谢艾格
作陶原本想定位成爱好，如今亦成了我的职业，由此对它存有几分崇敬，几分无奈。陶的朴实与憨厚，玲珑与秀美浸润着我的心灵，我为自己拥有这份做陶的真实而深感荣幸。玩陶是一种心境，一种生活方式，是手、心灵与泥的交流艺术。他可以是朋友，可以是爱人，也可以是敌人，只要你愿意与他在一起分享那份快乐与忧伤。如果你们是无话不谈的好朋友，你不必对它隐藏什么，也不必故做姿态，敞开心扉、真心诚意的说，或者是心灵深处的冲动、思绪，它都默默的接受，深深的沟通。不用担心他会泄密而给你带来麻烦，也不用担心他会讥笑或指责你的想法，他就是这样单纯而细腻。
“历史的思考”
我喜爱做人物，有时真是停不下来，而且创作的作品大多是朴实憨厚、平凡粗旷的形象。我本来学历史就学得不好，也不太喜欢学，所以对二三十年代的上海历史及文化了解得并不是很多，而知道的东西多是从书本上翻来的，或者是从上海朋友交往中感受来的。但我很喜欢上海，也喜欢上海人，也许至今还有很多人对上海人有这样或那样的看法，时尚小气；朴实奢华；单纯复杂；聪慧木纳；灵巧粗笨等，但我还是有很多喜欢上海的理由。我本是小山头出生田埂上长大的，如今却生活在都市的脚下，自然对那些朴实单纯粗笨的东西容易理解，也对这东西有着浓厚的感情。我以这种特殊的生活情结为背景，以旧时的服饰形象为媒介，以我对都市的独特理解为依据，描写着我那种心理复杂而又特殊的情感。作品没有华丽虚伪的表现，也没有精巧复杂的修饰，只是描写了一些生活中的确存在的活生生的形象，当代文化生活状态即是它的延续与见证。描述的本身是没有多少意义，一旦描述有了某种生命力的存在，描述本身就是艺术，就是文化，就变得尤为重要，就有意义。它已不再是历史的浮现，而是时尚生活的一蹩，是社会文化的一页。就象我的作品《下棋的》、《演奏的》、《休闲的》等等。你不需要问为什么，也不需要做什么，只需要一个静静的环境，不只是给你的，还要有给它的空间与位置，你会发现这就像你的生活，它无处不在，只要乐意接受它，生活就在身边。表面上看来是是旧时的状态，实质就是我们真实生活的一页。
天使的生活
我喜欢天使，更喜欢把女人比作天使，然而如今的天使被生活的节奏与压力削离得失去了往日的美丽与纯真。作为女性职业陶艺家的我，有时有太多女性的话题要交流，太多生活中的委屈要发泄、倾诉；以及揭露天使的原始本性，并告诫她们最美的是心灵。一味追求生活的虚伪是没有任何意义的，只会越来越多的变得丑陋。《天使的眼泪》就是我描写生活的写照，也包括对生活的态度。我热爱生活，乐于描写生活。比如在家的状态，没有任何化妆品或化妆术的装饰，也不需要摆出某种受欢迎的姿态，那是完完全全的真实。无论怎样埋怨生活的枯燥，无论怎样放纵自己，无论怎样打发自己的孤独，没有人在乎，也不会有人在乎。空间、时间、环境一切都显得没有那么重要了，重要的就是调节自己的舒适度。也许女人的生活就是这样简单，很少有其他的娱乐来修饰多余的时间，至少我是这样的。也许，无论多么伟大的女人都逃离不过生活的折磨，都抵挡不了幸福的侵袭。
头的故事
放暑假了，由于多种原因去了潮洲的工厂做陶，我所在的工厂位置比较偏辟，远离城市的喧嚣，我的生活里没有了灯红酒绿的喧闹，也没有了各种人物擦肩而过时留下的表情，有的只是工厂那几张又熟悉又陌生又善良的面孔。与山水为舞，与泥土为伴，有些浮躁的心态渐渐平静了下来。在无意识状态下脑海中浮现着憨厚、沧桑、滑稽、 …… 的人物表情。这些无意识状态跟着我的手指间的泥土悄悄流了出来。一高兴，就做了好几个，没有太多的想法，太多的目的，就是这样做着，做着，也许这是一种泥与手、泥与心灵的亲密接触或沟通。这就是我的《头》系列作品的故事。
Initially the making of ceramic was just my hobby, but now it has become my profession, and during the process of making, I have gradually developed some certain senses of worship and respect towards them. The both rustic and exquisite nature of ceramic has nurtured my heart, and I feel very grateful for my luckiness of possessing such a kind of solid sense of ceramic art and craft.Playing with ceramic is a kind of mental state, a way of living, and is also the art of communication between hand, soul and the earth. They could be your friend, your enemy, and as well as your lover, only if you are willing to share your joy and dismay with them. In front of them, you don ' t have to disguise yourself, and to pretend something, but just open your heart and chat sincerely with those beautiful forms made of earth. Sometime ceramic forms function as the vessel for containing foods, and sometime they can function as a vessel for containing feelings, emotions, confessions and secrets, they are the best listeners. “ The meditation of hi-story ”
I like making portraits, and sometime I just couldn ' t stop to make them. Those figures normally appear with rustic, plain and straightforward profiles. I was not good in the subject of history, so do the history and culture of Shanghai and her people. The knowledge of this city is mostly from the books or from those native shanghainese people who are my friends. I like Shanghai very much, and the people lived here, maybe there are many preoccupations towards this city, but I still got many reasons to fall in love with the city and the people.I was originally from the remote countryside but now live under the roof of metropolitan city, so I naturally cherish a deep affection for those simple, rustic and plain things and beings. I take my countryside live experience as a background; the old times garments and fashion as form and media; and my understandings of urban culture and live as foundation, to narrate my unique sense and complex of modern urban live. My works are always with a straightforward appearance, without pretentious manner and gorgeous form and decoration, they are just the real descriptions of the real lives states of normal people. The description itself is meaningless, but once it ' s endowed with the form of life, then the description is no longer the matter of describing, but has become the body of art, the part of culture thus become meaningful. It expresses the transient glance of fashion lives; it ' s also the illustration of history in some extent. These feelings exist in my works such as <The men playing chess>, <Music player> and <relaxing> etc. When people look at them. There is no need to ask what and why, but just simply appreciate, in a quiet environment and space, then you will find that those ceramic figures is just like people surround your life, and yourself are just within them. “ The live of angel ”
I like angel, and like to take women as angel. Today ' s angels are suffering from heavy pressures and pushing pace of everyday life, so they are losing their innocence and natural beauty. As a female artist, I got too many subjects and thoughts that I wish to convey to my people, to share the joys and grievances with them, and to reveal the true beauty in life.The work <the tears of Angel> is just the portrait of my life, and my live attitude. I love my life, and my work, and all the beautiful beings. I prefer to grasp the transient moment and trivial things in life and represent them in my work. The figures appeared in my works are mostly portrayed in the state of relaxing and without any disguises, they simply behave themselves, in the true life state - no make up, no designed postures. They seem live in their own world, and indulge in their own lives, without noticing the past of time and the change of the rest world. It ' s a moment with no dimension of time, space and environment.
