李君毅 Lee Chun Yi

李君毅（b.1965) 出生於臺灣、成長於香港，於香港中文大學求學時期師從現代水墨大師劉國松並受其啟發，更被劉國松視為嫡傳弟子與水墨接班人，赴美國進修學成後回臺灣任教，現專職當代水墨藝術的創作。李君毅的經歷是二十世紀移居海外華人的一個縮影，他的海外經驗和臺灣本土文化的認同展現在他的水墨創作之中，其水墨技法更探索並遠離了傳統山水風格與筆墨之間的關係，對拓本和印章的愛好徹底改變了他的技巧：他以條狀的軟木雕刻成印章，繼而以印章作畫，墨的濃淡，通過不同的施力和反覆蓋印的動作呈現，營造出如照片般逼真的山水畫面，其作品完美融合了傳統文人水墨對於「書畫印」三絕的要求，可說是「詩中有畫，畫中有詩」，完全承繼了劉國松「革中鋒的命」新水墨的創新精神，放下文人的筆，實驗出專屬當代水墨的新技法。中國水墨傳統在臺灣畫壇得到完整的承繼，李君毅以中國古代的「四大發明」：造紙術、火藥、指南針及活字版印刷術。

李君毅為臺灣中生代當代水墨領軍人物，曾於倫敦Michael Goedhuis、紐約Chinese Porcelain Company、香港漢雅軒、香港藝倡畫廊、臺灣羲之堂等地舉辦個展；曾參與倫敦薩奇美術館、日內瓦鮑氏東亞藝術博物館、舊金山亞洲藝術博物館、北京中國美術館、上海美術館、香港藝術館、臺中國立臺灣美術館等舉辦之聯展活動百餘次。曾應邀出席美國康乃爾大學、哈佛大學、鳳凰城美術館、北京中國美術館、山東博物館等舉辦之中國現代藝術研討會並發表論文。

Lee Chun-yi (b. 1965) was born in Taiwan and grew up in Hong Kong. During his studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he was profoundly inspired by his mentor, the father of modern ink art, Liu Kuo-sung. Liu considered Lee Chun-yi his direct disciple and successor in the field of ink painting. After furthering his studies in the United States, Lee Chun-yi returned to Taiwan to teach and now dedicates himself entirely to contemporary ink art. Lee Chun-yi’s journey reflects the experience of many Chinese who emigrated in the 20th century, blending his overseas experiences with a deep appreciation for Taiwanese culture in his ink creations.

Lee Chun-yi has a very unique and innovative art creation process that explores new possibilities in ink painting and diverges from traditional landscape painting, rethinking the relationship between brush and ink. Instead of brushes, he carves soft cork into stamps and uses them to paint. With a stele-like inscription base that has Chinese characters carved into it, he layers his paper on top and paints with ink coated on the cork stamps. By varying the pressure and repeatedly stamping, he creates photo-realistic landscapes. His work perfectly integrates the traditional Chinese scholar-artist’s ideal of “poetry, calligraphy, and painting” into one unity, embodying the phrase “painting within poetry, poetry within painting.” Lee Chun-yi’s innovation is a tribute to Liu Kuo-sung’s pioneering spirit, abandoning the brush to experiment with new techniques unique to contemporary ink painting. Furthering his intent to embody the essence of Asian history through art, Lee Chun-yi incorporates elements of the “Four Great Inventions” of ancient China—paper making, gunpowder, the compass, and movable-type printing—into his ink creations.

Lee Chun-yi is a leading figure in contemporary Taiwanese ink painting. He has held solo exhibitions at Michael Goedhuis in London, the Chinese Porcelain Company in New York, Alisan Fine Arts in Hong Kong, Hanart TZ Gallery in Hong Kong, and Xi Zhi Tang in Taiwan. He has participated in over a hundred group exhibitions at institutions such as the Saatchi Gallery in London, the Fondation Baur in Geneva, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, the Shanghai Art Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung. He has been invited to present papers at conferences on modern Chinese art at institutions such as Cornell University, Harvard University, the Phoenix Art Museum, the National Art Museum of China, and the Shandong Museum. Lee Chun-yi’s art truly pushes the boundaries of ink painting while not abandoning the cultural essence of Asian history and traditions, innovating upon tradition, fusing the old and the new in one harmonic unity.