3月25日下午，我们在香港进行了「唯思惟」——水松石山房主人莫士撝书画赏集随心拍的直播导览，莫士撝先生亲自莅临参与，回答了关于其艺术创作的8个问题，现场由于直播时间所限，我们没有即时将英文回答翻译给直播间观众。为了更完整地展示直播内容，令观众们更准确地了解莫先生的创作理念，我们将8个问题以中英文Q&A的形式整理如下，期望「宇宙边际·无名之庭」主人的精神花园能与大家分享，他的绘画能得到更多藏家的认可和钟爱。
自画像，2003年
英文题识：
I paint myself in order to gain a different perspective.
Q1
我们都十分认可您的中国古董收藏与绘画创作间存在的强烈联系，您能否告知我们最初是如何有绘画创作这类奇石、奇木的想法的以及这三十年的创作发展历程？
A1
这一切都源于中国水墨画的传统：相较于描绘对象本身，更重要的是你如何运笔，如何在山水或文人雅玩中诠释意境。到了唐代，自然已成为中国绘画的核心主题，山水、奇石、树木、花鸟以及文人倾心的所有物象皆可入画。这些元素通过其无穷的表现力，成为艺术家与观者共同锤炼感知与表达的载体，在追寻自我实现的路上不断精进。因此我总在山水画中描绘树木，将奇石绘作微观的山岳。而描绘其他令我这位收藏家心驰神往的文房清供，不过是这种艺术追求的自然延伸罢了。
下方为英文问答（上下滑动查看更多）
Q1
We all recognize the strong linkage between your Chinese antiques collection and your paintings. Could you trace for us how you initiate, like the idea to paint strange rocks, strange trees and the development of it over the past 3 decades?
A1
It all comes from the Chinese ink-painting tradition where what you paint is less important than how you paint, how you interpret meaning whether in a landscape or the treasures of a scholar’s studio. Nature became a fundamental subject for Chinese painting by the Tang dynasty with the landscape, strange stones, trees, birds and flowers and by extension anything else the literati focused on. They all became the vehicles of seeking self realization through their endless and infinite potential for refining perception ad expression for both artists and audience. So I constantly paint landscape with trees and the microcosmic versions of mountains in strange stones. So it was a minor extension of that to also paint other literati treasures that intrigued me as a collector.
Lot 7207
《明珠》
25.5×35.5 cm
起拍价：RMB 10,000
I happened to be there with the Master of the Pearl the
very night on which he acquired that title.
We had spent the afternoon finding lingzhi
and other fungi in the mountains and eating
them as we went. He sat on the cusp of another
reality. Then he suddenly cried out “I have
the pearl, right here in my hand.” And I looked
and sure enough he did. It was there in his hand.
与灵珠主人共度机缘夜，
自午后共入山，采芝拾蕈，且行且尝。
他遁入虚实交界，忽朗声道：“明珠在此！”
我凝神观瞧，果见宝珠于其掌中生辉。
Lot 7219
《石之化境》
58×39.5 cm
起拍价：RMB 25,000
Some stones lurk in the mountains, awaiting discovery and
elevation to the realm of art. No more than selection
and presentation are needed; a decision on how best
to show it as art, although frequently a little
judicious editing is rewarding, as is the
construction of a suitable stand, plinth or
pot for display. That is the
first transformation
of the stone. Some stones
lurk in the light, fully on display,
waiting only for that moment
when something is recognized in
it that demands a response from
brush and ink, the starting point
of either a faithful likeness of
the form, or of the spirit of the stone.
But some stones lurk in the
paper, awaiting of
nothing more than
brush, ink and
inspiration to bring them
to life. Then all one can do is to
follow the magic and see where it
leads, no looking up, no checking
surface or spirit, no time and no
destination – just painting. Then
one truly becomes an explorer, discovering a new
landscape in a different realm of existence,
strolling in untrodden mountains, to meet strange creatures
and watch as eagles soar
through the high gorge
with its thousand-foot falls. Sharing
the crags, forests and caves with
a myriad strange experiences, and
encountering recluses. Fishing
mountain brooks and picking
wild fruit and herbs,
eating mountain mushrooms and seeking out the fabled
linghi of the Immortals, content beyond the stage
of time. That is where my brush takes me and where I thrive.
Title panel:
A Strange Stone
Dancing on a
Palimpsest of fading
Meaning
Inscribed at the Nodding
Stone Garden at the Edge
of the Universe in the Summer of 2011.
