张的“水墨”问题，我们需要讨论它，批评它，或者赞美它，其前提条件是要找到它。你谈你的主义，我谈我的规则，他谈他的标准，终究会回到自我构建的城堡中，仅仅只够欣赏到自己的庄园。

与其鸡同鸭讲的讨论，不妨直接把问题放置在空间中，这也中国当代水墨年鉴接下来会一直持续下去的展览创作方法。在这一次的展览中，面对“闭环”接下来的问题，我们再次面对“传统”与“当代”的讨论，能有效行进下去的方法之一便是回到“语言”，如果“水墨”还能回到一种艺术语言来被进行探讨的话？那么这次“传统”与“当代”一定不是孰优孰劣的肉搏战，其同根不同源的自然生长方式，像是一场棋盘间，有游戏规则的博弈。贡献的该是进退之间的思考过程。

回到本次展览的主题“Chuo（进退）”。进退共用同一个偏旁，可被想象为在同一个时间轴线下，在当下，所有与“水墨”相关的判断一定是在行走中的。我们通过展览制定游戏规则，而制定规则的人便是第一个被规则所束缚的。面对繁杂的“水墨”概念，面对概念下不断衍生而出的遣词造句，我们同样造了一个具体的字——“ Chuo（进退）”。这个字谈不上正确与错误，更不是口号与态度，它应该算是我们当下面对“水墨”时，目光之所及的现状吧。

林书传2022.10.24
 Preface Facing many questions about “ink”, we inevitably come to an old topic: what kind of ink are we dealing with? It is also the question for the Academic Invitation Exhibition for the 6th Annual Review of Chinese Contemporary Ink. In 2020, at the Art Museum of Nanjing University of the Fine Arts, Mr. Li Xiaoshan proposed the theme “A Closed Loop of the Gradual Formation” and discussed ink painting in a hypothetical yet most authentic context. The creation and criticism of ink painting are seemingly sealed off in a closed loop, arousing a pessimistic mood and concern. In the exhibition, Li lamented, “Compared to tradition, ink painting is contemporary. Compared to the West, it is local. In such a closed loop, everything is circulating, justifying, and positioning itself. Just as everything has fissures where the light comes in, the closed loop of ink is not a wall of bronze and iron, and the artist can still make a difference where the light shines, which I highly expect.”In terms of the “closed loop” discussed in the previous exhibition and the “fissures” that we are longing for, a sharper “tool” is required to create “fissures”. The exhibition is a practical way to raise questions and should be used as an angular “tool”. Regarding the question of “ink” whose nature is to gradually superpose and expand, we need to discuss, criticize, and praise it, but thepremise is to find it. Everyone can talk about their doctrines, rules, or standards, but in the end, they will return to the castle constructed by themselves, only able to appreciate their own manors.Rather thandiscussing like chickens talking with ducks, we might as well pose the questions directly in the space, which is the exhibiting method of the Annual Review of China Contemporary Ink Painting. In this exhibition, following the “closed loop”, we are once again confronted with the discussion of “traditional” and “contemporary”. An effective way to move forward is to return to the exploration of “language”, if “ink” can still be treated as an artistic language. This time, the debate between “traditional” and “contemporary” is not like a close battle to compete for a winner, but more like a chessboard game, sharing the same root and growing nourished by different resources. What we should contribute is the thinking process of advance and retreat.Back to the theme of this exhibition “Chuo”, the two characters “进” and “退” share the same side “⻌”, which indicates that all judgments related to “ink” must be in progress in the contemporary era, advance and retreat are in the same timeline. Through exhibitions, we are making the rules of the game, but the rule makers are the first to be bound. Faced with the complicated concept of “ink” and the words and phrases derived from this concept, we have created a new character “Chuo”, which is not about right or wrong, nor is it a slogan or an attitude. It should be regarded as the landscape in our horizon when encountering the topic of “ink”.Lin Shuchuan24 October, 2022