红色，东西方：一种复杂的跨文化色彩

红色，东西方：一种复杂的跨文化色彩

赫尔辛基大学 文德教授

翻译：天津美术学院 赫尔辛基大学 陈宁

“我非常喜欢红色，我几乎想把一切都涂成红色。”

亚历山大·考尔德(1898-1976)

一个关于我们的展览

周昉(约730-800年，中国)的《簪花仕女图》；皮埃尔-奥古斯特·雷诺阿(1841-1919年，法国)的《小丑服》和马克·罗斯科(1903-1970年，美国)的《301号》。这些著名的国际艺术作品有什么共同之处？他们都通过密集地和象征性地使用红色，以表达艺术家所处时代的习俗、情感、理想和经历。

世界各地逢年过节，诸如圣诞节、春节等，红色元素大量出现在家庭、公共场所、学校、商场和网上。我一直对红色充满好奇，于是我深入研究了ICI-Labas画廊的档案，发起了一个令人兴奋的展览，名为红色。我们旨在通过“红色”这一主题展览，帮助我们反思这种“颜色”的复杂性。红色像一座桥梁，联通东方与西方，联通过去、现在和未来。“红色”要求我们审视我们的全球和地方历史和神话，以及我们的共性、差异和联系。同时，这是一个关于沉思、希望和团结的展览。这是一个关于我们的展览！

值得注意的是：

-一种颜色永远不能孤立地讨论，因为它总是与其他颜色相关。虽然展览是关于红色主题的，但请记住，红色永远不可能孤立的存在，它与其他颜色总是对立统一的。回看历史，红色有时被认为太“鲜艳”，甚至“不诚实”而被禁用。但红色总是能回到品味和社会生活的最前沿。

-我们不能将今天对红色的定义、分类和概念投射到过去。我们也并不总是能够获得关于某些文明如何使用这种颜色的知识或证据。例如，古罗马或希腊雕像就是这样。 根据最近使用激光和紫外线的研究，这些雕像曾经是彩色的，但现在仅是“无色的”白色大理石，矗立在世界各地的博物馆里。同样，西安的兵马俑曾经亦是彩色的。

矛盾的颜色

我认为红色反映着的人类社会的复杂性、矛盾性和争议性。它的意义和内涵在世界不同地区有着悠久的历史，值得注意的是，英语单词red似乎源自一种古老的语言(原印欧语)，红色是唯一被识别的颜色。红色很复杂，在英语和其他语言中列出不同类型和色调的红色是不可能的。例如，在英语中，我们说的是皇室红、猩红色、印度红、谷仓红、辣椒红、栗红色等等...... 但事实上，我们很少有人能够描述这些红色之间的区别和相似之处。我自己最喜欢的红色是威尼斯红，它经常让人想起文艺复兴时期(14世纪至17世纪)的意大利城市威尼斯。这是一种温暖的土红色，提香(1490-1576)等大师非常喜欢运用这种红色。当然，大家可能会在“红色”展览的一些艺术作品中发现这种红色的痕迹。而有些时候，红色的表示也许是为了纪念特定的事件，或者是为了避免什么......

历史上，据说红色最早被用来绘画。例如洞穴、墙壁和石头上的狩猎场景。公元前5000年至公元7世纪，红色是积极、创造、繁荣、权力和生育(以及其他)的象征在希腊罗马时代(公元前8世纪至公元6世纪)，红色曾是最受欢迎的颜色，比现在西方世界流行得多。然而，今天，很少有人会把这些时代与“颜色”联系起来......而红色与宗教的关系也十分复杂。在16世纪的宗教改革之前，红色非常受欢迎，例如教皇本人、国王和皇帝(类似地，在中国古代，官员们通过颜色来表明他们的级别，最高级别的人穿红色和紫色)。在中世纪社会，男人也会穿红色衣服。一般来说，红黑相间的颜色比白黑相间的颜色更常见，更受欢迎。但是，16世纪由马丁·路德领导的新教改革导致欧洲对红色的使用变得不那么普遍，红色开始象征着潜在的危险、不诚实和...甚至与魔鬼的联系的颜色。大家可以比较一下两位著名的欧洲画家，他们生活在大约同一时期，但有着不同的宗教观点(天主教和新教)，鲁本斯(1577-1640)和伦勃朗(1606-1669)，他们对颜色，特别是红色的使用非常不同。因此，对于鲁本斯(Rubens)来说，颜色是繁忙的、装饰性的和戏剧性的，而伦勃朗(Rembrandt)在颜色的使用上更加“端庄”。这种宗教、艺术和社会的分歧在20世纪仍然可以感受到，例如，亨利·福特(1863-1947)是T型车的发明者，他是新教徒，只生产黑色汽车，拒绝生产其他颜色汽车。与此相反，几十年后，意大利汽车制造商恩佐·法拉利(1898-1988)开始销售红色汽车，第一辆汽车在意大利被称为Rosso Corsa(“赛车红色”)。法拉利有一句著名的话：“让一个孩子画一辆车，他肯定会画成红色的。”

