Album of Vernal Equinox (2011)

Painting album is a visual form for literati and refined scholars to appreciate in those forms of traditional calligraphy and painting, which can be viewed in details and collected into books for better reservation and collection. The Album of Vernal Equinox are with birthday peaches symbolizing good fortune and smooth official career as the selected subject, which is, undoubtedly, the best subject suits both refined and popular tastes in Chinese traditional painting. To choose this subject is readily available with profound significance for Zhu Wei; these images can almost represent the deep impression left by traditional painting and calligraphy in the consciousness of Chinese peoples. Zhu Wei’s utilization of this subject revealed his meditation and reflection on the cultural value system he lives in. While what’s noticeable is, Zhu Wei added a lot of Cun and Wiping effect in his painting which and imprinted the uncertain time to the originally exquisitely drawn birthday peaches in traditional fine brush paintings. The brand new visual try towards ink and wash painting has just reflected the complicated mood of Zhu Wei when facing traditional and contemporary problems——How can painting languages serve the appeal of expressing needs and emotion better? Is the problem about tradition and contemporaneity a pseudo one?

《开春图册页》（2011年）

册页，在传统书画的形制中，是专用于文人雅士手上把玩的观看形制，可近观也可收集成册，便于收藏。朱伟的《开春图册页》题材选取意喻福禄双全的寿桃，这毫无疑问是中国传统绘画中最雅俗共赏的题材，这一题材的选择对朱伟而言是信手可得又寓意深刻的，这些图像几乎可以代表传统书画留在中国人意识中的深深烙印，朱伟对这一题材的使用，也沁入了艺术家对自身所处文化价值体系的思考和自省。而值得注意的是，朱伟在画面的处理方式上，加入了大尺度的皴擦效果，使得原本多在传统工笔中被细腻刻画的寿桃题材，具有了飘忽的时间印记，这种对水墨绘画的全新视觉尝试，也正好映衬了朱伟在面对传统与当代问题时的复杂情绪——绘画语言如何更好地服务于表达需要、情感诉求？传统与当代是否是个伪问题？