一个10年、一种情怀的历任美国总统肖像画家
文:珍妮特·张(美国)
情怀是一种高尚的心境和胸怀。有情怀的人就有高雅的情趣和宽广的胸怀,有情怀的人善于包容,善于发现美好的一面。他能够用自己的行动去感染周围的人,将自己乐观的心态分享给身边的人,用自己的理念去影响四周的人。
他,就是一位中国艺术家马刚,他用10年时间创作完成了46任历届美国总统肖像,他的一幅幅作品浸润着我的内心,让我感动。
1996年马刚首次来美国举办个展,至2015年来美国做过多次展览,多年来他走过不少美国城市,对美国有不少认知和思考,开始研究美国历史、查阅美国总统,探索美国社会和历史演变的轨迹,他的创作情怀油然而生。2012开始画总统肖像,从首任华盛顿总统到现在的拜登总统,2022年46任总统肖像完成。
从作品看,他有很好的绘画基础,超强的写实功底,他的人物造型能力相当深厚,有独特的绘画语言,每幅作品色彩的视觉冲击力让你过目不忘。以情达意,以意会神,好的肖像画,一定会让你记到心里。他用多彩的肖像,表现出多彩的总统、展现出多彩的总统人生。
马刚说:“凡是让我感动的杰出人物,不论来自哪个国家,只要是为人类文明发展做出贡献的,我都想去画想去创作。希望通过肖像展览,与他们进行跨越时空的对话,把杰出人物肖像传达给世界观众,让更多人了解、让更多人去铭记。”
每个人都有情怀,每个人都有梦想。马刚的多年努力,使他成为历届《美国总统》画肖像的唯一中国艺术家。他是一个纯粹充满情怀的画家,我祝贺他展览成功。
A decade, A passion, the Portrait Painter of the U.S.
Presidents
● Janet Zhang,U.S.
People who live life with passion and devotion are believed to possess a
noble state of mind and heart. Broad-minded, they not only have elegant taste,
but also know how to be tolerant and to look on the bright side. In this way,
they are able to make a positive impacts on people around them with their ideas,
their actions, and their optimistic attitude.
Gang Ma, the Chinese artist, is such a person. He has spent the last 10
years creating portraits of 46 U.S. presidents. His works nourished my heart and
moved me.
Since first coming to the United States in 1996 for his solo exhibition,
Gang Ma has held several exhibitions across the U.S. in the following decade.
Over the years, he has traveled to many American cities and gained new
perceptions and thoughts about the country. Accordingly, he began to study
American history, conduct research on American presidents, and explore the
trajectory of the social and historical evolution of America. All these
experiences sparked a creative fire in Ma, and, in 2012, he started to paint
portraits of all the presidents starting with George Washington. Just this past
year, in 2022, he completed his project when he finished his 46th portrait of
current president Joe Biden.
In looking at his works, you will notice Ma has a solid foundation in
realistic painting and masterful technical skills. His ability to render a
person’s character in two dimensions is quite profound. Thanks to his unique
painting language, the dramatic visual impact of the colors in each work–along
with their emotion and meaning–are sure to remain in your mind long after you’ve
stepped away from the painting itself. Ma brilliantly uses his colorful
portraits to pay his respect to all the great presidents and their extraordinary
lives.
Ma said: “I want to paint and create portraits of outstanding people who
impressed me most. It doesn’t matter which country they come from, as long as
they have contributed to the development of human civilization. I hope
that,through the portrait exhibition, we can have a dialogue with them across
time and space, so that more and more people around the world will get to know
them and remember them.”
We all have passions and dreams. Ma’s years of hard work have made his come
true: he is the only Chinese artist who has painted portraits of all the
Presidents of the United States. Above all, Ma is a deeply devoted painter, and
I wish him well on the success of the exhibition.