《无题-2》（Sans titre 2）

26x40cm，1977

纸本水墨

比下

读到红色在全球艺术及其他领域的含义，人们会被它的多义性和在全球历史上不断变化的特征所震撼。红色与愤怒、美丽、鲜血、帝国、幸福、地狱、亲密、快乐、正义、生命、爱、高贵、权力、惩罚、更迭、安全、希望、羞耻、罪恶、超自然、戏剧性、活力等有关。更重要的是，一个单一的符号，如血或火，在世界的不同地方可以同时具有积极和消极的含义(例如，破坏和权力;愤怒和健康)。对于Anish Kapoor来说:“当然，红色是我们身体内部的颜色。在某种程度上，它是由内而外的，红色。”因此，红色是非常人性化的;它是我们自身错综复杂的象征。

展览汇集了东西方艺术家的作品，人们注意到，红色被用来描绘和突出:

动物(公牛、鸭子、猴子、猪、公鸡)

身体部位(血液、脸、脚、嘴唇、肌肉)

建筑(城市景观、埃菲尔铁塔、宝塔、屋顶、墙壁)

服装(小丑服装、连衣裙、夹克、袈裟或僧袍、军装、鞋子)

食物(咖啡机、山楂果)

自然(花、叶、山、天空、太阳(反射)、日落、树木)

象征(旗帜、阴阳象征)

剧院(红色的幕布，中国戏曲中的人物，斗牛士的斗篷)。

一切都有观众来解读艺术家想要通过红色来传达什么。对一些人来说，它们可能暗示着幸福，对另一些人来说，可能是戏剧描述性的等等。例如，我们知道罗马人和基督徒崇拜公鸡的红色冠饰。他们认为它们是勇气、光荣和胜利的象征。观众会注意到展览中有三只公鸡(朱春林、景涛和文德的三件艺术作品形成的一场对话)。

《双俑》

30x40cm，2019

布面油画

朱春林 Zhu Chunlin

红色是一种适应性强且富有象征意义的颜色

红色有能力以不同的方式表达和暗示我们的现实。在中国，红色通常与勇气、好运和繁荣联系在一起。例如，在重要的场合，钱被放在红包里。新娘穿着红色的结婚礼服，农历新年也已红色主题为主(参见Ghislaine Yang的作品，描绘了一个穿着红色衣服的孩子站在红色的门前)。与此同时，中国还在警告标志和交通信号灯中采用红色，表示潜在的危险(灭火器也是红色);老师们经常用红色来批改试卷;销售广告用红色标示。根据“色彩心理学家”的说法，红色物体之所以能吸引我们的注意力，是因为它们的波长更长，从远的地方更容易看到。当然西方的可口可乐也是红色瓶子，在中国它经常被称为“快乐水”，人们会在一些庆祝活动中引用(参见邢俊勤的《无名高地》，其中提到了这个美国品牌)。最后，像中国国旗一样，我注意到世界上大约77%的国旗都含有一些红色(例如，阿尔巴尼亚、奥地利、巴林、加拿大、中国、丹麦、吉尔吉斯斯坦、黎巴嫩、挪威、秘鲁等)。