During my summer holiday I went to a pottery workshop in Chao Zhou for making my own pieces. It ' s located in a very out-of-way place in the suburb of the city. So in the relative quite and simple and crude environment, I can escape from the bustling urban live and indulge myself in the works, playing with mud and clay, living with several familiar and meantime also strange faces of the workers there. So my once impetuous heart was getting calm down, and then those rather simple and straightforward faces with different features and expressions emerged from my unconsciousness. Those feelings and senses of unconsciousness naturally came into the solid figures of people between my fingers in clay. When I make those portraits, I have no complicated thoughts in my mind, and without any pre-designs. I simply follow my feeling and sense, and mingled them into the clay. Maybe that ' s just the most intimate way of contact between hand and mud, and mud and soul, that ' s my story of the series works of <head>.
泥火真性情
武树
我从来都是愿意很单纯的去看待艺术，不夹杂太多的因素另眼相待，更讨厌拿着艺术去说事。在艺术面前我们都应该是单纯执着的独立思考着、不断的在自我肯定和否定中前进。这是无关乎艺术家的性别男女的，如果硬是要男女区分那只是我们学会着偷懒按着头发的长短来看问题，不过好像现在大部分男人的头发比女人的头发来的要长。为此我打算做这样一些展览给大家理理发暂且定名为"新女性艺术"为的是"无性别艺术"！
女性艺术家在当代艺术界已然成为不可或缺的生力军，她们的工作从以往无性别的艺术提出挑战到今天真本性情的自然流落，少了犀利勇猛，更多了自然采性，从而艺术变得更加纯粹和饱满，人也更是鲜活可爱起来。她们用自己更细致委婉的艺术视角去感悟她们的生活真谛，自然流露于作品之中，重新回归到艺术原本的性情，是女性艺术在当代的重要进步更为当代女性艺术史填写崭新的内容。
2007年11月15日即将在上海多伦现代美术馆举办的"静界--谢艾格雕塑作品展"可以说是对这一当代女性艺术现象的细致诠释。我选择了谢艾格和她的陶艺雕塑作为"新女性艺术"展览的第一站。
陶艺和女性艺术创作有先天的机缘，谢艾格也是做陶的，八年前与陶艺制作的第一次邂逅就让她深深喜欢上这一行当，这也许是因为作为一个女性所独有的直觉、天性与陶土的可塑性和亲和力有着某种特定的同属关系。回顾艾格八年的创作过程我把她的创作分成四个阶段。
第一阶段，1999年至2001年，刚刚接触陶艺制作的艾格，饱含激情的制作了一大批抽象造型作品，这批作品都在30公分左右，注重作品本身的几何造型，表面的装饰肌理，这批作品可以说更多的是习作，而正是在这样激情创作当中她熟练的掌握了制陶工艺。
第二阶段，2002年至2005年，身在上海的艾格制作了一批关注都市女性的具象作品，女性造型丰满，五官刻画细微，女性饰品也跃然作品之中。这一时段作品强调描述性和现场感，陶艺作品本身的泥味、火味、釉味也处理的恰到好处。在泥土的选择上，已经有尝试陶泥、瓷泥、紫砂泥，混合泥等，在烧成的方法上有用还原烧、氧化烧、盐烧、柴烧等多种烧成方式，并与之找到一种融合。她跟国内的陶艺发展是一脉相承的，在观念上、材料的选择上突破了传统的模式。
第三阶段，2006-现在，这一时期艾格摈弃了过多的技法表现，作品越发简约起来，雕塑的五官简化到一点一线，手和服饰的表现都处理到一个整体当中，这些作品中，雕塑组合搭配，观念意识开始出现。强烈的雕塑语言大量的运用到陶艺制作上，弥补陶艺制作工艺上的不足，新的的雕塑观念自然而然地贯注在陶艺创作中，对雕塑体量感、整体感、空间感的追求也就凝定在他们的陶艺雕塑中；
更难能可贵的是谢艾格的作品在全球陶艺文化背景下所保持了她独有的当代中国艺术风格。他手下的女性形象造型简约、线条圆润流畅，色彩朴实自然，整个作品呈现一派婉约恬静的中国女性气韵，作品在传统与当代之间找到了丰厚的血脉联系与民族文化认同感。
恬静，随行是一种人性的境界，追求这些有如修行一种美德，原本纯净的人性内心让很多世俗的事物变得多变。
谢艾格的艺术作品是细致的呈现了人们的精神本质，去掉所有的枷锁，回归自然，表现本质的心灵境界。作品中充满着思考的模式以及生活的方式,还多少有些满矛盾色彩，作品犹如给心灵筑建一个看似孤单的城堡,却城堡里充满了快乐.她的主要灵感来自于她自己的生活方式以及思考人性的精神回归.不同的是在谢艾格的作品还有一种纯朴和谐的宁静正与我们如今这个忙碌而表面化的人性形成对比。谢艾格与其作品从不受外界的影响,也没有借助任何模特去塑造那些形象,然而她和材料、人性精神、作品形态形成了一种互为和谐的优美的视觉和心灵感受。
预祝她在今后的艺术道路上一路走好！
於上海多伦现代美术馆2007年10月
True temperament inspired by mud and fire
Wu shu
I have always persisted in viewing art creations with simplicity and purity, refraining from playing up art works. All of our artists have to make progress continuously with an independent mind and great confidence, which has little bearing on genders of artists. The traditional concept of judging men and women simply according to length of hair is entirely misleading because many men seemingly enjoy keeping hair longer than their female counterparts nowadays. Therefore, we are going to host an exhibition temporarily named "arts of new females" aimed at breezing new ideas into people's mind.
