成國琴
    馬丁·韋默爾是一位地地道道的畫家；他1966年出生于德國海廷根，受過專業(yè)學(xué)院繪畫教育，獲得過歐洲藝術(shù)獎，除了在商業(yè)畫廊的展覽，他的作品還出現(xiàn)在藝術(shù)博覽會和博物館，如蘇黎世藝博會、巴塞爾博物館和天津美院博物館等。馬丁精通藝術(shù)史，敏感于當(dāng)代藝術(shù)風(fēng)向，他除了繪畫以外，還擅長于藝術(shù)教育，參與中德藝術(shù)交流項目的教學(xué)工作等。
    畫如其人，他大膽的筆觸和高雅的色彩是他作品給人的印象，作品的畫面展現(xiàn)著他高超的技巧、超凡的才智和細(xì)致入微的體察。他的作品來源于內(nèi)容豐富的西方繪畫藝術(shù)史，這點在材料、構(gòu)圖、設(shè)計和空間等繪畫獨有的方面表現(xiàn)得尤為突出。
    馬丁自2008年獲得藝術(shù)基金來華創(chuàng)作，他的作品經(jīng)歷了幾個階段：早期的大幅油畫作品有著強烈的幾何型色快、倒置或變形的孫悟空圖案、肢體和面具，以及近來的將具象帶有觀念意義的抽象表達(dá)。這些作品都試圖在突破一種法則，將具象意象兼收并蓄，強調(diào)一種超越了抽象表現(xiàn)主義、具有國際視野的形式主義。
    繪畫語言最純粹部分不是外在的形象，正如中國的“象”，不是外在的“物象”，而是表達(dá)心性狀態(tài)；這也是馬丁作品給我們的啟示。
    正如批評家柴中建寫到：馬丁是顏料和筆的使用者，但他不需要借助型和別的東西，直接留下屬于他自己的筆觸。這是馬丁的畫，而不是別的，或者理念的東西，在這個意義上，他為人們提供了新的經(jīng)驗和視角。文明的多樣性以及被打開的天窗就會越來越多。
    最初結(jié)識馬丁是他做為2008年798雙年展的國際策展人之一，由于他沉默寡言，當(dāng)時并不知道他是個畫家；直到2010年，經(jīng)前任德國大使施明德夫婦的推介才開始了解他的繪畫。他的畫通常需要時間來理解和消化，一旦喜歡會愛不釋手。馬丁骨子里那種德意志精神，在他的作品中突出體現(xiàn)：精益求精和一絲不茍；正如他人一樣他的作品不取悅、不諂媚，每一幅作品都是深悉熟慮和調(diào)查研究后開始創(chuàng)作；他絕對不是高產(chǎn)藝術(shù)家，一年平均30幅左右；我稱他為研究性畫家。
    對于馬丁而言，繪畫是他的生命。
    MARTIN WEHMER
    AN INTRODUCTION
    Catherine Cheng
    Martin Wehmer is a true painter by almost any definition.  Born in 1966 in Hettingen, Germany, he became a practicing painter after receiving his formal art education in Germany. He has received several art awards by the Academy and Art Fund in Europe. His work has been exhibited in art fairs and museums, including the Zurich Art Fair, the Museum in Basel, as well as the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts Museum. 
    As being proficient in art history, Wehmer 's knowledge extends to include issues of international contemporary art.  He is a dedicated painter as well as an art educator. In his role as art lecturer at CDK Hangzhou, a joint program with UDK Berlin, he facilitates art exchange programs between China and Germany.
    To quote an old Chinese saying, "the painting reflects the painter himself". One's first impressions of Wehmer's bold strokes and elegant colors are confrontational. Upon closer examination, his work demonstrates extraordinary skill, concise and intellectual investigations, that are pursued with great conviction. 
    Originating from the annals of western art history, the paintings are concerned with issues of material, structure, place, and space – issues that are distinctive to painting.
    Wehmer's turning point came in 2008, the year he came to Beijing as a resident artist with an art grant from Switzerland. He has been painting in China ever since.
    His China paintings include epically sized panoramic canvases of geometric blocks, inverted or distorted Sun Wukon graphics, and fragmented limbs and heads that seem to create a sense of unease and regret. 
    His recent works are composed of recognizable images carrying conceptual significance by means of his abstract expressionist technique. In particular, The Green Woman with a Paper in Hand is a breakthrough in his painting, as it juxtaposes the image into the imagination, implying a concept behind the image. As a result, his work initiates an international form, which pushes beyond the limits of abstract expressionism. 
    Vitality in the language of painting is more concerned with expressing emotion and affection than it is about representing an actual image. The Chinese character Xiang means image in English, although its meaning in Chinese is not about the physical appearance, but rather, the mental one or the one in one’s heart. Wehmer succeeds in giving a certain answer to this question through the emotive power of his work.
    Chai Zhongjian, an art critic and philosopher, states that “Martin Wehmer is absolutely the user of paints and brushes, he simply creates the brush strokes that belongs to him, without the need to employ outside elements."
    This is what Wehmer's paintings are all about. He provides us with a new experience and perspective, which enables us to see more clearly through the diversity of civilization and opens the window onto a new kind of reality.
    I met Martin for the first time in 2008 while he was the co-curator of 798 Art Biennale. I did not know that he was a painter at the time, as he was a man of few words. In 2010, he was reintroduced to me by the previous German Ambassador Shaefer and Mrs. Shaefer, and it was only then that I got to know his work.  Initially, it was a bit difficult to understand or to accept, but once I learned more about it, then I loved it much more. There is an undeniable Deutsche spirit in Martin Wehmer, which he expresses through his pursuit of perfection and strictness in his creativity. Just like the person himself, his work never intends to delight or appease the viewer. 
    Every work contains extensive research and contemplation. With an average of 30 works each year, he does not produce more work than is necessary. I therefore prefer to call him a "research painter".
    As for Martin Wehmer, painting is all about his life.
    English translation edited by Pengfey Huang and Patty Hudak.