《无名高地》

直径150x150cm，2021

布面油画

邢俊勤 Xing Junqin

在世界不同的地方，红色与美丽联系在一起。例如，在欧洲，女性的红色肤色曾经意味着美丽和健康(因此在脸上使用红色的粉末和红色的口红，参见题为“爱你自己”的艺术作品)。在中文中，红光满面中的“红”，可以代表健康和精力充沛的样子。在衣服和鞋子中亦红色的身影。例如，在17世纪70年代的巴黎凡尔赛宫，红色高跟鞋作为贵族的象征非常流行。如今，时尚设计师克里斯汀·鲁布托(Christian Louboutin)以其标志性男女鞋的红色鞋底和鞋跟而闻名。在中世纪，蓝色在时尚中被认为比红色更女人。它被认为是圣母玛利亚的颜色。而17世纪，男性变得更喜欢蓝色(参见叶恒贵作品中对比鲜明的红色夹克)。

《无题》（Sans titre）

80x60cm，布面油画

叶恒贵 Ye Henggui

最后，国际艺术界、表演界和戏剧界也在不停地使用红色。再想想《小红帽》这样的童话故事，它的红色斗篷被赋予了不同的含义。今天，世界上大多数舞台和歌剧院都会有红色的幕布。在18世纪之前，幕布是蓝色的，但随着时代的发展，人们更喜欢用红色来增强舞台、演员和歌手的戏剧性。红地毯在电影节和颁奖典礼上也很常见。多幅作品(如丁天阙《小舞台》;米·阿伦的《风景中的等待》都包括红色的窗帘，以增加他们艺术作品的戏剧性。“红色”展览还展示了一件有趣的艺术作品，由华裔保加利亚艺术家宋小松根据法国南部斗牛活动的表演照片进行的再创作。艺术家在地上用红色画了一个巨大的阴阳符号，作为对生死的评论。在这幅作品中，人们可以看到公牛和斗牛士在搏斗。有趣的是，虽然红色在图片中占主导地位，但公牛只能看到两种颜色，而不能检测到红色。事实上，是红色斗篷的运动激怒了公牛。在斗牛中使用红色只是为了让我们欣赏……展览的一整面墙都是动物(马、猫、猴子等)，而其他作品则描绘了大自然的元素(浆果、花朵、山脉等)。我想让你们思考一下，我们如何感知这些元素？红色告诉了我们什么? 这些颜色揭示了这些不同人物的什么特征?红色在这里的作用是什么?

《斗牛场中的阴阳五行》

60x33.7cm，限量版摄影作品

宋小松  Phénix Varbanov

用红色来不同地看待自己和他人

这篇介绍旨在帮助你重塑对于红色的认知，并促进对不同事物的反省。在我结束之前，我想补充一点，对英语和其他语言中红色一词的语言学研究也促使我们以不同的方式思考红色在各个时代的历史和跨文化地位。让我分享几个例子:

- 在犹太教、基督教和伊斯兰教的传统中，最初的人类夫妇，人类的父母，被称为亚当和夏娃。亚当这个词，来自希伯来语，包含了对红色的直接参考，因为他是由红色粘土制成的。

- 在斯拉夫语等许多语言中，红色也有美丽的意思。比如俄罗斯莫斯科的红场(Красная площадь， Krasnaya Ploshchad)，它的意思是“美丽的广场”。

- 在16世纪和17世纪，法语中的红色(rouge)一词被用作副词，表示非常，强调了颜色的力量。例如，有人会说:Cette robe est rouge belle—这条裙子(红色)非常漂亮。

- 在汉语中，有一个非常有趣的成语:红红火火，形容旺盛或经济优裕的生活。将这个成语与英语成语see red比较一下，see red则表示感到愤怒。

我想提出几个问题，以丰富你们对“红色”展览的参观。站在我们收录的每一件令人兴奋的作品前，我们可以试图去问问身边的人，或者自己:

你认为艺术家为什么要用红色呢?红色在艺术作品中扮演了什么角色?红色是如何和其他颜色结合在一起的?红色是如何与特定的信仰和历史观点联系起来的?它能告诉我们潜在的跨文化接触吗?比较使用相同红色符号的艺术作品(例如，动物，窗帘，符号):它们的异同点是什么?当你思考这些艺术作品时，你会联想到红色的气味、物品、声音和文字吗?最后，注意这些作品的标题:它们是否告诉了你关于红色的任何信息?

我希望通过这篇文章和这些收录的艺术作品，观众可以以不同的方式看待艺术中的红色。我也期待通过这次展览，跨越时代、跨越国别，推动有意义、有趣的东西方对话。

《小丑皮埃罗的内心混乱见证》

（Pierrot witnessing inner turmoil）

63x44cm，2023

丙烯

文德 Fred Dervin

Red, East-West: A complex intercultural colour

Prof. Dr. Fred Dervin, University of Helsinki, Finland

“I love red so much, I almost want to paint everything red.”