Female artists have constituted an indispensable part of contemporary art community. Different from their male counterparts whose creations are sharp and straightforward, women creators are more concerned with natural depiction and in-depth understanding of contemporary world based on their gentle and tender feelings as well as clear and colorful strokes, painting a brand new realm in the history of modern art creations.
The "tranquility-exhibition on Xie Ai'ge's sculpture works held on November 15th 2007 in Shanghai's DuoLun modern art gallery is such a case in point. I therefore particularly choose Xie and her pottery sculptures as the very first stop of exhibition showcasing art of new females.
Women have a close bearing on pottery art. Followed by touching pottery making coincidentally some 8 years ago, Xie has thus been obsessed into this magic realm, which might be partly explained by women's unique intuition, her natural liking and indigenous creativity of pottery works. In retrospect, Xie divides her eight-year art creation into the following phases.
The first stage started from 1999 to 2001 when Xie initially embarked on the road leading to pottery making. Full of passion and emotions, her abstract works at that time attached great importance to geometrical formations as well as surface decorations, which paved a way for her deep understanding and mastery of pottery creations.
When living in Shanghai, Xie afterwards remained devoted to works of women living in metropolitan cities from 2002 to 2005, which was the second stage of her development. The well-defined and rational aesthetics encompassed in the new creations guided Xie in her voyage through creative and free thinking and provided her with resourceful works of masterpieces. Xie, after selecting many materials such as argil mud, ceramic mud and mixed mud and trying many techniques such as reductive firing, salt firing, and once-fast firing, found a brand new way of incorporating traditional arts with modern ideas.
By abandoning old pottery concept of emphasizing skills, Xie has started her third stage of artistic development since 2006. Her works have evolved into simplified creations, which are characteristically more abstract and more lavishly exaggerated in terms of its symbolic meanings, achieving an artistic effect of a harmonious combination of mobility with tranquility. With no clear facial features, her pottery works are full of rich yet unique messages, conveying artist's cherished dreams and wishes.
What is more important is that her pottery works have been rich in characteristic
Chinese artistic elements in the context of globalization. With simple yet gentle
female characters, clear and smooth strokes and natural yet rich color, her
works vividly portray elegant and gentle Chinese ladies, constructing a bridge
that connects the ancient art in conformity with aesthetics of modern times.
Pursuing tranquility of the mind is of essential significance in modern times,
when people's mentalities are easily influenced by fast-changing world.
Xie's artistic creations are vivid portraits of modern man's psychology by getting rid of old shackles and returning to the natural world. Full of symbolic meanings and messages, her works also feature contradictions, which resemble a seemingly lonely castle but immersed in joy in fact. Believed in humane-oriented philosophy, she has chosen to live a harmonious and quiet life, standing in strong contract with many of her counterparts living in a hustle and bustle world. Although she has refrained from using any models to create her pottery, people still get enriched by mental spirit and visual beauty of her works at the same time.
Wish her every success and good luck in the art creation!
October 2007, Duolun Modern Art Gallery
孤独中的超越
--谢艾格和她的大型陶雕印象
肖小兰
了解谢艾格, 是在她那间有着 一百平方米 的工作室里，这里既存放着那些费尽心智创造的作品，又随意地留下了劳作中的痕迹，因此可以看到艺术家的生活创作状态。有些孤独与焦虑气质的谢艾格，带着她那单纯的表情，就在这里向我叙述了她从艺的经历。虽然只是短短一小时的交谈，却再一次加深了我对她的印象，也印证了我的观点--
把艺术还原到生活中，提升到精神层面上，能让所有感应到艺术的人拓展生命的意义。
有些评论家喜欢把艺术谈得高深莫测，用玄学般的言词将艺术家的创作对号入座。在我看来，艺术虽然是人类精神活动的方式，但呈现出来的却是细腻而又生动的形态。在人类发展的长河中，不同的艺术情感，给予一代又一代的人们以生命活力和精神慰藉。艺术是清晰的，可以理解的，也是可以叙说的，它非常简单地发生在任何地方，它的神奇光芒是因为有了创造性的想象、创造性的结构与创造性的表现形态而熠熠闪亮。由此来看谢艾格的作品，便让我想到了如何完善艺术与人（包括作者和受众）的关系，我们无须用太多的深沉话语去解释她的创作，她所有的作品都是点燃了生命的灵光。
我以前从没见过谢艾格的作品，走进她工作室的一瞬间，看到的是一个个直立的人形陶雕，每个大约有 一米 多高，造型语言极其简练，脸上没有明确的五官，但有着呆滞懒散的神态。几乎所有的人物
造型都是女性，或坐或站。一组组的人物陶雕作品如队列阵势般地排开，很有扩展的空间感，其中有的组合将稚拙的云朵和人物搭配在一起，似乎蕴涵了一些观念。看到这些作品，给人的第一感觉是相当富有意味。在她的作品前，人们也许会想到意大利艺术家莫迪里尔尼的人物画像，只是谢艾格的人物雕像没有莫迪里尔尼画中人物中那样带有音乐感的忧郁和感伤，然而作品中传递的情绪仿佛都一样，即有一种抽象的情绪方式弥漫在空间中，并且多了几分享受孤单的自由和浪漫。谢艾格的人物陶雕，那一个个慵懒的表情，形态一律的造型，将艺术家的主观性带入了创作之中，可以看出，这些以粉彩着色的陶雕非常吻合谢艾格自身的单纯性，而且，她的陶雕因为有着足够的尺寸而显得充满视觉力量,
也很讨人喜欢。看谢艾格作品，再反观谢艾格本人，会发现她很自我，那种自我的情绪以女性的方式藏匿和释放。 也许在谢艾格现在的年龄，女人都会把自己的梦编成一些故事，以一种既烂漫又简化的方式呈现出来，并执著地在自己的天地里爱护着。谢艾格的作品，恰恰是很巧妙地捕捉了这样一种女性的生活美学，一种孤独的希冀与梦幻。