中文译文：
石分三重境界。
其一，藏于深山，待人以慧眼择之，以匠心陈之，
或辅以底座、石台、陶盆，令其蜕变为艺术，
此乃石之初次蜕变。
其二，隐于光中，形神毕现，静候笔墨回应。
或摹其形貌，或写其魂魄，落笔处方显石之真意，
此乃石之二次蜕变。
至若其三，则潜于素纸之间，
只待笔墨与灵感的交融，便可跃然生辉。
此刻画者唯随墨韵游走，不辨形神，不问归处，
唯有笔底山河渐次舒展。
恍若化身为探幽者，步入虚渺之境：
踏过无人空山，遇异兽，见苍鹰破千尺飞瀑；
倚危崖，入深林，与隐士对坐忘机；
或垂钓溪畔，采野蕨灵芝，餐霞饮露，寻访仙踪。
此间无岁月，唯见心性与笔墨共逍遥。
此即吾画意所栖，亦为吾性灵所寄。
题签：
褪色字痕上起舞的奇石，
宇宙边际·点首石园，
题于 2011年夏。
Q2
我们正在介绍最开始的两件奇石作品，我注意到大约在2000年后，你开始创作想象中的奇石多过现实中实有的奇石，你想象中的奇石更为抽象和奇异，其中能看到罗汉的面庞或者高士扭曲的身体，你是否在创作时有意融合人物身体于奇石之中呢？
A2
起初我描绘实有的奇石，但不久便停笔，因为当我发现能驾轻就熟地呈现时，便知该转向新的实验了，要继续探索这种艺术形式的可能性。在创作中我坚信：若想让自己保持探索的激情，同时令观者耳目一新，就必须不断突破感知与表达的边界。当我对奇石写生失去兴趣时，突然意识到：与其画我所见，不如见我所画，这才真正令人振奋。从此我的画笔只听从想象力的召唤。
下方为英文问答（上下滑动查看更多）
Q2
Hugh, we were talking about the first 2 lots of your stone paintings. May I ask you that I notice after year 2000, you increasingly painted rocks with imaginary, not rocks existing in earthly world, your painted rocks are even with an increasingly strange and abstract form, some I can see Arhats faces and some look like scholar’s twisted body. Do you actually have the idea of human being while painting rocks mingling the imagery of both?
A2
I started by painting existing stones, but not for long as I found I could do it easily enough and with creativity the moment you can do something easily, is the moment you should move on, experiment, keep exploring the potential of the art-form. With creativity I believe that if you want to remain both intrigued and intriguing to others, you have to keep pushing the boundaries of perception and expression. Once I lost interest in doing portraits of existing stones, I realized it was much more exciting to see what I paint rather than paint what I see. From then on it was all coming out of imagination. When you disappear into the stones, breaking down the barrier between the stone and the self, between the world of dust and unified reality, or the Dao, you meet all sorts of strange creatures and immortals, so when I imagine stones, the same thing happens. Often I purposely allow the figures to take over, but I also often try to keep them ambiguous, so the audience has to participate to begin to see them. That is more challenging actually, so often more exciting.
Lot 7202
《万用之石》
铃印：「水松石山房」「養石閒人」
56.2×19.6 cm
起拍价：RMB 8,500
英文题识：
Stone for all Reasons
Any strange stone is
a Stone for all Reasons.
Some are just more
effective than others.
Engrossed again in the wilderness
of the stone at the Water, Pine
and Stone Retreat, Spring, ’24
中文译文：
万用之石
奇石皆通万象，
唯效有参差，
再探石之野逸，
于水松石山房。
2024年春。
Lot 7209
《隐逸贤者 · 其三》
47.5×26 cm
I visit the old sage’s tree from time to time and his image, like
the limitless horizons of the universe, shimmers amidst the
foliage. I hear him still - it is pure delight to
listen to one so dumb. Inscribed by the
Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat,
revisiting an ancient tale at
the Garden at the Edge of the Universe during the winter of 2021.
