陳燮君
Zhou Hao was not only a master of Jiading BambooCarving, but also a turning-point and landmark elitein the history of Chinese Bamboo Carving Art. He washighly reputed as “second to none in two centuriessince the era he lived”. He witnessed the greatprosperity of Kangxi Period, Yongzheng Period andQianlong Period of the Dynasty. This period was alsogolden age of Jiading Bamboo Carving, during whichnumerous handicrafts showed off superb craftsmanship
and elegance. On the basis of fully grasping JiadingBamboo Carving Skills, Zhou Hao vigorously developedintaglio knife skills originated by Shen Jian, ZhouNaishi and Wang Yongfang, applied painting skillsfor bamboo carving, and successfully blended intaglioand bas-relief in one. In this way, his artworks notonly demonstrate wrinkling effect of writing brush,but also spark traditional spirit connotations of JiadingBamboo Carving. Finally, Jiading Bamboo Carving isable to break new ground and impress people with loftycharacters.
中國是產(chǎn)竹大國,竹文化歷史悠久,相關(guān)的藝術(shù)品亦層出不窮,在國人的精神生活中占據(jù)重要的地位。竹刻是在我國悠久深厚的竹文化傳統(tǒng)基礎(chǔ)上,隨著明代中后期文房雅玩鑒藏之風(fēng)的興起而成熟的特種雕刻藝術(shù),是文人藝術(shù)與民間雕刻工藝相互交融的結(jié)晶。
明清竹刻工藝的發(fā)展,主要集中于江南,尤以嘉定、金陵兩派為著名。嘉定竹刻是歷史上遞衍時間最長,規(guī)模最大的雕刻藝術(shù)流派,其以“嘉定三朱”為先導(dǎo),繼而涌現(xiàn)出吳之璠、封錫祿、周顥等卓有成就的大家,使竹刻藝術(shù)形成了強(qiáng)大的藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)力,成為中國古代工藝美術(shù)史上最后的高峰時期——康雍乾時期最具代表性的藝術(shù)門類之一。
周顥,字晉瞻,字芷巖,是嘉定竹刻的集大成者,也是中國竹刻藝術(shù)史上的轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)和里程碑式的人物,有“二百余年,首屈一指”之譽(yù)。其生活的年代,正當(dāng)康雍乾三朝盛世,亦是嘉定竹刻的黃金時期,百工奇巧,各盡其妙。周顥在充分掌握嘉定派竹刻技藝的基礎(chǔ)上,重點(diǎn)發(fā)展了沈兼、周乃始、王永芳以來的陰刻刀法,以畫法施于竹刻,用刀如筆,成功地融陰刻與淺浮雕于一體,使作品畫面既有書寫性用筆的勾皴效果,又不乏嘉定竹刻傳統(tǒng)的飽滿精深風(fēng)貌,“合南北宗為一體”,獨(dú)標(biāo)新境,品格彌高。
周顥竹刻的深遠(yuǎn)意境,來自于他精湛的繪畫技藝。其所作題材兼及竹石、山水人物:全景山水多擬王蒙,簡筆小景出自倪瓚;畫人物于山水中,衣冠容貌精細(xì)可辨,姿態(tài)生動;而竹石是周顥最為擅長的繪畫題材,時人贊其墨竹“風(fēng)雨枝葉,無不曲肖”,認(rèn)為可與明代夏昶并美。凡此種種,奏于刀下,則形成了周顥竹刻藝術(shù)深具文人畫雋永效果,又“畫手所不能到者,能以寸鐵寫之”的藝術(shù)特點(diǎn)。
上海博物館是收藏嘉定竹刻工藝品最重要的藝術(shù)機(jī)構(gòu),于周顥的作品所藏頗富。此次舉辦《竹素流芳——周顥竹刻藝術(shù)特展》,從學(xué)術(shù)角度開掘展覽內(nèi)涵,系統(tǒng)展示周顥的鐫刻和書畫作品,全面展現(xiàn)他的藝術(shù)成就,以及詩書畫印刻等各方面修養(yǎng)對于其藝術(shù)創(chuàng)造的共同作用,為研究中國傳統(tǒng)工藝美術(shù)和文人藝術(shù)的交流互動提供了一個富于深度的案例。