Alexander Calder (1898-1976)

An exhibition about us all

What do these famous international art pieces have in common? Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers (簪花仕女图) by Zhou Fang (ca. 730-800, China); Claude Renoir In Clown Costume by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919, France) and No. 301 by Mark Rothko (1903-1970, U.S.A.). The intensive and symbolic use of the red colour to illustrate customs, feelings, ideals and experiences of the artists’ times. 

Each year, the holiday season around the world and in China, e.g., Christmas, Spring Festival, marks the omnipresence of the colour red in homes, public places, schools, malls and online. In order to celebrate and problematize this important and complex primary colour in art and our diverse societies, I have dug into the archives of the ICI-Labas Gallery to put together a thrilling exhibition titled Red, East-West. The main aim of the exhibition is to help us reflect on the complexities of this ‘colour of colours’, which is the first primary colour that we see as babies. Red, East-West makes us observe the specificities, mixings and bridges between East-West, and what red tells us about our past, present and future intercultural encounters. It is not about opposing an imaginary ‘East’ (China?) and ‘West’ (Europe? USA?) but, in tense international times like ours, to go beyond too simplistic perspectives on the meanings and connotations of the red colour in art and beyond. Red asks us to interrogate our global and local histories and mythologies, as well as our commonalities, differences and connections. This is an exhibition of contemplation, hope and togetherness. This is an exhibition about us all, East-West!

A few words of warning before I untangle some of the multifaceted and challenging characteristics of the red colour:

- A colour can never be discussed in isolation since it always relates to other colours. Although the exhibition is about red, bear in mind that it is always in dialogue and opposition with other colours. For example, throughout European history, red was banished at times having been deemed too ‘vivid’ and ‘dishonest’. Colours such as black or blue were then preferred. But red always returned to the forefront of taste and social life.

- We cannot project a present-day definition, classification and conception of red onto the past. We do not always have access to knowledge or evidence of how the colour was used by some civilizations. This is the case of e.g., old Roman or Greek statues which were polychromous, as revealed by recent studies using lasers and UV light, but are now ‘colourless’ white marble standing in museums around the world. The same goes with the life-size Terracotta Warriors in Xian, which used to be polychromous too.

《无题-1》（Sans titre 1）

26x40cm，1977

纸本水墨

比下

A paradoxical colour

I argue that red is a reminder of our deep and (often) interconnected human complexities, contradictions and paradoxes. Its meanings and connotations have a long history in different parts of the world and it is noteworthy that the very English word red seems to derive from an old language (Proto-Indo European) for which red was the only colour to have ever been identified. Red is complex and making an exhaustive list of different types and shades of red in English and other languages is impossible. For example, in English we speak of imperial red, scarlet, Indian red, barn red, chili red, maroon, ruby, fire brick, red wood, carmine, desire, vermilion, raspberry, candy, apple, Ferrari, mahogany, salmon… Very few of us are in fact able to distinguish and describe the differences and similarities between these reds. My own favourite red is Venetian red, which often evokes the Italian city of Venice of the Renaissance (14^th-17^th centuries). It is a warm earthy-red colour, which masters such as Titian (1490-1576) were very fond of (some visitors might find traces of this red in some of the art pieces in Red, East-West). As we shall see in a moment, red has been associated with many (paradoxical) symbolisms, beliefs and superstitions throughout history. When you walk around Venice for example you can see some red stones here and there to commemorate specific events such as the end of a plague. Such ‘Venetian red’ stones should not be stepped on to avoid being struck by misfortunes…

