贡布里希在“艺术与错觉”一书中说：“风格跟手段一样，也创造了一种心理定向，使得艺术家在四周的景色中寻找一些他能够描绘的方面。绘画是一种活动，所以艺术家的倾向是看到他会画的东西，而不是画他看到的东西。”用这段话来注解张桂铭富有独特个性的绘画风格，是什分贴切的。在他那里几乎所有的一切都经过了主观能动的变革，树枝，草茎，衣褶、鸟嘴，是同样腾挪宛转的涨墨线：花果、莲叶、瓶揷、佩飾，是同样明丽古艳的嵌色，空间纵深感已经没有多大的存在意义，而形与形、色与色、形与色所构成的节奏感，却占据了显赫的地位。这是一种高度纯化或日程式化的绘画语言。相对于彼落此起的新潮运动，它强调沉静和稳定;相对于强烈的政治、哲学色彩，它强调作品自身的完整性;相对于激情抒发和审美需求，它强调中国画的艺术自律性。与其说，这种绘画的题材表现为极端的单纯乃至单调，毋宁说，是这种绘画语言的纯化使题材变得无足轻重。与其说，这种绘画的个性风格是主观意志和生命激情的外化结果，毋宁说，是为传统图式所建构的心理定向赋予绘画主体以独特的绘画性视角。当然，所谓传统图式，并非一个封闭的概念，而指那种既从习得性上影响着主体，又经由主体对多种图式的主观选择、分解和组合，从而形成具体整合形式的动态系统。唯其如是，对于这种绘画来说，重内容和重形式的差别，师造化与师古人的对立，便被降低到了微不足道的程度，保证其成就的关键，也就集中到了绘画自律性的修养和灵性。随之而来的客观困难，是必须把自己置身于整个以大师成就为标志的艺术史面前，同时使那些能够发生共鸣的观众，虽不必具有同等的水平，却非得持有同类的取向不可。也许，这正是张桂铭的画知音不多而知之者则爱之深切的原因所在吧。

　　将张桂铭的画放进这个具体的时代背景来考察，就不难找到一个较为合理的基准。可以说，画家是真诚、执著而有才情的。所谓真诚，主要体现在心无旁骛的艺术本体追求上。如果说20世纪80年代的批判写实之风大胆地面对了社会现状的真实。1985、1986年的美术新潮大胆地面对了民族心灵的真实，那么，张桂铭以及同类取向的大批画家的真诚，则大胆地面对了绘画本体性的真实。彼此之间只有横向致力方位的不同，而不存在是与非、进步与落后之类的纵向区分。所谓执著，主要体现在始终如一的个性风格追求上。无论是早期的简朴，还是近年的诡谲，尽管旨趣有别，成就各兴，却从未随时流而转移。所谓才情，主要体现在溶铸多方的高难度追求上。一般同类项相加难成而易工，异类项相合则易成而难工。而作为高层次的美，却是对立双方大限度的相摩相荡，相生相克，相反相成。中国古代文艺批评中经常用逆向复合词来指称高层次的美，如“遒媚”、“雄秀”、“俊伟”、“刚健婀娜”、“博大精深”、“重若崩云、轻若蝉翼”之类，是深谙个中三昧的。张桂铭将文人画的写意墨线和民间画的工整填色组合在一起，并舍弃了缓和和色之间的中间过渡层，从恬淡中求浓烈，从静谧中求飞动，从不经意和不完备处求意趣和完整，其志固不在小，他喜欢用平淡而醇厚的绍兴酒来比喻自己的作品，不是没有道理的。

　　不言而愉，笔者喜爱他近年来体现了上述追求的作品，肯定的也是这类作品的追求倾向，同时并不妨碍对其他与此相异或相反的作品及其追求倾向的喜爱和肯定。在多元化的世界里，不仅不同人的去取是多元的，同一人的取向在不同情境中也是多元的。我的阐释能作为诸多阐释中的一种，而区区本文，又只能就我的阐释中的一部分而展开，其局限性可想而知。但愿它不至于束缚读者的自我感受和自我判断，也不至于影响张桂铭先生的自我认识和自我发现。实际上，正是在这种种阐释与再阐释、发现与再发现的无限可能性中，才不断生发出创造新艺术的契机。绘画的真正生命力，其在兹，惟在兹!

