區大為 Ou Da Wei

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Ou Da-wei came to Hong Kong in 1980 to start a new page in his artistic life. He studied calligraphy and seal carving with calligraphy maestro Wu Zifu (1899–1979) in Guangzhou at an early age, while his landscape painting techniques were purely self-taught. Ou is good at all calligraphic scripts, tracing back to the traditions of Han, Jin and Six Dynasties. His seal carving is in vigorous style too. It is precisely because of his years of immersion in calligraphy and seal carving that enables him to appreciate the use of lines and strokes, as well as the fusion of calligraphy in paintings. As he is not bound by any particular schools of painting, he is able to draw on his predecessors and learn from a wide array of styles to create his own distinct style of using dry brushes in landscape paintings. After decades of exploration, Ou has finally achieved unity in the styles of calligraphy, painting, and seal carving, conveying both classic elegance and eccentric boldness. In his paintings, he brings in a sky-high mountain with his own brush and opens a boundless horizon. A close look at his works would reveal his casual strokes and seasoned lines, coupled with varied shades. Blunt sear strokes are often employed, as well as a blended use of “gou” (outlining), “cun” (texturing), “ca”(shading), “ran” (washing) and “dian” (highlighting). Although traces of traditional texturing techniques are spotted in some parts of his paintings, it is in general difficult to identify the types of texture strokes used, as they seem rather arbitrary. From painting to poetry, and from poetry back to painting, one could totally feel the artist’s high spirits and ease in the process of creating the work. In his own words, “No need to disparage these meagre ideas; true essence lies not in quantity.” His art perfectly shows traditional literati’s pursuit of excellence in all four disciplines of poetry, painting, calligraphy, and seal carving.

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區大為1947年生於廣州，1980年來港定居，展開藝術人生新一頁。他早歲隨廣東書法巨擘吳子復（1899-1979）習書法篆刻，卓然成家。其書法各體兼擅，出入漢晉六朝，大氣古拙。篆刻以書入印，蒼勁樸拙，變化無窮。山水則純屬自學。然而，正因為於書法篆刻的長年浸淫，區氏更能體會線條用筆，以書入畫。也因為繪畫並無特別師承，他不受任何一家面貌束縛，更能借鑒前人，廣取博納。區氏山水以焦墨見稱，歷經數十年探索，終在書畫印三者風格上達至統一，格調高古奇拙。他以畫筆移來萬仞高山，塑造開闊之境。細看箇中，落筆隨意，線條老辣，墨色多變，多見破鋒沙筆，勾、皴、擦、染、點更是混合互用。某些局部雖有傳統皴法筆痕，但整體已難界定是何種皴法，極為隨意。從畫到詩，再由詩到畫，作者揮寫過程中的高漲興致和得心應手，展露無遺，正如他自言：「意到毋嫌少，神來不在多。」作品處處展現傳統文人對詩、書、畫、印四全的追求。