访古贤栖木，形影如宇宙无垠，
浮光掠影间，犹闻其声，乃至乐也。
水松石房主人，
宇宙边际·无名之庭，
重访上古传说，
题于 2021年冬。
Q3
我们正在介绍Lot7207、7208，我注意到这两幅作品中都有「石」字印，请问您是画的印文（就像我手中这幅您画过后给我的）还是钤印上的呢？更重要的是，除了您出类拔萃的印章收藏外，您经常用到绘画作品钤印中的印章大约有多少方呢？
A3
两种方式皆可行。若是在宣纸或光滑的西式纸张上作画，我会钤盖自有的印章；而当我选用质地较粗的西式纸时，这类纸我也常用，印章难以清晰显现，便改为先将印章盖在宣纸上，再剪贴到画作中，形成一种拼贴的意趣。
下方为英文问答（上下滑动查看更多）
Q3
Hugh, we are talking about lot7&8 now, both paintings have the seal ‘Stone’(「石」)，did you paint them like this one you painted and gave me or you seal them?
A3
Both are possible. If on Chinese paper or smoother western papers I use seals I own to impress, and on rougher western paper which I also use, a seal doesn’t take so well, so I impress it on Chinese paper and paste it on as part of the idea of collage. But if painting or drawing at home, in the evenings, which I do frequently, or while travelling without seals, I will just draw the seal-script character for stone by hand with a red pen or pencil. I now have dozens of seals either acquired or commissioned over the years, and in some cases carved for me by artist friends.
Lot 7208
《奇侣》
29.5×21cm
起拍价：RMB 16,000
Strange
stones
attract strange
companions,
especially
at this time
of night.
Inscribed by the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone retreat，
at the Garden at the Edge of the Universe, summer 2020.
奇石招奇侣，
尤在此时此夜。
水松石山房主人，
宇宙边际·无名之庭，
题于 2020年夏。
Lot 7210
《月河》
铃印：「水松石山房」「莫」「士撝」
37×26.7cm
起拍价：RMB 13,000
英文题识：
Dwelling in the
wilderness. Moon’s
reflection on mountain
snowmelt. Patiently
wending its way to the sea.
Moon takes the oceans in its arms,
Rocks back and forth, back
and forth. With rhythmic
indifference. Timelessly.
No need to grasp a stout walking
staff. And seek seclusion amid
peaks and vales. Idling with
brush and ink will also set
me free.
Inscribed by the Master
of the Water, Pine and
Stone Retreat, at the
Garden at the Edge of
the Universe in the
early Winter of 2021.
中文译文：
栖于荒野，
月影映山涧雪水，
涓涓细流，终归于海，
月拥沧海入怀，
轻摇，轻摇，
韵律超然，无始无终，
何须执杖，
退隐于峰谷之间，
闲弄笔墨，自得逍遥。
水松石房主人 ，
宇宙边际·无名之庭，
题于 2021年初冬。
Q4
您艺术创作中的中国元素不仅仅体现在媒材中，更多体现在绘画方式和艺术理念方面，您能更多地为我们解释一下您是如何进行创作、如何让笔锋起舞然后呈现出一幅非常中国传统意境的绘画作品的吗？
A4
正如中国艺术家数千年来一脉相承的方式。我的血统无关紧要——自幼浸润于中国文化，至今已逾六十五载，纵非华夏血脉，笔下气象自是中国气象。所绘题材亦非关键，真正重要的是超越物象之外，探寻各种表现语言的精髓。线条、形态、色彩与质感的抽象内在语言，方为艺术传统真正成熟的标志。依我之见，中国艺术早于千年前便臻至完全成熟之境，而西方艺术直至近代变革才达此境。
下方为英文问答（上下滑动查看更多）
Q4
Hugh, certainly your art embodies a strong sense of Chineseness not only in the medium, but appear to me more in your painting manner and aesthetic concepts. Could you explain to us more about how you create, how you make the brush dance and turn out to be a very traditional Chinese art like work?
A4
In the same way as Chinese artists have for thousands of years. My ethnicity is irrelevant, I was brought up surrounded by Chinese culture and have been involved in it for more than 65 years, so my approach is Chinese even if I am not. Nor does it matter what I paint. It is the importance of finding the essence of the various languages of expression other than the subject matter. It is the abstraction in the inner languages of line, form, colour and texture that is the real meaning of a fully mature artistic tradition and in my theoretical view, Chinese art has been fully mature for more than a thousand years, whereas western art became fully mature only with the recent revolution in the arts.
Lot 7218
《松风吟》
铃印：「水松石山房」「莫」「士撝」
56×34 cm
起拍价：RMB 22,000
英文题识：
Song of Wind-
blown Pines
Inscribed by the Master
of the Water, Pine and
Stone Retreat, 2015.