我想，把谢艾格的艺术还原到最简单的状态来解读，也许最符合她。非常有意思的是，谢艾格有着现在青年人所有的幻想，所有渴望成功的欲望。也许，这种对生命完美价值的难以企及的追求，引发了她气质上的迷离和感性上的孤立。她的作品，深深地包含了自己的个人气息，那一个个直立的女人，好像是她自身的转换，所有的情绪都带有现代人自我陶醉和封闭性的特征，同时还带着一点朦胧的梦幻。这些原生态的生动的个体情绪与意念，构成了谢艾格作品的深度和美感。谢艾格出生在湖南的一个农民家庭里，自幼就有着一个喜爱和亲近大自然并涌动着小小诗意的头脑，喜欢简单的东西和简单的情感，同时又喜欢以抽象的提炼来传达情绪。至今，她生命的一头在上海这个大都市，另一头却牢牢地连接着她的家乡湖南山区。所以，在谢艾格的作品里，可以看到她以固有的质朴单纯来坚守对人生与人性的认识，而不让自己被大城市的价值观所改变。她以安静和简单的人物造型作为自己的形式语言，她的艺术方式其实也就是她的生活方式。她心灵中那种单纯的美，在进入艺术创造之后，却以丰富的个体样式呈现出来。
谈到谢艾格的作品必定要谈到烧陶。烧陶本是一种手工艺，应该是一个有趣而充满意念的工作。烧陶过程中体验的是陶土、彩釉和火的关系，这其中有着积累长久的前人经验。但谢艾格却摈弃了对传统烧陶的效仿，她似乎一直想为自己的梦幻寻找一个沉重的载体，所以诞生于火焰之中、既易造型又有着天然粗糙的烧陶，理所当然地成为了她的艺术选择。谢艾格因生活的偶然而接触到陶艺，随后就认定了烧陶并将这种工艺扩展为艺术，这个发展过程也许是她自己没有想到的
，也许 ，她 注定 了 要与土为乐 。谢艾格的陶雕作品在很大意义上是跨越了艺术与工艺的分界，她把雕塑与烧陶合而为一，从2006年开始烧制大型的陶雕人物作品，这其中无疑经历了艰辛的探索过程。事实上，艺术家的取材与用材都有着自己的某种感应因素，如果要在感应与实践的交叉往返过程中步步深入，那需要执著的观念力量和不断丰富的艺术灵感。在我看来，谢艾格敢做大型的陶雕与她目前居住的城市有关，和她走到今日的生活有关。大型陶雕可以给她一种挑战，她期待着在这种挑战的过程中不断增强自身的创造力量，以达到她梦想的目标。对她来说，无论生活还是艺术，都急切地盼望着这种超越。
今天的谢艾格，已经取得了艺术事业上的第一步成功。最可贵的是，她找到了观看世界、表达心灵的个人方式，并将这种方式提供给世人。生活可以守望，也可以超越。谢艾格以真诚质朴的艺术语言，探索了艺术创造的更多可能性。
（本文作者为上海美术馆学术部主任、艺术家、策展人）
Surpassing over loneliness
--impression on Xie Ai'ge and her large pottery sculptures
Xiao Xiaolan
You come to know Xie Ai'ge better once you embark on a visit to her over 100-quare-meter workshop where exquisitely made pottery creations are displayed and traces of her life are sensed. Xie, wearing a lonely but anxious and pure expression, started to elaborate on her way leading to art creation. Although the one-hour talk could not give me an entire picture of Xie, it still deepened my understanding of her and reinforced my viewpoint that art derives from life, aiming at better exploring significance of human existence.
Quite a few critics are keen on playing up art, commenting artistic creations
in a metaphysical manner. In my opinion, artists paint with the psychology of
the modern man, depicting detail-oriented, true emotions and brushing out human
joys and sorrows in a delicate and vivid way. In the long process of human development,
human beings have been inspired and revitalized by a multitude of art forms
and feelings conveyed by art works generations after generations. Art works
are understandable and vivid, closely incorporating creative mentality together
with imaginative ideas. Xie's creations, enlightened with life's wisdom, are
an embodiment of obscure beauty with flowing beauty, making people better understand
the relationship between artistic realm and human beings.
I have never seen her works before. Upon entering her workshop, I was dazzled
by an array of upstanding human-shaped pottery sculptures as high as more than
1 meter. Plain and simple, these female-shaped sculptures featuring no clear
facial features wore indolent and stagnant expressions, sitting or standing
there, enjoying freedom and romance with loneliness. The transition of well-arrayed
sculptures from a plane form to the present stereoscopic model represents the
instantaneous flashes of so-called time-space art, which is full of symbolic
implications and visual impact. You might conjure up with human pictures by
Italian artist Modigliani. However, Xie's works are short of a mist of sadness
depicted by Modigliani and her creations bring flowing rhythm to the result
of pottery sculpture, which appeal to visitors. Given her pottery works and
her age, you will discover that the painter enjoys harboring and expressing
her emotions at the same time. Xie's pottery, resembling a seemingly lonely
but joyous castle，carefully captures this female-oriented aesthetics and life
style, which is characterized by lonely dreaming and expectations.
I am of the view that the best approach to understand Xie's works is to view them with simplicity. Xie is endowed with both dreams and desire for success typical of the current young generation. It is perhaps because of her perfectionism combined with expectations for hard-obtained success lead to her metal isolation and confusion. Her potter embraces her own emotions, depicting self-isolation, self-intoxication together with dream-like feelings characteristic of contemporary cosmopolitan people. Born in a peasant family in Hunan province, Xie is born with poetic emotions, enjoying getting close to nature. She favors simple things and simple feelings while keeping using abstraction to express her ideas. When living in Shanghai, Xie is still linked to her hometown of Hunan province. Therefore, we can still find perseverance, simplicity, purity and truth in her works, all of which can hardly be influenced by cosmopolitan philosophy and values. By employing plain and simple style as her way of artistic expression, she demonstrates her way of life and purity of her mind.
