Mi Li

Expression： Individualized viewpoint

At that time， there was a bright sun in the sky. At that time， you walked among the crowd toward an unknown distance to chase the sun. As time went by， there was only the roar of wind from all directions left in the ears and in your heart. You walked in the wind to the deep mountain and to the deep night， and then all sounds would settle in your dreams. In this sudden silent， you could unexpectedly capture the secret of heart…

When a life flows to a certain stage， people will stop pursuing external matters anxiously and begin to inquire about their inner demands， because various realizations in life depends on the spiritual enlightenment. In the journey coming near to the classical spirit and interest of life， the post-70s and post-80s live in elsewhere. They ponder their inwardness in the space of emotional aesthetics. They reject those large but impractical or stereotyped public themes and creative concepts. They rely on their heats and establish a microcosmic and individualized narrative pattern. “From their works， we can see the mode they experience reality and their initial understanding of choosing ‘person as the theme of painting… Sometimes， their point of view on life is fairly vivid and unique” （Fan Dian）.

The most intensive and authentic life experience is the unexhausted original impetus of the post-70s and post-80s artists in artistic creation. Day and night， moment and eternity， uproariousness and silence， creation and destruction…When the well of heart is dug layer by layer， those under-flowing， writhen， faint and luxuriant spring water will wet the dry and be woven into the net of affections. Therefore， by throwing the deepness and complications away and giving the obsessed investigation on meanings up， the post-70s and post-80s artists get rid of the form of brush-pen and ink and devote to the artistic creation with their personal ideal and living condition. Besides， they also try to show us the world they care about with fabulous colors.

Such creations are as if the bright mirror， which reflects both the universe and itself. “When understanding someones spiritual life， poetic imagination and fiction are often truer than realism.”（Seasons of Life， Zhou Ning） By picking up the pieces of brush-pen and ink paintings of the post-70s and post-80s that were， we restore the castle of their heart. Unique life experience and insights on life are foundations of the castle. Every tile therein has a different color. Dense and winding ravines carry and absorb different cultural genes and condense them into abundant recognizable texture. However， the breathing climbs like the vines and fills the whole space， dancing under consumerism and hedonism image， and surging up the loneliness and wandering to the constantly changing and materialized world. The childhood of the post-70s and post-80s， together with the house they lived， the native soil they played with and the cradle where they dreamt， was buried to the time. But it will never fade， since it has been left in the life written with poetry， and shredded， together with the realization for reality and vision for the future， to the unrestrained brush-pen and ink painting world. Recalling， meditation， pondering， even nervousness and daydream become the roles that are no longer avoided by the world. With self-expression as the core， in their paintings， the post-70s and post-80s began to present the image in their mind in a multi-level and multi-dimension manner， and form different features in artistic concept， graphic mode， aesthetic style and visual interest to present the faction of “realm of individual”.

With “my” eyes to find the abundant poetry in every tree and bush and every sunshine and shade， the paintings of the post-70s and post-80s looked particularly fresh and moving because of their support for personal inner heart and respect for interest and charm of life. The intensive spring came from the warm wind， the verdancy， the flowing stream， and the blossoming flowers； the bleak autumn is the bright moon， the light frost， the falling leaves， and the swallow sound under the eave further away. In the endless long history， every life was present vividly， leaped to bloom layers of spoondrifts which blended together into eternity that touched the heart. Excluding utopian grand narration and heroic complex， the post-70s and post-80s paid attention to the daily living condition and experience. They depicted the people around and the objects they saw from popularization perspective to arouse peoples memory and joyfulness for plain and true life from the origin. Even if those were just history， they would be transformed into lively details in their paintings. In their opinion， life is full filled with historical factors， and life itself is the most loyal presentation of history. “When you are honest with all good and bad experiences during your life and all knowledge and skills gained from various fields， and try to understand the position of own culture and works in the history from macroscopic perspective， you can show the sense of the times and create own unique vocabulary naturally” （Post-80s artist Jian Zhigang）. By walking inwards and recovering the true nature， the post-70s and post-80s artists allow the viewers to find themselves in their works. Whether be joyful or sad， it is a beautiful world leaving flaunt， vanity and intentional modification. It， faces the complex life， sticks close to the rich soul， transforms life to artistic conception and takes life as the brush-pen and ink so that it is fresh and flexible， everlasting and eternal.

The real art is the difficult and noble cause dedicated to the minority， the raging fire refining humanity， and the excellent echo from heart. It excluded the lifeless and empty cry， refused the self-comforting spiritual emptiness and let alone bare fuss that just plays tricks. How to deal with contemporary theme and expose contemporary atmosphere with brushpen and ink painting while keeping the self awareness to noumenon of painting and the freedom of individual narration will become the subject sought by the post-70s and post-80 artists diligently. Individualization of brush-pen and ink painting was not in regard to privacy but in regard to exploring the depth of soul. With respect to viewing life from microcosmic perspective， the post-70s and post-80s artists didnt fall in the vortex of daily experience to mutter in the specific description of certain event and character. What they adhered to is the vivid presentation of life state. Although the fable-like expression way seemed indirect and vague sometimes， the viewers will find the deepest introspection and thought， the most keenly felt joy and sorrow and the truest commitment in their paintings when they were addicted to them.