中文译文：
松风吟。
水松石山房主人 ，
题于 2015年。
Lot 7223
《山灵不寐》
44×32.5 cm
起拍价：RMB 35,000
In the high
places, above
the tree line,
the Mountain Spirit
never sleeps. Clouds and
peaks embrace. Snow mourns
the passing of winter, weeping
into a myriad gorges. Torrents
plunge a thousand feet.
Mountains erode and as
the aeons pass, creak and
crack. Night and day meaninglessly
tick away the moments in a
realm beyond time.
If the petty intelligence
of mortals trod here, it
could, perhaps, grasp
the nature of eternity
in the blinking
of an eye.
Inscribed by the Master
of the Water, Pine and
Stone Retreat at the
Garden at the Edge
of the Universe in the
summer of 2015.
云崖之上，山灵不眠，
云峰相拥处，残雪泣冬，
化作千涧泪，飞瀑坠千仞，
万古蚀骨，嶙峋作响，
昼夜空流转，此境元无时，
若凡夫微智涉足此域，
或可于瞬息间，
窥见永恒真容。
水松石山房主人 ，
宇宙边际·无时之庭，
题于 2025年仲夏。
Q5
我们现在正在介绍本场唯一一件书法作品Lot7215，我刚刚也跟观众们提到之前与您讨论中国古文字的时候，比如讨论甲骨文或者金文，每次我都觉得你有新的进步，我不认为我在您这个年龄能有如此状态。我知道您在发布的视频中已经介绍过如何开启的英文书法创作，现在您能否为我们有些没看过视频的观众再多讲讲您别具一格的英文书法的创作故事？
A5
当我初窥中国绘画堂奥时，便立即领悟到“诗、书、画”三绝的精髓，从此立志要将三者融会于自己的创作之中。然中文非我母语，若要精通汉语以题写诗句，恐需十载寒窗；而欲追摹历代书法大家风骨，更非穷尽一生不能得。何况我曾作为经纪人，与当世诸多书法名家交游甚笃。我深谙此道玄妙，却苦于中文造诣难臻化境，遂转以英文代之。即便如此，我仍耗费十余年光阴，方能在画作中自如融贯这三绝，终得自成一家。
下方为英文问答（上下滑动查看更多）
Q5
Hugh, now we are talking about the only calligraphy of this sale, Question to answers 4, and I just told the audiences when I discuss ancient Chinese character with you, like oracle bone script or bronze script, each time I notice you’ve learned something new and I don’t think I could do the same at your age now. I know you have told the story about how you begin writing English with brush in the video we published, in case now there are audiences haven’t watched the video yet or there might be more stories, could you please tell us more about your distinguishing way of calligraphy and the stories behind this art form?
A5
As soon as I began to understand Chinese painting I grasped the importance of the three perfections of painting, poetry and calligraphy, so I wanted to incorporate them in my own paintings from the start. But I wasn’t fluent enough in Chinese. It would have taken me many years to master the language sufficient to write poetic inscriptions in Chinese and then another lifetime to master calligraphy to match the great Chinese calligraphers – and I was friendly with many of the best living calligraphers as their agent for many years. I understood the art form, I just didn’t have the necessary skills to do it in Chinese at a high enough level, so I did it in English. It still took me a decade or more to become confident in doing so, but it allowed me to incorporate all three perfections in my own painting.
Lot 7215
《问答之疑 · 其四》
67×54.2 cm
起拍价：RMB 14,000
The enquiring
mind asks the
questions.
The knowledgeable
mind answers
the questions.
The wise mind
questions the
answers.
Inscribed by the
Master of the Water,
Pine and Stone Retreat,
In the early Spring, 2019.
探索之心发问，
博识之心作答，
思惟之心疑答。
水松石山房主人，
题于 2019年初春。
Lot 7224
《悟道之杖》
铃印：「水松石山房」「養石閒人」「如如居士」「竹虛老人」「攜杖老人」
56×76 cm
起拍价：RMB 38,000
Old Iron-shirt, the
Empty Valley Hermit
was inaccessible
to the point of being
invisible. But
invisibility is the
realm of the
Realized man
with access to the
realm beyond ego
and individuality,
beyond the dusty
world. We had
been friends for
centuries before
I met him.
He had built his
home in the Purple
Mountains on a
ridge overlooking
ancient pines and
cloud-blessed
peaks.