Talk of Xie's works, we can not afford to neglect pottery making. Known as a kind of handwork, pottery creation involves both great creation and imagination. It is closely related to mud, glaze, fire and rich experience accumulated by remote ancestors. By abandoning traditional ideas of pottery making, Xie persists in finding a new embodiment of pursuing her dreams by integrating pottery making with sculpture. Therefore, she chooses nothing but crude and natural pottery making. Xie realizes the importance of pottery by coincidence and she employs it as an artistic approach of expressing her in-depth emotions, linking her closely to this ancient art work. She has embarked on the road of making human-shaped large pottery since 2006, which undoubtedly is a road full of arduous explorations. As a matter of fact, artists have to experiment with materials and techniques continuously, which needs to be inspired with rich resources and great persistence. The reason why she dares to make large pottery sculpture has something to do with her life and the city where she is living now. She is challenged by arduousness of new possibility, by her potential of creativity and long-cherished dreams. She is longing for surpassing others no matter in art or in life.
Xie Ai'ge today has scored significant progress towards success in art. What's more, she has succeeded in finding a brand new way to perceiving the entire world and expressing her mentality accessible to many others. With her frank, sincere artistic words, she has explored diversification of art creation.
The author of this review is director of academic department of Shanghai Art Gallery, who is also an artist and an exhibition planner.
创作心札
谢艾格
这些天想要整理一下我作品创作和灵感的缘分写在我新画册前，发觉真是不易，我总是属于爆发性和跳跃性的思维，一旦程序化或者需要某种公式化就不知所措，不过还是得学会把凌乱灵感积木一片片堆起来。
和泥巴打交道，一路走来算是有快8个年头了。不知从何时起有点象拨开云雾看花的感觉，看着自己的心灵开始成长了，感觉开始清晰了，也愈来愈是上瘾，恐怕这辈子也没有其他好的选择了。不知是值得庆幸还是忧伤，毕竟这的确是一门夹杂了不少痛苦的艺术工作。
说实话，不知道是从什么时候感受什么叫做'美'，只记得我很小的时候迎着风，站在山头上看着升起的红太阳红遍了所有的山头，让我不忍离去，只想那太阳怎能如此厉害，最后还是一路上和着点点鸟叫声不得不飞奔而去我山脚下的学校。有时候会和几个小伙伴会爬到山顶用石头垒起一个小房子，再用青草遮盖起来，然后躲在小屋里编织自己的世界，或者呆坐大半天，等待飞机划过云层留下的那一条白线或曲线，任凭大人们呼喊也不会应答，……。很有意思的是我会在山上的泥墙上挖个小口放上几根小木棒之类的东西，然后再用泥封起来，觉得这是我的秘密，不会有人知晓，而得意这种处理的秘密的行为。……。在今天看来，这也许是某种本能对自然的的热爱，也许天生有梦，至少看起来让我很多时候能独自的思考问题，也喜欢独自享受自己生活的小秘密。这种行为我现在觉得还是很快乐的，很艺术的。这种懵懂也许让我今天应该继续探索自然的力量，快乐的力量，那是神一样的力量，没有任何修饰，对我而言，是修行。修得心胸博大，视野广阔，快乐无限。
探索是漫长的过程，曾经一度被抽象的概念吸引，想要用表象的肌理和抽象的造型来完成我对自然物的热爱，的确也赢得了不少人的夸奖。不过感觉就是不过隐，情感表现得太少。也来的太慢。还是喜欢有表情的那一瞬间，哪怕是一个自然的微笑。也喜欢象诗人一样的抒发情感，看到白云感觉在飘，爬到山顶感觉与云相伴的快乐心境，游在湖中心感觉神仙与我同在，偶遇残花会感觉所有的花儿象星星雨点一般落下而忧伤，然后等待着去赞叹他的美感。更喜欢象音乐和舞蹈，音符和跳跃能刺激到每根神经，感觉到每根神经每个关节都在运动，充满了活力和美感。所有所有这些我只想他是静静的，浪漫的，自由的一种状态，那应该是美的，动感的，开心的。
猫。椅子。云彩。鸟儿。他们也是人们最熟悉不过的事物。我总觉得他们之间有联系，我喜欢这些名词，像是一些有趣的道具，它们可以随意设计整合在一起。每个名词都有着明显的特点，猫诡异，椅子纯粹，云彩变化多端，鸟儿诗意。每一个物体在画面造型中有很好的背景感，能更好的表现作品存在的环境与情节。
……。
故事还在进行，灵感还在开发。愿美好、快乐同在。
A little sentiments on creation by Xie Aige
I find id hard to clear my mind, order my thoughts and disconnect between the inspiration and art work, in order to draft the preface of my new book. My mind being full of ideas and hyperactive leaves me little room when it comes to put my ideas on a paper in an orderly manner.
It has been eight years now that I work with mud, and produce sculptures and things are getting clearer by the day even before I realize it. The path I have chosen to follow becomes more stable as I am getting more and more addicted to it. I realize now that it is my only choice in life not knowing if I should be happy or sad about it, nevertheless it is a career where there is no gain without pain.
Frankly speaking, I do not remember when I first realized what "beauty" is, all what I can recall is that I was quite young by then, I used to stand at the top of a mountain with the sun rising from the valley and the breeze kissing my face, I could hardly move as I was taken by the beauty of the view.
Sometimes, I would climb to the top of the mountain with my playmates to build up a small house with stones and cover it with grass. We used to hide in it and make up a world of our own, or just sit and stare at the sky for a long time, waiting for the moment a plane will fly over leaving a beautiful line through the clouds; ignoring the calls of my parents.
It was also funny for me to dig a hole in the mud wall of a mountain, where I used to hide small things like stick, then I used to seal the hole with mud; making it my own little secret, and no one would ever know about it.
