徐晓燕在搬到索家村工作室后，系列作品《辉煌》的绘画风格格在持续了一个左右开始有所变化。《辉煌》系列作品取材于玉米地，画面视野开阔，充满了枯黄的色调，颜色的凝重与油画刮刀所表现出的肌理的厚重感直接刺激着观画者的情绪，画者借助作品表现自己对大地无穷生命力的热爱以及对自然的索拜和礼赞。依照我个人的感受，理所当然地会将她的这些作品归属于画家“正常”的思难方式。而目前徐晓燕新的系列作品，题材则转向城市的废弃地带，将垃圾堆或荒废的臭水沟作为画面的主体，而将欣欣向荣的、正在快速发展的城市以配角的位置编排在画面远处的地平线上。与徐晓燕前期作品着力描写广阔的大地形世鲜明的对比，画家现在的视角有了一百八十度的转变，她逐渐对将目光从主流的广袤腹地转向了更为深远“边缘地带”，我又以为这属于“另类”的思维方式，这种状态从某种角度上来说，十分契合现在中国城市向现代化发避孕药的奇异现象。徐晓燕的作品直截了当地将自己与现实的关系缩到最短的距离。

　　“中心”与“边缘”的对比观念在徐晓燕的系列新作中表现得极为强烈，仿佛作者正站在城市边缘向所谓的中心眺望，或是随意地环顾脚下的城市废弃物和同曹环境。当下艺术中，以垃圾为主题的作品并不少见，但多是以近景的微观角度刻画或戏虐的方来表现（如以垃圾组成书法、以超写寮的表现技法对自然垃圾细腻描绘等），而徐晓燕的作品则有所不同。大凡画家皆善用笔，徐晓燕则独善“使刀”——油刀，这在中国当代油画家中也属“另类范畴。在这些新作中，她采用交为传统的绘画手法，将垃圾堆至于优美的风景之中，进行整体的描绘，景物在清晰与模糊，具象与抽象之间，这种创作手法—方面使零散纷乱的主体变得厚重强烈而极具冲击感，另一方面也是她一贯的绘画风格的延续，在这些作品中，《望京街》和《大望京》是极具代性的，也是极为精彩的两件作品，作品画面基本采用了自我式的构图方法，近景的垃圾堆自然是作为画面的主体出现，而如山的城市废弃物颜色依然绚烂，物体原有的真实面貌似是而非，幻化成了具有象征意义的色块儿，强烈刺眼，那睦红色甚至有睦血腥 ，老旧的排水沟中泛出死水的臭味，蚊虫孳生，在死寂中展示着昨日的辉煌，使观者联想起她的另一件新作《草场地2号》中，那虽然用纯净的粉绿画成的河水表面灿烂，但内里早己腐败不堪，失去了往日的生机。现代化的城市建筑群被作为背景挤压在画面上方，或作为透视点的消失线而存。《大望京》中的楼群更是被表现成具有纪念碑式的象征意义，灰暗的颜色与近景的垃圾堆形成对比，更是加深了这种意义的存在，那是对过往的一种祭奠和怀念，这正是她所表现相同题材的不同之处，在这些新作中，我们能够深深体会到生命——腐朽——重获新生，这一带有宿命式轮回的意义。这些作品虽不敢说是空前绝后，但也称得上是画家的一种”另类见识。

　　可以肯定地说，这些新作的灵感来源于画家工作室的周边环境。北京的城乡结合是一个相当奇妙的区域，也是极具当代中国特色的地方：它们大多处于城市不断扩张，乡村不断萎缩的移动的临界线上，很多景象瞬间生成而又瞬间消失，腐败和新生不断彼此侵入，混乱与秩序相互穿插，这里的人们生活在落后与文明的矛盾之间。如果说《辉煌》是画家站在高处审视生命的意义，对土地有着刻骨的深沉感情，那么，《望京街》等系列新作，则是以平视的角度，近距离地观察，然后由将其A入一个大的背景当中，作品不仅保留了历史的沉重感，还添加了些许调侃的味道，而戏虐的成份在沉重的气氛里显得微不足道，对这种尺度的拿捏则是她新作中的最为精彩之处，从而昭示出画家对于社会的责任感，她的作品拉近了与现实生活的距离，真实地体现了现代化对我们来说，近在咫尺而又遥不可及的感受，也同样真实地反映了我们这具令人兴奋而又沮丧的，飞速变化的大时代。