He was equally
oblivious to, and
expecting my
arrival. In a
timeless realm
plans and duration
are meaningless,
one deals with
an eternal
present. One day,
delving back in to
the Dusty World
in search of some
dumplings and
wine unavailable
in the mountains,
we encountered a
Daoist story-
teller in a wayside
inn who was paying
for his board and
lodging with tales
of local mysteries
and legends.
Most were as shallow
as a puddle of
last-night’s rain
and clearly nonsense,
but when he began
to recount the story
of the Lost Grotto
of Purple Mountain,
an air of authenticity
informed his voice
that silenced the
clatter of the inn.
“It is told,” he said “that in the Han, the Daoist
sage who first came to these mountains as
an eremite, was meditating on a snow-chilled
rock one winter, when he felt himself rising
from the ground, the chill air around him became
benign and he felt a presence bid him follow.
He floated as if on a cloud through gorges of
ancient pines and mist, precipices and
bottomless falls, until he was led to a ledge, quite
inaccessible by foot, where he saw the entrance
to a small cave in front of him. Upon entering there
was a distant glow that seemed no more than a part
of the purple, grey shadows, but sufficiently illuminating
to light his way as a contrast to the utter blackness
of the invisible periphery of the subterranean gloom.
As he approached it, it became brighter, leading him
into a vast grotto of gnarled rock formations dark
and hidden in shadows save for three, dazzling shafts
of light the form of which he could not make out.
As his eyes grew accustomed he saw that each was
a walking staff, the light coming from within. Approaching
the first in awe, the light became more nurturing. Standing
in front of it he heard a voice in his head say ‘Aspiration;
grasp me!’ He did and felt empowered, as if a light had
entered his life that could resolve all his concerns. He
turned to the second and the light grew brighter until,
grasping the staff, he became the light. Only after
an undefined time did her return to his separate
self to recognize that he had achieved Realization.
Finding no further
need for the third
staff, he turned to
leave, but a force
drew him back
and as he reached
out to grasp it he
heard: ‘Integration’
ring through the
grotto. ‘Without
integration, the other
two have no meaning.’”
Most of those in the
Inn were perplexed,
but my friend and
I understood. Seeking
the cave was pointless,
it wasn’t the staves
or the cave that
mattered, it was
the story. Upon
our return, with a
little of the fine
wine from the Inn
and some fresh
supplies, I set
about painting
images of the
purple cave of
the three staves
of enlightenment
– it is part of
integration.
Inscribed by the
Master of the Water,
Pine and Stone
Retreat at the
Garden at the
Edge of the Universe
in the Spring, 2017.
铁衣老者，
中文翻译:
空谷隐士，
行迹难寻，
几近无形。
然无形之境，
正是得道者所居，
超脱自我与个体，
远离尘世。
我与他相识之前，
已是数百年的故交。
他在紫山之巅筑庐，
俯瞰古松云峰。
他既对我的到来浑然不觉，
又似早有预料。
在无时间的领域中，
计划与时长皆无意义，
唯有永恒的当下。
一日，
我们为寻山中难得的饺子与美酒，
重返尘世，
于路旁客栈遇一道家说书人，
他以讲述当地奇闻异事抵偿食宿。
大多故事浅薄如昨夜雨洼，
纯属无稽之谈，
但当他开始讲述紫山失落洞窟的传说时，
语气中的真实感令客栈喧嚣顿息。
“相传，”他说道，
“汉时一位道家高士初至紫山隐居，
某年冬日，
他于寒石上冥想，
忽觉身轻如羽，
寒意消散，
似有指引。
他如乘云般穿越古松幽谷、
悬崖飞瀑，
直至一处人迹难至的岩架，
见一小洞入口。
入内后，
远处微光似紫灰阴影的一部分，
却足以照亮前路，
与四周漆黑地底形成鲜明对比。
近前时，
光渐亮，
引他进入一巨大洞窟，
怪石嶙峋，
隐于暗影，
唯三道光柱璀璨夺目，
形态难辨。
待目力适应，
方见每道光皆为一杖，
光自内发。
他敬畏地走近第一杖，
光愈柔和。
立于其前，
他闻脑中声曰：
‘志也，执我！’
他执杖，
顿觉力量充盈，
如生命注入光明，
可解一切困惑。
他转向第二杖，
光愈亮，
执杖时，
他化为光。
不知几时，
方复归自我，
方知已得道。
见第三杖似无必要，
他欲离去，
却为一股力所引，
伸手执杖时，
