Upon walking into the exhibition space, the spectator is greeted by a dense and extensive triptych entitled Lontano (2023), which shares its title with an orchestral composition by the twentieth-century avant-garde composer, György Ligeti. Mirroring its musical counterpart, Lontano – which is Italian for “far away” or “in the distance” – unfolds its rich interplay of staccato and legato passages (musical terms for disjunctive and flowing) that build and eventually merge into a harmonious whole. The relative quiet and emptiness communicated by light neutral tones are contrasted with episodes of frenetic texture and dark-hued intensity, creating a sense of narrative that is rare in the abstract realm.
Across the room from this monumental triptych is Le Brun’s latest searching venture into multi-panelled composition. Echoing the artist’s figurative beginnings, Phases of the Moon II (2023) finds inspiration from lunar references throughout art history. Episodes of sunlight and moonlight follow each other, embodied through alternating passages of warm and cool light. Emerging as if from the intervals between consciousness and sleep, Phases of the Moon II speaks in the symbolic language of memory and imagination.
Also presented in this multi-sensory dialogue is the captivating oil on canvas diptych, January Just (2024). Much like Lontano, this large panoramic work resembles an extended musical composition, challenging the viewer to engage with it over time. Through the build up of structure and material, January Just evokes a sense of imminence reminiscent of modern classical music. Painted incidents that emerge within the textured surface are like clues that invite the spectator to trace how its unique appearance came into being.
The exhibition also features two single paintings, Promenade (2023) and Tidings (2023). Employing similar motifs as a unifying thread, these works invite the spectator to travel further into the metaphorical landscape that Le Brun has created. In Promenade, the canvas becomes a vast expanse of potentiality akin to the sea, where each colour appears to break the surface or be submerged beneath it, waiting to see and to be seen. While Tidings draws inspiration from the artist's intimate connection to the landscape of the Somerset levels, it is not a literal depiction of a specific scene. Instead, by means of its subtle layers, the painting re-enacts the atmospheric nuances that brings these English grasslands to life.
In a partial re-hang of the exhibition occurring in June, presented on the next wall to Phases of the Moon II is Phases of the Sun (2023), a single panel painting that evokes the briefest of glimpses of our optical encounters with the sun. Le Brun has always emphasised and made expressive use of layers, in this work, the brilliance of the sun illuminates and shines through to the upper and final layers.
Directly across the room from Phases of the Sun is the diptych, Goldengrove (2016). Created in 2016, this stunning piece looks as if it is directly reflecting rays of the setting sun, flooding the room with warm glow of yellow, red, and every color in between. The only piece in the exhibition that was made in the 2010s, it shares kindred sensibility and theme to the new body of works made between 2022-2023, yet on closer inspection, it offers an additional layer to the extent of what abstraction can do to invoke a kind of bodily sensation.
The exhibition ‘Phases of the Moon’ invites viewers to a visual encounter that transcends the boundaries of traditional pictorial expression. Le Brun’s evocative paintings open up a profound experience of abstraction and sensory perception through his mastery of touch and colour.
英国艺术家克里斯多夫·勒·布伦 (Christopher Le Brun) 携一系列新作回到中国，在里森画廊北京空间举行个展。本次展览的作品凸显了其艺术创作中固有的音乐性，让自然与旋律深深地交织、交响。这些大规模画作不仅彰显了艺术家的古典绘画技巧，还体现了它们根植的自发性和直觉性。勒·布伦绘画时的每一个动作都自由流淌，他在没有轮廓或打底的情况下直接用管装颜料进行创作，以充盈的绘画想象填满复杂的画面空间。此前，勒·布伦2019年曾在里森画廊上海空间举办过个展；2021年在红砖美术馆呈现个展，同年还在深圳当代艺术与城市规划馆与苏新平共同呈现双人展览。
走进展览空间，首先映入观众眼帘的是宽尺幅的三联画《远方》(Lontano，2023)，与20世纪前卫作曲家捷尔吉·利盖蒂 (György Ligeti) 的管弦乐作品同名。《远方》(标题原文为意大利语，意为“遥远”或“在远方”) 呼应了同名的音乐作品，如乐曲旋律一样，在画面中交替呈现出多个断音和连音段落 (音乐术语，用于描述断裂和流畅的效果)，它们不断累积、重合，最终融为一体。画中浅色部分渗透出的片刻抒情、虚空和平静，与插曲般的浓郁暗色和狂乱神韵形成鲜明对比，呈现出抽象领域中罕见的叙事感。
在这幅巨大的三联画对面，是勒·布伦对于多画板绘画的最新尝试。《月相II》(Phases of the Moon II，2023) 回应了艺术家最初的具象创作，从艺术史上有关月亮的意象里汲取灵感。勒·布伦通过画面上冷暖光线的变换，表现出日光与月光的交替。《月相II》仿佛从意识与沉睡的间隙中浮现，讲述着记忆和想象。
在这场调动多重感官对话中，同时展出的还有双联画《一月则刚》(January Just，2024)。与《远方》一样，这幅全景式的大型画作与加长版编曲有所类似，要求观众花费时间投入其中。通过绘画结构和材料的铺垫，《一月则刚》唤起一种紧迫感，使人联想起现代古典音乐。画作表面富有纹理，其中的绘画内容仿佛是某种线索，邀请观众追溯其独特外观的诞生过程。
本次展览还带来《长廊》(Promenade，2023) 和《潮汐》(Tidings，2023)。这两幅画作都以相似的图像为一致线索，吸引观众深入探索勒·布伦创造的隐喻景观。在《长廊》中，画布如海洋般通透，化身为无穷的可能，每种颜色似乎都沉浮于水面，和供人漫步的长廊一般，既可用于观景又自成一景。《潮汐》的创作源自艺术家对萨默塞特低地景观的深切情感，但并不是对特定场景的直接描绘。这幅作品以微妙的层次，栩栩如生地重现了在这片英国草地上大气环境的多种面貌。
在6月起的展陈中，呈现在《月相 II》旁边的是《日相》(Phases of the Sun, 2023)。这件单一画板作品让人想起我们视线与太阳转瞬即逝的交会。勒·布伦一直强调并富有表现力地使用层次，在这件作品中，太阳的光辉闪耀并穿透堆叠其上的层层颜料，直到画布的最表层。
《日相》正对面的是双联画《金色丛林》(Goldengrove, 2016)。作品强有力的画面像是直接反射了落日的光线，使展厅充满了黄色、红色和介于两者之间的所有颜色的温暖光芒。这也展览中唯一一件创作于2010年代的作品，它与展厅中其他创作于2022至2023年的一系列新作共享同源的情绪和主题，但不同的节奏和强度让观者体会抽象绘画如何调动不同层次的感官情绪。
展览「月相」邀请观众参与一场超越传统绘画表达的视觉邂逅。通过对笔触与色彩的掌握，勒·布伦用极具感染力的绘画开启了一段深刻的抽象历程与感官体验。
