在经济快速发展的当下，中国艺术如何获得更大范围、更广领域、更高层次的发展，如何在博大精深的中华民族璀璨文化滋养下孕育出代表时代风貌、引领时代风气的艺术精品，是需要社会各界合力完成的时代命题。“文艺是时代前进的号角，最能代表一个时代的风貌，最能引领一个时代的风气”。深圳经济特区是改革开放的前沿阵地，改革开放四十年来不仅创造了经济发展的奇迹，同时也在不断创造着文化发展的奇迹。深圳“大芬国际油画双年展”（以下简称“大芬双年展”）的诞生是深圳吹响文艺前行的响亮号角，高举改革开放再出发旗帜的又一次文化盛事。

 

“大芬双年展”是目前除北京国际美术双年展之外，中国美协唯一与地方政府联合主办的国际大型油画双年展。充分体现了中国美术家协会对深圳这座具有改革开放特色城市的信赖和器重。深圳有着举办国家级大型艺术展览活动的坚实基础，2012年至2018年，大芬油画村已成功举办了六届“全国中青年油画展”，得到美术界的良好口碑，特别是2016年在中国美术馆举行的精品展获得了业内的广泛赞誉。相信“大芬双年展”这一蓬勃诞生的艺术品牌将有利于推动和繁荣中国油画的创作活动，提升中国油画的国际影响力，为中外美术交流事业发挥独特的作用。

 

首届“大芬双年展”在艺术广度上凸显了国际性和多元性这一特质，在艺术深度上专注于学术性和艺术精神内涵的探究，强调文化并没有高低优劣，提倡“共生共荣”“和谐共处”“完善融合”。在中国美术家协会、深圳市委宣传部、深圳市文联和深圳龙岗区的共同努力下，展览组委会的征稿工作进展顺利，所收到作品的数量、质量及国际参与度都令人欣喜。此次首届大芬国际油画双年展组委会以“开放与融合”为主题，对外共征集到65个国家及地区2651位艺术家的油画作品，是目前国内参与国家最多的国际油画双年展。这是一个很好的契机，在多元、开放并不断变化的国际文化语境下，让艺术经验所拥有的丰富性、复杂性与多变性，为人类精神创造的可能性开启了更为广阔的维度。

 

此次展览展出作品题材多样、内容丰富，有对人生百态的感悟与再现，有对社会历史的反思与研判，有对自然山川的赞美与敬畏，有对生命力量的讴歌与颂扬……这些都是展览主题的广泛维度的表达。这些作品的具体表现，从中可以看出当今世界油画始终关注当下、关注现实的积极状态。在表现形式上，既有写实、表现、装饰、抽象、现实主义等油画艺术语言，也有中国写意手法的借鉴融合，还有新材料、新媒介的创新应用，充分体现了当代艺术家探索创新的精神。

 

希望“大芬双年展”能进一步发挥深圳毗邻港澳以及对接海外前沿地带的窗口和桥梁作用，能够引领艺术工作者们以广阔的视角探究如何能够在保持本土特色的前提下，不断吸引海内外优秀艺术家参与进来，与国际文化及世界艺术对话和交融，吸收优秀外来艺术观念和表现形式，为深圳这座年轻而充满活力的城市再添艺术魅力，进而促进中国美术的不断繁荣和兴盛。

 

At present, with rapid economic development, how Chinese art can develop in a wider range, a more extensive field and in a higher level; and how it can breed fine works of art that can represent and lead the features and trends of times in the nourishment of the profound and splendid Chinese culture; it is a proposition that needs the collective efforts from all sectors of society. “Literature and art are the horns of progressiveness of the times, which can best represent the features of an era and lead the trends of an era.” Shenzhen Special Economic Zone is the frontier of the Reform and Opening-up. In the past 40 years of Reform and Opening-up, it has not only created a miracle of economic development, but it is also constantly creating a miracle of cultural development. The birth of Shenzhen “Dafen International Oil Painting Biennale” (hereinafter referred to as “Dafen Biennale”) is another great cultural event in which Shenzhen blows the horn of literary art and holds up the banner of reform and development.

 

The “Dafen Biennale” is currently the only international large-scale oil painting biennale jointly held by the China Artists Association and local government apart from the Beijing International Art Biennale. It fully embodies the trust and appreciation of the China Artists Association on Shenzhen, a city with the features of Reform and Opening-up. Shenzhen has a solid foundation for holding large-scale national art exhibitions. From 2012 to 2018, Dafen Oil Painting Village has successfully held six “National Youth and Middle-aged Oil Painting Exhibitions”, which has won great reputation in the arts circle, especially the exhibition held in 2016 at the National Art Museum of China winning widespread acclaim in the field. We believe that “Dafen Biennale”, a blooming art brand, will further promote and prosper the creative activities of Chinese oil painting, further enhance the international influence of Chinese oil painting, and play a unique role in the cause of art exchange between China and foreign countries.

 

The first “Dafen Biennale” will highlight the characteristics of internationality and diversity in the breadth of art, and concentrate on the exploration of academic and artistic spirit in the depth of art. China emphasizes that culture does not have high or low, good or bad, and it emphasizes “symbiosis and common prosperity”, “harmonious coexistence” and “complete integration”. Under the collective efforts of China Artists Association, Publicity Department of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and Shenzhen Longgang District; the solicit contributions of the Organizing Committee has gone well, receiving a large number of works with high quality from various countries. The Organizing Committee decided that the theme of the first Dafen International Biennale to be “Opening-up and Integration”, and has received oil painting contributions of 2651 artists from 65 countries and regions. It is currently an international biennale participated by most countries in China. This is a good opportunity to open up a wider range of possibilities for human spiritual creation with the richness, complexity and variability of artistic experience under the diverse, open and ever-changing international cultural context.

 

These works in this exhibition are of various themes and rich contents, some for the understanding and reappearances of life, some for reflections and judgments on social history, some for praises and respects for natural landscapes, and some for songs and praises for the power of life, all of which are the expressions of the broad dimensions of the exhibition theme. The specific performance of these works can reflect positive attitude that oil paintings always pay attention to the current world and reality. In the pattern of manifestation, there are not only oil painting art languages such as realism, performance, decoration, abstraction, and realism, but also the reference of Chinese freehand brushwork, as well as the innovative application of new materials and new media, which fully reflects the exploration and innovation spirit of contemporary artists.

 

We hope that the “Dafen Biennale” will further play a role of Shenzhen as a window and bridge adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao and docking overseas frontiers. And it shall lead artists to explore and keep attracting foreign and domestic outstanding artists from a broad perspective, to exchange and blend with international culture and world art and to absorb outstanding foreign artistic concepts and expressions while maintaining local characteristics. Therefore, it adds artistic fascination to young and vibrant Shenzhen, and further promotes the continuous prosperity of Chinese art.

 

序二/Foreword II