Historically, red is said to have been first used to draw e.g., hunting scenes on caves, walls and stones c. 33,000 years. In the Ancient Near East (5,000 B.C.E.-7^th Century C.E.), red was a symbol of positivity, creation, prosperity, power and fertility (amongst others). We also know that in Greco-Roman times (8^th century B.C.E.-6^th Century C.E.) red was the most popular colour, much more than it is now in e.g., the Western world. However, today, very few people would associate these times with the ‘colour of colours’… It is also interesting to note that in the Bible there were in fact very few references to colours but the Latin translations of the Holy Book added red ‘here and there’ to express feelings such as betrayal, deception and even destruction… In general, Christianity has had complex relations with the colour red. Before the 16^th century religious Reformation, red was very much appreciated and used by e.g., the Pope himself, kings and emperors (similarly, in Ancient China, officials were ranked by means of colours, with the highest-ranking ones wearing red and purple). In European Medieval societies men would also wear red clothing and the colour was included in most heraldic coats of arms. In general, the combination of red and black was more common and appreciated than white and black. But the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther in the 16^th Century and a general change of heart towards red in Europe led to the colour being less commonly used, symbolizing potential danger, dishonesty and… an association with the devil. I advise you to compare for example how two famous European painters who lived more or less at the same time but who had different religious views (Catholicism versus Protestantism), Rubens (1577-1640) and Rembrandt (1606-1669), used colours and especially red very differently. As such, while for the Flemish artist Rubens, who was a Catholic, the colours were busy, decorative and theatrical, Dutch Protestant artist Rembrandt was more ‘demure’ in his use of colours. This religious, artistic and societal divide could still be felt in the 20^th century with e.g., Henry Ford (1863-1947), the inventor of the Model T, who was a Protestant/Puritan, only producing black cars and resisting the inclusion of other colours. Contrastingly, some decades later, Italian automobile manufacturer Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988) started selling red cars, with the first one called Rosso Corsa in Italian (‘Racing Red’). Ferrari is famous for having said: “Ask a child to draw a car, and certainly he will draw it red”.

Reading about the meanings of the red colour in global art and beyond, one is struck by its polysemy and changing characteristics throughout our global history. Red has had to do with (amongst others) Anger, Beauty, Blood, Empire, Happiness, Hell, Intimacy, Joy, Justice, Life, Love, Nobility, Power, Punishment, Renewal, Security-hope, Shame, Sin, the Supernatural, Theatricality, Vital energy. What is more a single symbol such as blood or fire can both have positive and negative undertones in different parts of the world (e.g., destruction and power; anger and health). For Anish Kapoor: “Red, of course, is the color of the interior of our bodies. In a way, it’s inside out, red.” Red is thus deeply human; an intricate symbol of our own intricacies.

《条纹男孩 3》

（Stripes III）

38x26.5cm，丙烯 Acrylic

文德 Fred Dervin

Looking at the art pieces from the exhibition, which gather artists from East-West, one notices that red is used to depict and highlight:

Animals (a bull, a duck, monkeys, a pig, roosters)

Body (blood, faces, feet, lips, muscles)

Buildings (cityscapes, The Eiffel Tower, a pagoda, roofs, walls)

Clothing (a clown costume, dresses, a jacket, a Kesaya or a Buddhist monk’s robe, military uniforms, shoes)

Food and drinks (Coca-Cola, a coffee maker, a tomato)

Nature (flowers, leaves, mountains, the sky, (reflections of) the sun, sunsets, trees)

Symbols (a flag, yin-yang)

Theatre (a red curtain, characters from Chinese opera, the bullfighter’s cape or the muleta).

What these elements tell us can also be considered highly polysemic. It is up to the viewer to decide what the artists wish to say in including e.g., a clown costume, a rooster or the yin-yang symbol. To some of us, they might hint at happiness, to others, theatricality, etc. Think of roosters. Three of them are included in the exhibition, in dialogue with three other pieces by Zhu Chunlin, Jing Tao and Dervin. It is interesting to note that the rooster was revered by Romans for the glory and victory that it represented and Christians liked the red of their crests, which they considered to be a symbol of courage and vigilance. What does its red crest mean to you?