闻声回荡洞中：
‘融也。
无融，
前二者皆无意义。’”
客栈里的大多数人都感到困惑但我与友人却心领神会。寻找洞穴毫无意义，
重要的不是手杖或洞穴
而是这个故事。
归山时，
带着客栈里的佳酿与新鲜食材.我开始绘制紫山洞窟和三根悟道手杖的图像-这也是“融”的一部分。
水松石山房主人，宇宙边际+无名之庭，题于 2017年春。
Q6
在中国古代绘画中，“形意之变”通常在于造型之变，而你的作品中颜色也在变化，比如最后一件Lot7225 “壶中天地”就是个很好的例子，您在绘画奇石时经常会使用朱砂红、蓝、绿色替代水墨的黑、灰色，能否请您告知我们这种超现实奇思创作背后的含义？
A6
我以为，在水墨传统中，艺术家所感知与表达的意义、观者以创造性共鸣所进入的意境，皆在线条、形态、色彩与质感的抽象语言中完成蜕变。传统中，墨分五色，可代万象。但关键在于，真正成熟的艺术传统里，从无桎梏创作的戒律，唯有从创作中自然生发的法度；正因如此，我在探索视觉艺术语言时毫无拘束。
下方为英文问答（上下滑动查看更多）
Q6
Hugh, in ancient Chinese paintings, the transformation occurs mainly in form, while yours also happens in colors, our last Lot7225 ‘Gourd Heaven’ would be a good example. You frequent use of cinnabar, blue and green to replace the black, grey ink in portraying rocks. Could you let us know more about the significance behind this surreal fantasy?
A6
I think in the ink-painting tradition the transformation, the meaning that the artist perceives and expresses and the audience enters into creatively in response, occurs in all the inner languages, in form, line, colour and texture. In the tradition ink was considered to be the equivalent of endless colours. But the important point here is that in a fully mature artistic tradition there are no rules that govern art, only those that arise out of it, so I felt no inhibitions about exploring the potential of any of the languages of visual art. But also the underlying essence of my creative exploration is all to do with self-realization, with inner alchemy, neidan, with the Dao and once one enters that state the world of dust, the stage of time is left behind and you become immortal, beyond time while painting. Beyond the stage of time there are no rules either, so no-one stands over your shoulder and says ‘you can’t paint rocks red, or blue, or whatever.’ The red rocks came about since the whole process is alchemical, and an important element in physical alchemy is cinnabar, so I decided to paint strange stones with shades of brilliant red colour. From that to painting them in any other colour I fancied was an obvious step.
《太初》
铃印：「水松石山房」
55×74 cm
起拍价：RMB 32,000
英文题识：
Before the
world was formed
a primordial
stone floated
timelessly across
the river of stars.
Perhaps was formed even before the
universe. Perhaps it is…… Perhaps it
looked a little like this. Imagining…..
Inscribed by
the Master of
the Water,
Pine and Stone
Retreat at
the Garden
at the Edge
of the Universe
in the Summer of 2019.
中文译文：
天地未形之时，有一太初之石，
无始无终地漂浮于星辰之河，
或许它在宇宙诞生之前就已存在
或许……
或许……它的模样与此石略似，
试想……
水松石山房主人，
宇宙边际·无名之庭，
题于 2019年夏。
Lot 7225
《壶中天地》
铃印：「水松石山房」「石石狂」「墨者不朽」「竹虛老人」「養石閒人」
250×124 cm
起拍价：RMB 220,000
No Chinese garden is complete without
monumental strange stones. Like those
in the studio they allow the adept to
mind-wander at will transcending the
distinction between micro- and macro-
cosm as a metaphor for, and a path
towards the transformation of consciousness.
Gardens are also known as ‘Gourd
Heavens’ based on the belief that Daoist
adepts, or any transcendentalist, can
step into the realm of the gourd,
beyond the World of Dust at will
and enter a limitless, alternate realm
of existence. The idea is an ancient
one first recorded in the History of
the Later Han. There is recounted
the tale of a Daoist known as the
‘Gourd Master’, a healer who sold
his medicines in the marketplace
everyday and at sunset would disappear
into his gourd. The Market Office
saw him do this on several occasions
and, realizing that he was no ordinary
person, decided to befriended him.
