Academic advisor: Dao Zi
观廊 · ART’25 巴塞尔展
AAP Gallery · ART’25 Exhibition in Basel
“时光的裂隙”展览荣幸地邀请岛子担任学术支持。作为诗人、画家、艺术评论家与翻译家，岛子老师的艺术与思想跨越文艺与哲思、传统与现代之间，在中国当代艺术与文化研究领域具有深远影响。
In Cracks in Time, we are honored to welcome Dao Zi as academic advisor. A poet, painter, critic, and translator, Dao Zi’s work and thinking move fluidly between art and philosophy, tradition and modernity. He plays a vital role in shaping contemporary Chinese art and cultural discourse.
多重身份的思想者 A Multidisciplinary Thinker
岛子（1956–），诗人、画家、艺术评论家，清华大学美术学院博士生导师，香港中文大学客座教授。上世纪80年代起活跃于诗坛与艺术界，提出“圣水墨”理念，作品强调精神性与人性经验，兼具批判与建构的文化视野。近年来关注视觉语言与社会转型之间的关系，在当代艺术与文化研究领域持续发挥独立影响。
Dao Zi (b. 1956) is a poet, painter, and art critic. He is a doctoral advisor at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, and a visiting professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Since the 1980s, he has been active in both poetry and art, advocating the concept of “Sacred Ink” to explore spirituality and the human condition. His work bridges critical reflection and cultural construction, offering a distinct voice in contemporary art and visual culture.
“圣水墨”：灵性与信仰的艺术语言 “Sacred Ink”: A Visual Language of Spirit and Faith
作为艺术家，岛子提出“圣水墨”理念，强调水墨不仅是传统技法，更是表达灵性、信仰与人性经验的媒介。在他的代表作如《苦竹》中，竹子与十字架象征融合，传达苦难、信仰与救赎的主题。他的作品曾在德国、加拿大、韩国、美国等地展出，获得德国米苏尔社会发展基金会艺术创作奖与韩国美术协会艺术功劳奖等国际奖项。
Dao Zi developed the concept of “Sacred Ink,” advocating for Chinese ink painting as a medium not just of tradition, but of spirituality, faith, and the human condition. In works such asBitter Bamboo, he integrates symbols like bamboo and the cross to explore suffering and redemption. His art has been exhibited internationally in Germany, Canada, Korea, and the U.S., receiving honors such as the Misereor Foundation Art Award and the Korean Fine Arts Association Art Merit Prize.
对中国当代艺术的观察与批评 Critical Observations on Contemporary Chinese Art
岛子在多篇评论中对中国艺术生态保持敏锐观察。他指出摄影艺术曾长期被纪录功能所主导，缺乏独立价值构建。他强调，艺术家应超越市场逻辑，发展具有当代精神与文化担当的视觉语言。
Dao Zi is also a perceptive critic of China’s contemporary art landscape. He has remarked that photography, long dominated by documentary imperatives, often lacks autonomous artistic value. He calls for a visual language rooted in contemporary consciousness and cultural responsibility beyond market forces.
诗性与神性的召唤 The Call of Poetic and Sacred
评论家荣剑在《诗性与神性的艺术》中写道：“岛子的绘画贯穿着他的诗学主题，在幽暗的人性洞窟中点燃神性的明灯。”他认为岛子的艺术语言传承了诗人—哲人传统，在视觉层面开启了精神世界的澄明与抵抗。
In his essay “ The Art of Poetics and Divinity, critic Rong Jian writes: “Dao Zi’s painting continues his poetic themes, igniting a sacred light within the cave of human darkness.” Rong sees Dao Zi’s work as extending the poet-philosopher tradition into a visual realm that reveals clarity and resistance.
艺术家陈丹青则在《陌生的快意》中评论：“岛子不是通常意义上的‘业余’画手……他落笔的自由坦白道：他并不自由。”他敏锐捕捉到诗人转向绘画的矛盾与真诚——绘画不仅是诗意的延展，也是一种深切的精神挣扎。
Artist Chen Danqing comments in A Strange Delight: “Dao Zi is not your usual amateur painter… the candor of his brush reveals he is not free.” Chen highlights the tension and sincerity in Dao Zi’s artistic transformation, painting as both poetic extension and spiritual struggle.