《无题-3》（Sans titre 3）

26x40cm，1977

纸本水墨

比下

Red as an adaptable and rich symbolic colour

Red has the power to mean and connote our realities in different ways. In China, red is often associated with courage, good fortune and prosperity. On important occasions, for instance, money is placed in red envelopes. Brides wear a red wedding dress and Lunar New Year slogans also appear in red (see Ghislaine Yang’s piece depicting a child dressed in red standing in front of a red door). At the same time, through historical intercultural connections, China has also adopted red in warning signs and traffic lights, indicating potential danger (see also the use of red fire extinguishers); teachers often use the red colour to mark tests; sales are advertised for in red (amongst others). According to ‘colour psychologists’, red objects grab our attention because of their longer wavelength, which makes it easier to see from further away. The Chinese have also adopted some symbols from the West and made it their own. This is the case of e.g., Coca-Cola, which is often referred to as ‘The Happy Drink’ and used during festivals and celebrations (see the piece by Xing Junqin, 无名高地 (Nameless Heights), which features a reference to the American brand). It is noteworthy that the drink is ‘avoided’ by some people in some parts of the West to mark a ‘cultural distance’ from the U.S.A. China shows its own cultural confidence by espousing it and making it theirs thanks to its red colour. Finally, like the Chinese flag, I note that approximately 77 percent of all national flags in the world contain some red (e.g., Albania, Austria, Bahrain, Canada, China, Denmark, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Norway, Peru, etc.).  

In different parts of the world, red has also been associated with beauty. For example, a red complexion for women used to mean beautiful and healthy in Europe (hence the use of red powder for the face and red lipstick, see the art piece titled Love Yourself). In Chinese, a similar idea is expressed with e.g., the phrase 红光满面 (hónɡɡuānɡ mǎnmiàn – the first character 红 means red), which can translate as looking the very picture of health and energy. Red has also been found in clothing and footwear. For instance, in 1670s Versailles in Paris, red heels were very popular as symbols of distinction for the aristocracy. Today, in a somewhat similar vein, fashion designer Christian Louboutin is famous for his red soles and heels on his iconic shoes for both men and women. In Europe in the Middle Ages blue was considered more feminine than red in fashion. It was in fact the colour of the Virgin Mary. This colour code changed in the 17^th century with blue being preferred by men (see the contrasting red jacket in Ye Henggui’s piece).

Finally, the international world of art, performance and theatre has also made ample use of red. Think also of fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, whose red cape has been interpreted in different ways, from symbolizing the cruelty of the wolf who eats the little girl to a mere reference to a Christian holiday. Today, most theatres and opera houses around the world will have a red curtain. Before the 18^th century the curtain used to be blue but with the emergence of better stage lightning, red was preferred to enhance the theatricality of the stage and of the actors and singers. Red carpets are also very common at film festivals and award ceremonies. Several pieces (e.g., Ding Tianque’s Small Stage; Rémy Aron’s Waiting in a Landscape) include a red curtain to add to the theatricality of their art pieces. Red, East-West also showcases an interesting art piece by Chinese-Bulgarian Phénix Varbanox based on a performance at a bullfighting event in the South of France. The artist painted a large yin-yang symbol in red on the ground as a commentary on life-death. On the picture of the performance included in Red, East-West, one sees the bull and the matador engaged in a fight. It is interesting to note that although red dominates in the picture, the bull can only see two colour pigments and cannot detect the red one. It is in fact the movements of the red cape (called the muleta), which irritates the bull. The use of the colour red in bullfighting is only for our human eyes to enjoy… I would also like you to reflect on this important aspect. An entire wall of the exhibition is dedicated to animals (horses, cats, monkeys…) while other pieces depict elements from nature (vegetables, flowers, mountains…). What does the red colour tell us about how we (are made to) perceive these elements? ‘Red’ animals have often symbolized specific virtues and characteristics also worth reflecting upon (e.g., foxes, squirrels, pigs, red pandas…). Spend some time examining the powerful piece from Huaqing, which includes monkeys, other animals and a clown. What could the colours reveal about these different characters? What is the role of the red colour here?

Use red to think differently about ourselves and others

This introductory text is meant to help you reconsider the (usual) ways you might have been asked to think about the colour red. Before I conclude, I would like to add that linguistic examinations of the word red in English and other languages also urge us to think differently about the historical and intercultural positions of the colour throughout the ages. Let me share a few examples:

- In the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, the original human couple, parents of the human race, are called Adam and Eve. The very word Adam, from Hebrew, includes a direct reference to the colour red, since he was made of red clay.

- In many languages such as Slavic languages, red also means beautiful. Think for instance about Red Square (Красная площадь, Krasnaya Ploshchad), in Moscow (Russia) which means in fact ‘beautiful square’.

- In the 16^th and 17^th century the French word for red (rouge) was used as an adverb to mean very, highlighting the power of the colour. For example, one would say: Cette robe est rouge belle – This dress is (red) very beautiful. 