One day the old herbalist
invited him to join him at
dusk and follow him into
the gourd. Once inside
everything changed. The
confinement of the little
gourd was gone; a magical,
infinite landscape with a
series of wondrous buildings
lay before him. There the
herbalist was, we are told,
attended by dozens of
retainers. He explained that
he was an immortal, one who
had stepped beyond the
Stage of Time. Han
historians were unable to
manage this concept without
adding a human dimension,
so they embellished it with
a rather Confucian touch of
the master being surrounded
by retainers to indicate a
continuing hierarchy of power
and responsibility. In a
transcendent realm of
reality beyond hierarchies
any such distinctions all
evaporate, but they provide
comfort for the uninitiated.
The story explained that the master
had disgraced himself among the
Immortals – as if that were possible
- through the inadequacies of his
subordinates – as if they would have
existed - and been returned to the
mundane world as a punishment
– as if that were appropriate amongst
immortals. The same transmutation
hinted at by this legend is aimed
at in the underlying goal of alchemy,
and ultimately in the underlying
purpose of art, so painting an
impossible stone of the alchemical
mineral cinnabar seems an
appropriate way to create a
metaphor for the metaphor.
Inscribed by the Master
of the Water, Pine and Stone
Retreat at the Garden
at the Edge of the Universe
in the New Year of 2016,
surrounded by strange
无奇石不成园。
园中奇石，一如画室供石，
令高士神游物外，超越微观与宏观的界限。
既是意识转化的隐喻，也是通往这一境界的路径。
园亦名「壶天」，盖因道家高士或超然者，
可随意步入壶中，超脱尘世，入无垠异境。
这一观念源远流长，最早记载于《后汉书》。
书载一「壶公」，日市药于市，暮辄入壶。
一官员多次目睹此事，意识到他并非凡人，便与他结交。
一天，壶公邀请这位官员在黄昏时随他进入壶中。
一入壶中，景象全然不同：
壶内的狭小空间消失了，眼前是一片神奇无垠的仙境，
琼楼玉宇，延绵不绝。
壶公身边有数十名侍从，他自称是「谪仙」，已超脱时间的限制。
然而，汉代史家难以理解这种境界，便以儒家礼数加以修饰，
描述壶公被侍从环绕，以示权力与责任的等级秩序。
实则超然之境，何来等级之别？但这种描述能让普通人感到安心。
故事还解释说，壶公因下属的无能而在仙人中蒙羞，
仿佛这真的可能，并被贬回凡间作为惩罚。
仿佛仙人之间会有这种惩罚。
此传说所寓之化境，实为炼丹术之终极追求，亦为艺术之根本旨趣。
故绘此丹砂奇石，恰可为喻中之喻。
水松石山房主人，
沐手焚香，奇石环绕，
题于 2016年新岁。
Q7
我的同事想请问您和一些旅居海外的重要当代艺术家的关系如何？以及他们曾如何影响了您的艺术创作？
A7
为众多现代水墨与书法大师担任经纪人的经历，对我的艺术成长至关重要。记得1970年代我曾请教王季迁参悟中国画之道，他只答一字：“画”。于是我提笔就画，此后数十载，我不断造访诸位大师：观摩程十发作画，与傅狷夫论艺，与方召麐、李华弌、刘丹等名家合作创作。这段机缘殊胜非常，而我亦珍藏诸家真迹，至今仍沐浴在他们的艺术智慧之中。尤其难忘的是，曾见证方召麐与刘国松经年累月创作巨制的场景，那是我生命中最珍贵的艺术启蒙。
下方为英文问答（上下滑动查看更多）
Q7
My colleague is going to ask you about your relationship with some important contemporary ink artists, and how they influence you and your creativity.
A7
Acting as agent for so many masters of modern ink painting and calligraphy was vitally important to my own development in creativity. It was Wang Jiqian who when I asked him how best to understand Chinese painting in the 1970s replied in one word ‘Paint’. So I did, then for decades I would visit the artists, watch them paint, discuss theory with them, and often do joint works with people, including Ho Huai-shuo, Tong Yang-tz’u, Fang Zhaoling, Li Huayi and Liu Dan, amongst others. It was an extraordinary opportunity and as I also collected their works to keep for myself, I was, and remain, surrounded by their lessons and understanding. Watching Fang Zhaoling and Liu Kuo-sung painting major works over long periods of time were amongst the most treasured experiences of my life.
