潘曦的绢上作品已成一格，在LUMEN系列之前，她用浓烈的色彩在中国丝上画出形态姣好的女性形象，充分展现了处理“轻”“重”关系的天才。她完全可以像一位顶尖的类型小说家那样，边自我循环，边讲出让人眼花缭乱的故事。然而，眼前的这组作品并非如此，她对自我和世界的现状都有了一些新的想法。对艺术家来说，这首先意味着放弃。以前是流畅的身姿，现在变作扭曲;以前是完满的意象，现在变作残落;以前是风雅的情致，现在变作疏离。

　　我曾经目不转睛地观看潘曦用精准的色彩勾勒出的织物花纹，赞叹她对细节的把握能力，令人犹如身处于法国作家笔下的妇女乐园(百货商店)，那是非常容易令人沉溺的真实、具体和美。在LUMEN系列作品中，织物图案仍然重要，那些蕾丝又纷纷转世，但这次不再是杏花春雨江南般的风物表达，织物的纹样和女人的形体一样，也变得抽象了。仿佛女人身上穿的衣服，被遗弃、扯碎、散落、像野草一样疯长起来，是肌肤和身体的延伸，但又构成了对身体的另一种包围。它们不再仅仅是装饰主义的，更变成了人格、个性和情绪的投射，仿佛是尘世之中弥散的纷繁芜杂的事件与想象，从个体发出的微光，透过环境的折射而破碎无端，又四处点亮。从蕾丝花纹衍变而生的纹饰，在画面上任意地扩散，不再用来加强女性的性别特征，而是强调了女性生存的处境之感。

　　与之构成对照的，是画面上栩栩如生、十分鲜明地存在着的动物，有蚊、蝇、蟹、蝶、也有蟾蜍、章鱼、壁虎等等。这些青黑色调的冷血动物绝不是点缀，而是主角之一，与织纹、女人构成三足鼎立之势。也可以说，它们是织纹的有生命的对应物，与胭脂色的女体构成紧张关系。它们是进化链上的剩余物，是文明世界潜意识中的盲目和荒凉，这些昆虫和软体动物不可能服从于女权主义的政治正确，蟾蜍有时以王子的面目出现，在它们面前启蒙理性就像是一个童话。世界一旦蜕去了理性思维的纹饰功能，便会呈现生存的原始状态。它们咬啮、变形、蹑手蹑脚、伸出长舌捕食。它们遍地繁殖无休无止。它们是噩梦中难以摆脱的纠缠者。或许这些生物就是远古以来人性中难以教化的部分，来自帝国和星球的阴暗、潮湿、蛮荒之处，不幸的是，女人正是要用身体的存在去和它们对峙。

　　在这样的对峙画面之中，我看到了静止的时间。唯一庞大之物恐龙也已风化成头骨，古老的骨殖像墨汁一样淋漓流淌下来，像是某种牢狱，将女人的身体置于觊觎和穿刺之下。在骨头的禁闭之中，好像历史从来没有进步过，肢体的残缺不全仿佛也是这种宰制的后果。但是，画作的整体气氛却并不压抑，女体形象虽则不再那么清新精致，却表现出生气贯注的悲怆之美。在我看来，画上这些单独的、片段式肢体的描绘，是充满灵性的表达，把女人的整体感创造在了画面之外。这种新的女性构图，是否创造了一种对女人所接受的，亘古不变的凝视的抵抗和逃逸?

　　潘曦的画作因此而带上了从未有过的激烈、犀利和力量感。女人在噩梦中有着无声的抗辩，实际上历史中的女人向来是无声的，但却并非无形，对女人形体的表达有着各种各样的动机。画家这一次把女性的身体表现得如此饱和，无论是色调之明确，还是线条的扩张。那样的挣出重围的手势，那样埋入星云的头颅与硕大身躯的对比，那样的承受和对峙。对手令人气闷，哪怕再温暖如春的身体，再博大的“地母”的精神，也不能够感化对方的冷血、偷袭爱好，以及骨子里的拒绝进化。但是潘曦却将女体的色调非常执着地定格在美丽的胭脂色之上，仿佛这种色调也是一种宿命。她笔下的女体并不顺从，也不是单纯的受害者。我相信这是一个大故事的开端，而首要的在于充分感知他人与自我，这种观察者的冷静和由此带来的优雅，在潘曦的画笔下令人惊讶地展示了出来。