- In Chinese, the very interesting idiom 红红火火 (hóng hóng huǒ huǒ) (literally: red red fire fire) describes a full and flourishing life, one that is full of energy and excitement. Compare the idiom to the English idiom to see red, which indicates being furious, feeling rage.

Let me leave you with a few questions to enrich your visit of the Red, East-West exhibition. While standing in front of each of the exciting pieces that we have included, ask yourself and for yourself:

Why do you think that the red colour was included by the artist? What function(s) does red seem to be playing in the art piece? How is red combined with other colours and for what purposes? How does red relate to specific beliefs and historical perspectives? Does it tell us anything about potential intercultural encounters? Compare the art pieces that use the same symbols in red (e.g., animals, curtains, symbols): what are their differences and similarities? While contemplating the art pieces, what smells, tastes, sounds and words do you associate with the use of the red colour? And finally, pay attention to the titles of the pieces: do they tell you anything about the inclusion of red?

I hope that through this text and the art pieces, you will start looking at the red colour in art and beyond in different ways. I also look forward to furthering meaningful East-West dialogues beyond mere divisions with this exhibition.

《在阳光下红宝塔》

（Red Pagode in the sun）

120x100cm，2016

布面油画

弗朗西斯·德·朗洛 Francis de lenclos

《巴黎铁塔》

（La tour Effel）

布面油画

弗朗西斯·德·朗洛 Francis de lenclos

《景观期望中》

（Les attentes dans le paysage）

40x80cm，布面油画

雷米 Rémy Aron 

《桌上的罐子》

（Les pots sur la table）

60x74cm，布面油画

雷米 Rémy Aron 

《花园 1》（Le Jardin 1）

50x30cm，布面油画

芳诗·米多芬 France Mitrofanoff

《爱自己》（Love Yourself）

38x26.5cm，2021

丙烯

文德 Fred Dervin

《温州写生》

（Paysage Campagne Wenzhou）

65x65cm，2019

布面油画

娜塔莉·蜜艾 Natalie Miel

《沙漠》

40x80cm，2019

布面油画

库尔班江·格拉木 Kurbanjan Gulam

《云锁孤峰》

34x29.5cm，2019

纸本设色

于跃 Yu Yue

《朱色山水之二》

66x33cm，2018

纸本设色

于跃 Yu Yue

《京剧》

28x40cm，2020

油画棒、纸本

无名氏

《无题》（Sans titre）

36x47cm，2018

纸本水墨

孙朴 Sun Pu

《猎鸭者》（Duck Hunter）

35x47cm，2016

布面木板丙烯（Acrylic on canvas and board）

荆涛 Jing Tao

《无题》（Sans titre）

60x38cm，限量版摄影作品

吉莲 Ghislaine Yang

《无题》（Sans titre）

56.5x34.5cm，限量版数码版画

朱春林 Zhu Chunlin

《人的童话-共享单车》（2017）

79x108cm，限量版数码版画

华庆 Hua Qing

《无题》（Sans titre）

45x34cm，限量版数码版画

吴大羽 Wu Dayu

《宫墙二月风》

（Palace Wall in the Wind of February）

44x63cm，限量版数码版画

Yu Qiping

《童话》

70x50cm，2019

限量丝网版画

金宇澄 Jin Yucheng

《花园 2》（Le Jardin 2）

33x50cm，限量数码版画

芳诗·米多芬 France Mitrofanoff

《花园 3》（Le Jardin 3）

50x31cm，限量数码版画

芳诗·米多芬 France Mitrofanoff

《站着的夹竹桃》

50x35cm，2013

限量布面数码版画

丁天缺 Ding Tianque

《小舞台》

65x50cm，1992

限量布面数码版画

丁天缺 Ding Tianque

《窗前偶见 I》

84x64cm，1980

限量布面数码版画

丁天缺 Ding Tianque

《泉州市花-刺桐花》

57x57cm，1993

限量布面数码版画

丁天缺 Ding Tianque

《无名》（No name）

153x510cm，2019-2023

纸本设色

何樾 He Yue

《无题 125》（Sans titre 125）

53x38.2cm，1980

限量布面数码版画

吴大羽 Wu Dayu

《无题》3幅

30x30cm x3，纸质、水墨设色

宋小松  Phénix Varbanov

《被时间搅动的记忆》（2013）

45x49.5cm，2013

哈内姆勒，艺术微喷 2/8

孙蓉芳 Sun Rongfang