　　另外说一句，我以为当代艺术家的作品与艺术家气质的比例状态大工业抵可以分为两个极端，一种是艺术家气质大于作品，他们更加注重艺主家的身份认证，力图做到让人一望便知他们是艺术家，为艺术可以奉献一切，大喜大悲皆形于色，始终要与普通人保持着生活上的区别，频繁出没于各种艺术社交场所，以期寻找机会。他们的风格样式一旦小有特色（实际上根本不足为奇）在得到认可后，便又一发而不可收拾，无穷无尽地重复下去，或进采用拿来主义的方法拼凑出自己的作品，沾沾自喜，以为原创，实际上是为了攫取更多的商业利益，从这方面也可以解释为什么如此众多而且提倡个性化的中国当代艺术，逐渐把注力集中在光头、游泳、洗澡，或不着边际的傻笑面孔等几个样板模式，因为作为商中吕它们如同其市场的交流中，A售并不费力制作的各个景点都有的纪念品，现时的利益让所有的人感受轻松愉悦，没有必要再带来使命感和社会责任感地去思考问题，毕竟我们处在一个经济发展至上，笑贫不笑娼的时代，轻松生活又何乐而不为。与之相反，第二种艺术的生活状态似乎更像个社会底层的匠人，他们将所有的时间和精力放在自己的作品上，作品丰富，生活简单，很少抛头露面，更不善于在当下艺术的大潮中自由穿梭，他们所有的艺术主张和生活感受，都要通过自己的作品来表明，除此以外别无他法，这些作品往往并非当下艺术的主注样式，可称为“另类”和边缘的味道，依照我本人的态度，徐晓燕肯定属于第二种创作态度的艺术家。我并不主张将艺术家武断地归为哪类人群，从而断定哪种生存态度的正确性，也仅是腊写几个字的机会，将自己敏感的想法冒味地说出来，作为一种自我的反思，就如同我们从不同的角度去寻找中心的城市、中心的家园、中心的人物，其实不过都是寻找最安全的地方和安全的依靠，令人温暖而又可以放松的地方，哪怕是表面的，也一定是我们的中心，当城市不定全了，谁又能够说我们是站在边缘的人群呢。

THE “ALIERNATIENESS” OF XU XIAOYAN，S PAINTINGS

LU PENG

　　Since Xu Xiaoyan moved her studio to Suojiacun, the style of her “Glory” series, which had remained constant for about a year, has begun to change, with corn fields as its subject, the “Glory” series features a wide view dominated by a drying yellow; both the solemn colors and rugged texture created by the palette knife tend to stimulate the senses of spectators. The painter is expressing her boundless love of the earth and genuine worship and admiration for nature, which, as far as I am concerned, should automatically be categorized as products of the artist’s “conventional” thinking. In her new paintings, however, Xu Xiaoyan has turned to the portrayal of the deserted land on the fringe of urban area; heaps of garbage and stinking canals are put in the front and center while the prosperous, fast-growing city is banished to decorate the horizon. As a departure from the vast open country persistently depicted in her early works, Xu Xiaoyan has managed a drastic shift of focus, virtually a complete volte-face. The artist has turned her eyes from the mainstream of far-flung hinterland onto the more meaningful “fringe zone”, Such a way of thinking, which I deem “alternative”, is a perfect echo of she strangeness in the modernization of cities across China. In a most straightforward manner, Xu Xiaoyan,s paintings have minimized the distance between reality and herself.

