Pan Dehai 潘德海 China, b. 1956
‘Our everyday life is comprised mainly of petty things and trifling matters. However, to ‘fuss over’ them is not without sense. To observe them carefully can bring some kind of change to ourselves, to experience this change will bring our thoughts and feelings in the stream of our past and present as well as stimulate our potential talents, to allow us to go back to the provenance of art and the departure of life.’
-- Pan Dehai
Over the past twenty years, established artist Pan Dehai has been widely known for creating the image of the ‘Corn Men’ in his works. And for artists who were active in the 1980s, the name of Pan Dehai is also associated with an influential group of artists in the history of Chinese Contemporary Art, that is ‘Southwestern Art Group’, which came into being after the ‘New Age’ Art Exhibition. For Pan Dehai, an artist who sets to exploring the passions of life and the questions in essence, his works judges these aspects from a special perspective, making us understand this world more truthfully and get to know what we are interested in.
潘德海（1956—）吉林四平人。1982年畢業於東北師範大學藝術系油畫專業。代表作品有《掰開的苞米系列》、《火紅的年代系列》、《勞動者系列》、《胖子系列》、近期的《小時候系列》、《人間戲劇系列》等。代表論文有《想像與行動的對話》等。
潘德海是「西南藝術群體」中傑出的代表人物之一。與張曉剛、毛旭輝有「西南三劍客」之稱。1985年，潘德海同毛旭輝、張曉剛等人在上海、南京舉辦了《新具像》畫展。次年，同毛旭輝、張曉剛等人成立了「西南藝術研究群體」。1987年開始在紙上進行「苞米」這一特殊圖像的實驗和探索。1989年「苞米」系列作品入選中國美術館舉辦的《中國現代藝術展》。
從成熟的「苞米」系列開始，潘德海找到了屬於自己的符號形態，在視覺語言上確立了自己的獨特風格，思想上找到了載體與歸宿。約90年代後期，潘德海對「苞米」這一符號進行了改造與延伸，以《頭髮越來越少》為起點，正式開始了第二個符號——「胖子」系列的創作。「胖子」是一個導索或載體，真正想表達的是在政治濃度越來越低的時候，時代迎來新的問題和困惑。作品中「胖子」的形象豐滿遲鈍，充滿了慾望。與「苞米」系列深刻、沉郁風格完全不同的是，「胖子」這一全新視覺符號中增加了可以任意解釋的象徵、隱喻和諷刺趣味。色彩上，「胖子」系列逐漸從最初的灰調子，變得鮮亮而具有裝飾性，畫面中也出現了更豐富的題材，不同情境胖子的「臉色」也在變化著。近年的「小時候」系列和「人間戲劇」系列更以胖子描繪出中國於60至70年代間的趣聞軼事和帶入政治意義遠遠超過文藝價值的樣板戲裡。潘德海的繪畫語言日趨完整，表達的東西也越來越清晰。
In form, the ‘Corn Men’ are a synonym of affluent materialistic life and various desirers; yet in content they are often a synonym of simple-‐minded people, and when the image of these Corn Men is connected with the social, political and life scenes during the red era, these figures dressed in blue uniforms give us a sense of hardly understandable humor and absurdity. This not only enables us to feel the empty revolutionary ideals in everybody’s minds at that time, but also reminds us that there is still a small-‐peasant mentality and other feudal ideas in our pursuit for materialistic desires today. For his latest series, Pan Dehai continues to bring forward this concept but through a more subtle way of expression.
EXHIBITIONS
- 2012
- "Youth Dialogue-Pan Dehai & Yu Fan Joint Exhibition" Yang Gallery, Beijing
"Modern Expression-Modern and Contermporary Oil Painting of Yunnan" National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China - 2011
- Future Pass, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
- 2008
- Mahjong – Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
Beijing-Athens: Contemporary Art from China, City of Athens Technopolis, Greece
Pan Dehai – Permeating Illusions, Watergate Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Those Red Years: Pan Dehai Solo Exhibition, Myhumblehouse Art Gallery, Taiwan (solo) - 2007
- Viewing From Afar, Oriental Vista Art Collections, Shanghai, China
Set Up from Southwest, Guangdong Art Museum, Guangzhou, China
From New Figurative Image to New Painting, Tang Contemporary Art Center, Beijing, China
Art and Collection, Poly Art Museum, Beijing, China
Pan De Hai Solo Exhibition, Poly Art Museum, Beijing, China (solo) - 2006
- 2006 Yun Nan Contemporary Art Invitational, Square Gallery of Contemporary, Nanjing, China
International Art Exposition, Vanessa Art Center, Beijing, China
Create in Yun Nan, Yun Art Gallery, Kun Ming, China
Beijing International Art Exposition, Beijing, China - 2005
- Land of Warmth, Red Bridge Gallery, Shanghai, China
The Preordained Relationship Sky, Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Scent of a Woman, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, China
Awakening: La France Mandarin-The French Influence on Chinese Art, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China - 2004
- Gui Zhou Biennale, Guizhou Normal University Fine Art Museum, Guiyang, China
Awakening: La France Mandarine, The French Influence on Chinese Art, Urban Planning Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China
Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Germany Duisburg Art Gallery, Germany
Contemporary Art Museum, Roman Contemporary Art Museum, Italy - 2003
- Guiyang Oil Painting Biennale, Guiyao, China
Schoeni Art Gallery Anniversary Exhibition, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong, China - 2002
- Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Germany
- 2001
- Girls and Boys, Soobin Art Gallery, Beijing, China
Pan Dehai Chubby Series, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong, China
Receding Hairline, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong, China (solo)
Girls and Boys, Soobin Art Int'l Gallery, Singapore - 2000
- Asian Contemporary Art Exhibition, Contemporary Art Gallery, London
- 1999
- 2000 Asia Exhibition, France
- 1996
- Reality, Today, and Tomorrow, International Art Gallery, Beijing
- 1994
- Pan De Hai Solo Exhibition, Goethe Institute, Beijing (Solo)
- 1993
- From Mao to Pop Art, Australian Art Museum, Melbourne Art Museum, Melbourne, Australia
Post ’89 New Art, Hong Kong Arts Center, Hong Kong - 1991
- China Contemporary Philology Exhibition, China Paint Institute, Beijing, China
Annual Exhibition of Oil Painting, Chinese History and Military Museum, Beijing, China
Chinese Contemporary Philology Exhibition, China Painting Institute, Beijing, China - 1989
- Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, National Museum of Art, Beijing, China
China Contemporary Art Exhibition, National Art Museum, Beijing, China - 1988
- China Contemporary Art Exhibition, Chengdu Art Museum, Chengdu, China
- 1985
- New Image Fine Art Exhibition, Shanghai and Nanjing, Chin