Recalling all these activities, I still feel it was fun and artistic; probably these feelings are what is driving me to continue to exploring the power of nature, the power of happiness and the power of God. To me the explorations can only take place with an open heart, wide opened eyes and in a state of happiness.
Discovery is a long journey. Once I was very much attracted by non-figurative concepts, I wanted to make sculptures that praise nature in an abstract way, and I did earn some praise. But I have always felt it was not enough, emotions were not fully expressed, there was no intensity and the perception was too slow.
After all I enjoy moments with expressions, feelings, even a natural smile; I also enjoy expressing myself like a poet. Climbing to the top of a mountain to see the clouds passing, swimming in the lake to feel the angels surrounding me, feeling sad when I see a flower shattered and then appreciate the beauty of this sadness. I like even more music and dance, the notes and rhythm can stimulate every nerve, I could feel my body joints dancing, full of energy and aesthetic momentum. I guess all these feelings are quiet, romantic and free, which also should be beautiful, emotional and happy.
Cat, chair, cloud, birds, are familiar to us; I have always thought that there is some connection between them. I like those names, putting them together, assembling them, thy have their own properties. Every name has its characteristics, weird as a cat, pure as a chair, changeable as a cloud, poetic as a bird. Every object or animal has its own background and connects wit the other through a scenario that creates an atmosphere for a beautiful sculpture.
The story goes on, the inspiration is springing out. May goodness and happiness last forever.
跋
杨奕
艺术家是社会生活中最敏感的一群人，他们的创作给人以心灵的慰藉，通过艺术家的作品可以让我们有机会反思当下生活的环境。我是依靠艺术来获得心灵安慰的人，因常去当代艺术聚集之地M50参观，得以与艾格相识。
刚认识艾格时，她的工作室尚窝居在M50破旧厂房的一角。屋子很小，陈列作品已嫌紧张，却还硬是挤出地方设置了烧制小型作品用的高温炉，从作品销售的角度讲很不划算。艾格说，主要的是为了创作的便利，其他顾不得了。
一直好奇于艺术家的工作与生活，想来应该是浪漫和激情的、悠闲与高雅的，但是在艾格的工作室里，看到的是除了艰苦的创作，还有生活中必须直面解决的油盐酱醋，经常要在自己得意的作品与自己的面包之间做艰难的选择。
制作雕塑作品是件辛苦的工作，对于女艺术家来说，不仅需要细腻的生活感悟和创作灵光，更需要付出巨大的体力劳动将这些巧思体现为作品。艾格经常会向我告别，说要去景德镇呆一个月、去广东呆两个月，圆她的艺术梦想，而这些地方往往地处偏远。本图录中的很多作品，都是在今年炎热的春夏交汇之际，在广东潮州一个条件极其艰苦的工厂内完成的。艾格化费大量的时间和精力，精心制作了这批作品。我感动于发来的一张照片，照片中艾格在一批烧坏的作品旁留影，眼里满是失望和忧郁。然而，当她回到上海后邀我前往工作室参观，看到的却是更加精彩的创作作品。
借此机会，感谢艾格的好客。每次前往她的工作室拜访，她都会放下手中的活，带我去观摩M50里最近入驻艺术家们的作品，与不同的艺术家交流感想。很多艺术家的工作室在晃若迷宫般的厂区内难以被人发现，没有她的带领，恐怕都会被我一一忽略。
上帝眷顾努力的人们，艾格的艺术之路虽然艰辛，但是必然成果丰硕。
杨 奕
2007年8月25日
Postscript/by Yangyi
Artists are very sensitive persons, that's why their works touch our souls and bring relief to our worried minds. Being a person who finds peace of mind thanks to Art, that's what happened to me. As I often go to M50 - which is a kind of "Artists village", by chance I met Xie Aige.
I remember our first meeting; it took place in her former workshop, a tiny and poorly equipped place, where the numerous sculptures exhibited left barely a space for a small oven used to fire up the ceramics. Although it was convenient for Aige to work there, it was less practical for displaying her works.
My perspective and idea on how artist live and work - romantic, passionate, relaxed and elegant - changed a lot when I discovered how hard Xie Aige has to work in order to make her dreams a reality through her sculptures.
For a woman, being an artist and especially in the sculpture field, let alone the inspiration and the dreams requires a tremendous amount of physical hard work. She often told me that she had to go to Jingdezhen town for a month or to Guangdong for another two or some other remote places in order for her to fulfill her dream and produce her works.
Some of her works had to be finished between the spring and summer, under terrible and uncomfortable conditions, in large workshops in Chaozhou in Guangdong. When she sent me a picture of her from there, I was shocked to see how tired, worried and desperate she looks; however, when I saw her works back in Shanghai, I was really amazed and impressed by their beauty and emotions.
I want to thank Aige for her hospitality, as every time I meet her in her new workshop, she takes time to show me her latest works and takes me on a tour in M50 where I meet and discover new artists to whom she introduces me.
I wish God bless hard working people, for sure Aige commitment and tireless labor is bringing us amazing works each time and for a long time…..
5 Art resume
Xie Aige,Born in Hunan province China,Now is China ceramic confraternity member,
Shanghai technics design confraternity member.
Exhibition
2001 international ceramic art exhibition,yixing china .
2003 shanghai spring art salon .
2004 chinese and korean ceramic art exchange exhibition.
Xie Aige Ceramics exhibition-J·gallery
2005 vision express-2005 shanghai youth biennial exhibition exhibition-i have
a date with spring
exhibtion of natural instincts;metal ,wood,water,fire,soil.