　　The contrast between “center” and “fringe” has found a vehement expression in the recent works of Xu Xiaoyan; it seems that the artist is looking at the so-called center from the fringe of urban area, occasionally casting a casual glance at the waste under her feet. The contemporary art of China is not lacking in works themed on themed on garbage. But they mostly take a microscopic or sarcastic approach, such as calligraphy works composed of pieces of garbage or surrealist depiction of natural waste. Xu Xiaoyan,s paintings are different. While most painters use brushes, Xu Xiaoyan prefers the knife, whih is quite an “alternative” tool among China’s contemporary oil painters. In her recent works, she has employed relatively conventional techniques; garbage was set in the picturesque scenery for a fascination composition. As a result, the imagery, both concrete and abstract, was shifting in and out of focus. Effectively unifying the discrete elements for a shocking portrayal, that approach was a continuation of her past style. “Wangjing Street” and “Great Wangjing”, the most representative of those works, are simply remarkable piles at the foreground the dominant element; although the mountains of urban waste exhibit a vived palette, the original appearances appearances have been broken down into symbolic garish patches of glaring colors with the red appearing somewhat gory. The ancient gutters send out the disgusting smell of stinking water to attract flies and mosquitoes, mocking the past glory now invaded by deadliness. It reminds the viewers of another recent work by the artist. In the painting titled “Gaochangdi,No.2” the water surface is painted in a pure pinkish green to indicate the decay and death underneath, and the high-rise building of the modernized city are squeezed to the upper background in the distance. In “Great Wangjing”, the high-rise buildings have been given a symbolism; they were made to look like a forest of monuments to the past, which was enhanced by the contrast between the grayish color of the buildings and the garbage heaps in the foreground. Such remembrance of the past of the past is what distinguishes Xu Xiaoyan,s treatment of the common theme. Those recent works are leading us to experience the process from birth to decay to re-birth, like a preordained cycle. These paintings may not be immortal, but certainly they point to an “alternative” outlook on the part of the artist.

　　Doubtless, these recent works were all inspired by the surroundings near the artist’s studio. The fringe of urban Beijing, a fascinating piece of land, is most typical of contemporary China. As the city keeps expanding to push back the countryside, many spectacles are presenting themselves and disappearing within an instant. On the fringe of urban Beijing where decay and re-birth, chaos and order exist side by side, people are caught in the dilemma of backwardness and civilization. If the “Glory” series can be seen as the artist’s detached comment on the meaning of life and expression of her profound affections for the earth, her recent works such as “Wangjing Street” are the artist’s close examination of life against the social environment as someone involved in it. Retaining the historical gravity, these paintings also display a measure of cynicism, which, however, is hardly visible against the solemn atmosphere. Such discretion which is the most exceptional about these new works, reveals the artist’s awareness of social responsibility. Pulling us closer to her reality of life, Xu Xiaoyan,s paintings clarify the elusive impact that modernization is having on all of us. They are a faithful representation of the fast-changing era which both thrills and disappoints us.

　　In my opinion, contemporary artists in China roughly fall into two groups in terms of their approaches to art. The first group puts a greater emphasis on their identity as artists instead of the quality of their paintings. They deck themselves out so that people cannot ignore the fact that they are artists; they are prepared to do anything that can set them apart from the multitude. Wearing exaggerated expressions of either grief or ecstasy, they will frequent any social events involving fine art to seek opportunities. Once they gain some recognition for the distinctiveness of their style. Which is often nothing to be marvel at. they would exhaust it through endless conniving and reproduction. Some of them shamelessly throw together elements of various foreign arts for a so-called original style of their own. which actually is nothing but another means for them to seek financial gains. That explains why China’s contemporary art.

　　Which used to stress diversity and individuality, has gradually shifted its attention to a umber of stereotypes like the shaved head, swimming, bathing, and irrelevant simpering. As marketable commodities, those stereotypes promise good profits and demand no hard work: artists are ready to accost their prospective clients to peddle those souvenirs of artworks, which are easily manufactured in large quantities. The financial reward makes everyone happy and contented, and the sense of mission and social responsibility are now regarded as dispensable. After all, there’s nothing wrong with living an easy life, as the obsession with financial success has made even prostitution seem an almost noble profession. In contrast, the other group of artists pursues a lifestyle that resembles that of ordinary, obscure craftspeople. Devoting all their time and energy to creating a highly diverse body of work, they prefer simplicity and avoid the public life. Instead of propagating fanciful whims to impress the culture vulture vultures, they resort to no other medium to express their thoughts on art and experiences of life than their works, which are mostly outside of the artistic mainstream and often regarded as “alternative”. But the richness both in form and content never fails to fascinate serious art lovers, who will recognize the artistic value of their works through informed appreciation.

　　Both in terms of techniques and subject matter, Xu Xiaoyan,s recent works are typically “alternative” and nonconforming. Personally, I’m stempted to put Xu Xiaoyan into the second category. In fact, I am against the arbitrary practice of grouping artists in various categories and thereby pass moral judgment on their attitudes toward art. My aim of writing this essay is simply to state some thoughts and feelings that have touched me, like a process of selfreflection. The center of the city, homeland, and humanity that we have been untiringly seeking is actually a safe place that we can rely on. The center we seek is actually just a place that will accept and refresh us, or that just seems to accept afford to judge whether we are living on the fringe or not?