Lot 7204
《十二灵杖小像 · 其二》
69×6 cm
刘国松订制纸水墨、水彩，裱于宣纸
起拍价：RMB 7,000
‘Reliable’
was as constant
as the
mountains
and as
wise as the Sage.
A Little Likeness of
Twelve Famous
Energy Staves no. 2.
Inscribed by the
Master of the
Water, Pine and
Stone Retreat, ‘15
「信」者，
如山之恒，似圣之明。
《十二灵杖小像》其二。
水松石山房主人，
题于 2015年。
Lot 7206
《十二灵杖小像·其八》
铃印：「水松石山房」「士撝」
69×6 cm
刘国松订制纸水墨、水彩，裱于宣纸
起拍价：RMB 7,000
英文题识：
The staff
known by
the name
‘Troublesome’
seemed to
carry with it
a personal halo
of confidence.
It was never
less than exciting,
but needed a
lot of coaxing
and encouraging.
A Little Likeness
of Twelve Famous
Energy Staves
no. 8. Inscribed
by the Master
of the Water,
Pine and Stone
Retreat 2015.
中文译文：
灵杖名「扰」，气质傲然，
与之相伴，不乏激荡，
然需谆谆劝诱，方能驯服。
《十二灵杖小像》其八。
水松石山房主人，
题于 2015年。
Q8
如同现在展示的这副尺寸硕大的红石头作品，剪裁创作是您引入到水墨创作中的创新之举，据我理解这可以说是“形意之变”的一重理解。剪裁的过程有一种仪式感和美感再塑，就如同一块奇石隐匿在纸中，而您具有发现它的慧眼，这是我理解的另一重“形意之变”，不知道准确与否？
A8
剪裁创作的兴起源于两个缘由。其一，这赋予我全新的绘画表现方式：既能精准掌控画面，又可在一幅作品中融合不同质地的纸张。譬如，在云龙宣或刘国松特制粗纤维宣纸上描绘奇石，墨色尤显生动；而题跋钤印，则仍以传统宣纸为佳。剪裁技法更赋予我修改石形的自由，有时正如你所言，能直接在已有墨迹的平面纸张上重塑整块山石。这无疑为图像创作开辟了另重天地。
下方为英文问答（上下滑动查看更多）
Q8
Hugh, like the big red rock exhibiting here, the scissor work is a very innovative aspect you bring into the tradition of ink painting, it’s part of the transmutation from my understanding. And the process of cut-off leads to sense of ritual and a form of beauty. It’s like the strange rock is hidden in the painted flat paper and you’ve got the eye to discover it. This is the other part of transmutation of your art. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
A8
Scissor work arose for two reasons. The first was that it gave me a whole new means of creating a painting, greater control, and the ability to use different papers in the same work. Strange stones, for instance, are often more exciting to paint on textured cotton papers, such as Cloud Dragon paper, or Liu Kuo-sung’s special paper with large fibres at the surface, while inscriptions, seals etc. are often better on xuan paper. The scissorwork also allowed me the luxury of editing and changing the shape of the stone, sometimes, as you suggest, creating the entire stone afresh out of a flat sheet of paper with ink and colour markings already there. It provided an additional and powerful means of creating images. The second reason was my love of handscrolls. Traditionally a long handscroll is achieved by joining sheets of paper vertically and pretending that the paper was continuous. Because of scissorwork in other paintings, it occurred to me to create handscrolls by overlapping sheets after using scissors to emphasize mountins and ridges. It astonished me that no-one had ever done this before, as far as I could see, as it seemed such an obvious way to achieve a more intriguing result. It also allowed me to create handscrolls from large rectangular paintings, often the way I arrived at finished handscrolls.
Lot 7214
《愚石洞天 青隐十方天石 · 其六》
65×65 cm
起拍价：RMB 20,000
The Azure Hermit believed that crystalline grottoes were earthy
reflections of celestial origins, still sparkling with the fierce
energy of the stars. Like all mystics, he associated grottoes
and caves with the transcendent realm: he saw them
as portals, even if only metaphorically. Inscribed by
the Master of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat, December 2014.
青崖隐者笃信，晶石洞窟乃天界本源映照于尘世，
至今犹迸射星辰炽烈之芒。如所有开悟之士，
他将洞天幽穴视作超然之境，纵使仅为隐喻，亦是通幽之门。
水松石山房主人，
题于 2014年12月。
20TH ANNIVERSARY