　　About Pan Xi's "Lumen" Series

　　By Zhang Ping Jin

　　Pan Xi's artwork on silk has developed into a unique style. Before her "Lumen" series she painted beautiful female figures on Chinese silk, displaying in detail her talent for handling the relationship between "lightness" and " heaviness." She could have continued telling endless dazzling stories, not unlike a genre novelist, but has instead created a body of work that expresses a new vision of the artist herself and of the world. To take such a step requires abandoning what is familiar. Figures that were once smooth now appear distorted, images that were once complete are now fragmented, and what was once delightful and refined has now become distant.

　　I once watched Pan Xi sketch a pattern with a defined mix of colors. I marveled at her ability to control the details. It was an experience similar to indulging oneself in the ladies' paradise of a French novel where beauty is real. In the "Lumen" series the patterns still occupy an important position in the image, but they have been transformed as they are no longer the expression of gracefulness or tenderness. They have become abstract extensions of the bodies. Like pieces of abandoned clothing, they are torn, growing wildly like weeds, and finally forming another extension of the body. They are no longer decorative; they are the reflection of humanity, personality and emotion. A dim light radiates from an individual through the reflection of experiences and fantasies. It shatters into pieces and disperses, shimmering in every corner. As the patterns evolve from the lace and spread deliberately across the image, they no longer stress the identity of a female, but they imply the plight of women.

　　Additional new elements of Pan Xi's work are several lively, distinctive creatures: mosquito, fly, crab, butterfly, toad, octopus, and lizard. These bluish, dark, cold-blooded creatures are not merely decorative, but essential characters that form a triangular relationship with the nudes and patterns. One could say they are the living form of the patterns, creating an intense connection. They are the residue of the evolutionary chain--the subconscious blindness and desolation of the civilized world. Such insects, animals and mollusks do not adhere to a feminist ideal. The toad may appear as Prince Charming, though rationality is but a fairytale for it. The world appears in its original state of survival when the ornamental function of rational thought fades. The endlessly procreating creatures grip, contort, creep, prey, and pursue everywhere. They are unrelenting pests. Perhaps they are the uncivilized part of humanity from the dark, damp, savage origins of the planet. Unfortunately, women are going to confront those nightmares with their existence of body.

　　The confrontation takes place in which time stands still. All that remain of the colossal dinosaur are bones. The ancient skeleton hangs like flowing ink ready to impale its victim below, forming a cage over the woman as if part of a sinister plot. In the prison of the bones, history has never moved forward; fragmentary bodies appear as the result of this domination. Although the overall atmosphere is not depressing, the image of the nudes is no longer fresh and delicate, but shows a tragic beauty. The fragmented depiction of the body is an expression full of inspiration, the overall sense of which takes place outside of the canvas. Is this new composition creating a resistance and an escape from the constant gaze to which women are subject?

　　Pan Xi's work possesses a quality of unprecedented intensity, sharpness and power. Women battle silently. Boundless motivation has lead to the prevalence of the image of women in history, but the voices of women are relatively silent. This time the artist has created an intense way of expressing a female body with deliberate colors, forceful lines, gestures of breaking free, hidden faces and imposing bodies. The suffocating opponents are so cold blooded that they are not influenced by even the most tender warmth of the body or the unconditional love of Earth Mother. They continue their attacking habits and refuse to evolve. However, Pan Xi consistently paints women's bodies in a beautiful carmine color, as if this color is part of fate. The women on her canvas are neither obedient nor simply victims. This is the opening of a grand narrative, the essence of which is the ability to perceive oneself and perceive others. The calm and elegance of being an observer are uniquely prevalent throughout Pan Xi's work.