2005 super brand mall autumn art show
shanghai international biennial urban sculpture exhibition 2005
2006 German Consulate General Shanghai --A Feminine World in Clay and on Paper
2007 Seek Life in the tranquility-artdecotek studio
Hangzhou - ToThe West Lake Art Fair
Shanghai Duolun museum of modern art-New Female Art Series Exhibition:"A
Peaceful Nature" sculpture solo exhibition
安静的艺术 理性的解读
乔延军
在一个喧嚣的世界上，安静显得那么珍贵。身心的松弛，都成了一种奢侈，这对于当代人，真是莫大的尴尬。
谢艾格的艺术，就是通过陶艺中土的厚重，和火的锤青，让欣赏者得到心灵的安静。可惜对于她的作品，我欣赏得不算多，只是就印象深刻的一些作品，提些外行人的想法。
10年前，当她开始和陶艺结缘的时候，她开始发掘泥土的价值，在她的作品《无题》中，就展现了大地的永久性的宁静。而另一幅作品《痕》，宛如塑造了岁月的年轮，或者水的波纹，风的痕迹。
她是带着大山的宁静走进城市的，大自然的记忆影响了她的艺术。尽管都市生活匆匆忙忙、争争吵吵甚至物欲横流，却改变不了她积淀在内心的对自然的向往。她来上海第一批比较成熟的作品，是"上海情系列"，偏于写实，从绅士到淑女，从警察到民工，虽然是老上海的妆容，但一律带着惊诧后呆呆的表情，不动声色，是她面对都市的好奇心。很快，她的作品就"简单"起来，2003年，创作了宁静而闲适的女人系列。作品中都是很简洁的南方女子造型，小巧，冷冷的没有表情，眼睛总是迷成一条缝，嘴巴总是抿成一条缝，优雅清闲。有时女人身边有一只猫，眼睛瞪着，神秘兮兮，是主人的伙伴，添加一种安居的宁静气氛。
2006年，她作品中性别的特征也消失了，甚至作为人的主要器官也不明显了，嘴巴没了，原来一条缝的眼睛成小点了，鼻子成突起了，作品成了"天外来客"。"FOLLOW
ME系列"，在她那里，浓缩成了一种理念：安静。她希望她的良苦用心能稍微影响一下忙碌的人们，希望创造一片空间或者一个时刻，让人们能暂时离开疲倦的城市生活。她的艺术"静"界，是对生命本质的纯粹思考，而且也逐渐突出地显示，她作为一个中国人的独特气质和哲学精神。
我们期待更多安静的艺术，来疗救现代人过度物质的追逐而变得脆弱的心灵。
Quiet Art/ by Qiao Yanjun
It is not an easy thing for us to find some quietness in a terrible noisy world. Frequently we feel embarrassed to cost much only for a mental break.
Xie Aige, her pottery art, with the heaviness of soil and elite through fire training, opens a window for us toward a deep and quiet spirit world.
She fell in love with pottery art ten years ago. In a piece of work called No Idea, she showed us the sacred peace of mother land. Another piece called Trace, some abstract, is the image like old tree's growth ring, water's wave or wind's mark.
She was the daughter of mountains before she moved to the big city of Shanghai and mother nature is the most important theme of her works. Modern city's busy life, cruel competition and material seeking never changed her, though she was seriously shocked by this NEW world, which we can find through her series of works named Shanghai Society Series. With different Shanghainese from gentlemen to ladies, police to farmer workers, the faces are all-in-one surprised faces from those immigrant people.
She changed soon and found that her art should be simple, then we see her successful works of Women Series. Portraits of typical south girls, tender and relaxed, with cool-looking faces, half-closed eyes and naturally closed mouths, lead us into a quiet and free life. Some are followed with a cat opening big and secret eyes，giving us some kind of homely phenomenon.
2006 witnessed her surprising changes in her works of FOLLOW ME Series, with portraits without sexual characters and even short of most human organs : no mouth, a little rise as nose, just like someone beyond this world. These special guests have a common name of Quietness. XIE Aige is trying to create some space or time, which can really free and relax the tired modern people, shortly separating from dull city life. Her artistic quality has shown her special thought on life, mixed with Chinese traditional philosophy at the same time.
We do welcome more Quiet Art so we can cure some injured hearts from madly material benefits seeking.
与艺术的邂逅--小记陶瓷雕塑艺术家谢艾格女士
柯太明/法国
几年前，我在一个画廊偶然看见一位名叫谢艾格的女艺术家的陶瓷雕塑作品。我并不知道谢艾格是谁，但我却逐渐养成了一个习惯：每隔一段时间我都会去那家画廊一次。我发现自己越来越喜欢那些精美的雕塑作品。
几年过去了，我再次来到中国，并独自参观座落于一条名叫莫干山路的艺术家聚集村。当我走在狭长的巷道里，漫不经心地看着那些隐藏其中的各式画廊，突然几件似曾熟悉的雕塑闯入了我的视线，是的，那不正是谢艾格女士的作品吗？画廊的主人告诉我，这位我仰慕已久的艺术家本人的工作室就在这家画廊的后面。 当我推开门走进去的时候，我几乎吃了一惊，不敢想象，那些美丽而大气的雕塑作品竟然出自于这样一位年轻而瘦小的女人之手，太奇妙了！
也许过去的几年中，我曾经对那些雕塑是如此那般的熟悉，以至于，我奇怪的凭直觉相信自己也一定了解眼前这个创造出那些雕塑作品的女人，和她另一半世界的生活，甚至不需多加言语。
她很友善的招呼我，我们竟像老朋友似的聊了好久，谈她的作品，谈她创作的动力，当然也谈其它的话题。
随着岁月的流逝，和从前相比，我在谢艾格女士的作品里看到了更多的成熟和不经做作的优雅。我想，这正如她自己从一个年轻女孩蜕变成一个成熟女子，其间所经历的内心转变和对生命的反省，从年少自负到从容自信，从敏感尖锐到恬淡包容，三十岁的她现在看起来，象是活在一种看似矛盾的状态里：充满朝气却又云淡风轻…… 感谢她对生活的感悟和她不断涌现出的创作力，谢艾格女士总能不断地带给我们许多的惊喜，这些饱含生命沉思的作品总能让我们为她每一次的成就而感到兴奋不已。
一直以来，她作品中的主题：女人，都是最打动我的所在。似乎总有一些说不完的有事藏在她作品的背后，不仅是女人，还有那些猫，所有的一切，都是那般充满灵性，象是站在那儿，将一个关于现代都市女子的心情故事娓娓道来…… 我相信谢艾格女士还有更多要说的故事，她要把更多的精采作品带给我们和这个她生活其中的世界，作品需要更多沉淀的时间，当然，她也需要。
Xie Aige - An encounter with Art…
Few years ago I discovered the works of Xie Aige without knowing her. I used
to go on a regular basis to a gallery that was displaying her works, just to
make sure I have seen enough and enough of her sculptures.