　　The Honest，Persistent and Talented Zhang Guiming(Excerpt)

　　Lu Fusheng

　　In his book “Art and Illusion” Ernst Gombrich says:

　　“The style，like the medium，creates a mental set which makes the artist look for certain aspects in the scene around him that he can render.Painting is an activity and the artist will therefore tend to see what he paints rather than paint what he sees.”

　　Using such a quote to describe Zhang Guiming's unique painting style could not be more appropriate.For him，practically everything is subjected to a personal，yet proactive revolution: branches，stems，creases in clothing and beaks all become swollen ink lines，modified yet subtle;flower and fruit，lily leaves，flower arrangements，and personal accessories become embedded color，bright yet suffused with timeless allure.The rhythm generated from the interaction between form and color takes center stage as the spatial sense of depth loses significance.This painting language is fiercely pure yet regulated，and while a continuous new wave emphasizes peace and stability，intense politics and a colorful philosophy emphasize the completeness of the work.The expression of passion and aesthetic desire thus emphasizes the self discipline of Chinese painting.It is not so much that the theme of the painting is overly pure or even repetitive，rather that the pure language of the work renders the theme rather unimportant.Nor is it that the style and character of the work is the product of the externalization of personal will and the passion of life，but rather that the mental set，constructed from a traditional pattern，endows the work with a unique visual angle.Of course the concept of a “traditional pattern” is open to interpretation;it refers to the subjective choice，construction and deconstruction of the various forms，the application of which affects and is passed through the subject to establish a dynamic system;a form both specific and integrated.For this type of painting，the difference between a focus on form and a focus on content and the opposition of inspiration taken from objective reality and inspiration taken from traditional teaching becomes insignificant.The reason behind the success of the work lies in the accomplishment and spirituality demonstrated in its self-discipline.The accompanying issue of realism means that while the work must be considered alongside the achievements of the great masters，it must also resonate with viewers who have different levels of understanding yet possesses the same preferences.Perhaps this is the reason why so few truly grasp the work of Zhang Guiming yet those who do are truly ardent in their appreciation of it.

　　It could be said that the artist is honest，persistent and talented.Honesty is reflected in the artist's concentration on the pursuit of art itself.If the whirlwind of realistic painting in the 1980's boldly faced social reality and the new aesthetic wave of 1985 and 1986 boldly faced the reality of the soul，then the critique of master painters such Zhang Guiming and his contemporaries could be said to have boldly faced the reality of painting itself.The difference between Zhang Guiming and his contemporaries does not lie in the differences between right and wrong;progress and decline，but rather in their individual direction.Persistence is reflected in the continual pursuit of a single style or character.Even though objectives and popularity vary from the simplicity of earlier work to the volatility of later examples，the overall pursuit remains the same.Talent is reflected in the complexity of the ideals expressed in the work.

　　Generally speaking，the addition of complementary elements is easy to form but difficult to master，while the combination of conflicting elements is difficult to form yet easy to master.As a form of high beauty，this is reflected in the establishment of a dichotomy between two parties that takes the form of extreme erosion and collision，synergy and antagonism，and opposition and combination.Critiques of ancient Chinese literature and art often use contradictory compound expressions such as“powerful charm，”“heroic elegance，”“suave greatness”“robust grace，”“broad profundity，”“heavy as a collapsing cloud，light as an insect wing，”to refer to high beauty.Abandoning the warm transition between mid-tones，Zhang Guiming combines the ink lines of the scholars with the neat coloring of folk painting;striving for intensity from indifference，flight from silence，and allure and integrity from the careless and incomplete;he is not interested in the trivial.It is not without reason that he likes to compare his work to Shaoxing liquor，which is dry yet rich in flavor.

　　This author has demonstrated his fondness for Zhang Guiming's recent work，which embodies the elements mentioned above，and acknowledges the direction his work has taken，yet this does not prevent an appreciation and recognition of contrasting work which reflects alternative pursuits.It is not simply that different people have a variety of goals in our diverse world，but rather that the same person may have different pursuits in different situations.My commentary，just one of many，is simply an extension of one of my interpretations and its limitations are therefore obvious.I hope not that it acts to restrict individual experience or judgment，nor that it influences Mr.Zhang Guiming's sense of self understanding and realization.In truth，it is the unlimited potential made possible through repeated interpretation and discovery that allows artistic creation to continue to thrive.Herein lies the true vitality of paint