Of course I was not able to locate the artist who was producing these works…. With time passing, one day, by chance I went to Moganshan lu where is located this small artists village.
Browsing through the galleries and walking the narrow alleys; I suddenly saw her works displayed; when I asked about the artist I was told that the artist was inside a workshop that was just behind the displayed sculptures I was used to see at the gallery.
I opened the door and saw Xie Aige, I was surprised because I did not imagine that this young woman could be the creator of such a beautiful set of sculptures.
Strangely enough I felt that I have known her in another life; may be I was getting so intimate with her sculptures during the past few years that I almost knew her without having spoken to her before.
She greeted me cheerfully and we spent few hours talking like old friends about many things, mainly her artworks and what drives he in that path.
Time have passed by know and Xie Aige works are evolving and getting more beautiful and more mature; he imagination and her creativity are paving her way to more complex works with a deeper understanding of our life.
Her main subject, centered on women is the one that moves me always… there is a hidden message in all her works as if, not only we get cheered by her when we go visit her studio, but her sculptures whispers to our ears the untold words of the Chinese women in their daily life in a modern city.
I am sure that more beautiful works are on their way… Xie Aige has not yet disclosed all her untold stories… beauty needs time to uncover itself and so Xie Aige.
面对人物陶艺创作时期的现状与压力
谢艾格
提起陶艺，人们不免要想到生活中经常使用的一些实用陶瓷品，当然不能否认这不是陶艺，也就是大家常说的“现代陶艺”。这两年现代陶艺创作队伍逐渐壮大，陶艺的形式语言也多种多样，抽象的，具象的，观念的，写实的，前卫的等等。但大家都知道中国的陶艺还在起步阶段，跟西方的距离相差甚远。比如国外的釉料、泥料一般就不用作者本人配制，作者需要什么市场上一般都有购买，象超级市场一样方便，多样。而目前中国的釉料、特殊泥料都需要自己花大量时间研制，并且多数陶艺家还不懂这些，只能在工厂购买一些生产用的常见的原料。当然有时这样可以作一些有意思的作品来，但我认为还是缺乏了作为专业型陶艺家的创作态度，或者是失去了想要探索现代陶艺的本质与初衷。中国的现代陶艺在目前阶段还是比较注重表面，修得光滑无比，或者就是肌理的对比，或者就是某种文化的提炼等。我认为这是创作者理性思维的一面，无论作品是如何吸引人们的目光，都只会停留在表面的细腻、粗犷或某个有可能引起欣赏者发笑的点上。有的作者甚至只会画些手稿，剩下的一切借工厂的手来完成，然后称其曰“原创、原作”。我个人认为这种方式是“抓小不抓大”，当然理想的状态应该是大小一起抓，多些感性思维的再现，这种感性的东西不一定来源于某种深厚的文化，不一定只有受过某种专业的高等教育，也不一定是在某个优劣的环境下产生。而是作者本人发自对生活的感悟、态度。或者想对某个人说什么，怎么说，自然一些，真实一些的说，不需要太多的修饰。有可能有人认为这是“平庸”的态度，这样作品存在的价值太小，或者认为这不是建立在高素养、高品质的基础上。我想你不应该在乎这种偏激的想法。当作者想要创作某件作品时已经进入到一个自己想要的理想状态，包括作者个性、修养、素质、综合能力等。不一定高雅品质才是艺术的本质，可能在我们的教育里总是讲究这些高雅、传承、概念、总结之类的东西，如果作品介于这些东西之间，这还是属于自己的个人作品吗？这只不过是我们加法的一种结果或者总和而已。总之现在是中国现代陶艺的璞态时期，也许称为“璞态现代陶艺”更为恰当吧。如今国内很多陶艺家创作的题材是人物。这在过去，我们对此并没有多少非议，现在很多人不仅要问为何中国人如此喜欢人物？为何大多数艺术家做人物总是往写实里做？做人物到底是艺术家本人想要找的对象？还是某种市场因素？甚至为何会出现抄袭现象？我是创作人物陶艺中的一员，我作为创作者，面对这种压力可想而知。首先，作陶者，以陶冶心灵为本。历史或者社会并没有给做陶人多少框架，也没有多少可以参照的理论或实践经验。我认为不管做什么，只要喜欢、适合自己，这都是值得赞许的。那么中国人为何如此热中于做人物陶艺？而且总是往写实里做呢？我觉得这是一个过程，比如，我们受的教育一开始就是建立在要象某个东西上，只是现在有了西方文化的冲击，一下子都认为西方的东西好就受不了了。就不仅要怀疑自己的水平与能力，而且还变得不够自信。做人物本来就没有什么不好。不好的地方就是见别人有什么好的东西就要学什么，或者别人说哪里不好就不做了。当然别人好的东西要学习借鉴，自己哪里不好的地方要改进总结，而不能跟着某种文化潮流走，应该选择自己适合的感兴趣的东西走下去，探索属于自己的路。至于某些艺术家的作品有许多共同之处，就认为有抄袭的倾向，抄袭在艺术上大家都知道这是一个多么可怕的字眼，也明白这样做意味着什么。个别艺术家审美取向可能有些共同点，应该再进行深掘，把心中的那个他（她）作出个性、味道、生命来，我相信大家能首肯接受。现在不需要打肿脸充胖子，说自己的作品多么与众不同，多么的品位高深， …… ，这是不现实的，也不是合乎目前陶艺发展现状的。其次，上面谈到了那个他（她）是否是自己真正想要的他（她）？这个问题并不难解释，就好象你找的朋友，这个朋友是不是你最适合的，你最喜欢的，他（她）能给你带来什么，能影响你什么，或者你能影响他（她）什么，会不会忠于他（她）等等。如果你有了答案，无疑你就有了选择，暂时也不必太在乎别人的看法、评价了，时间与作品会为你证明一切。至于别的因素你也不必理会，目前至少我是这样想的，也是这样做的。
r