韩天衡：寻觅艺术高峰的新突破

黄港洲

近日老友韩天衡在宁波举办了《海上风·甬江涛——“不逾矩不”韩天衡学艺七十周年书画印展》，展出作品300多件、出版物一百多种，同时还进行一周的学术研讨，好不热闹，赢得了许多观者和本地媒体的点赞！韩天衡这70年来的艺术追求，尽在寻觅攀援艺术高峰的新突破。

我与韩天衡相识于上世纪80年代，那时我作为一名新闻记者曾采访过他，得知他从四岁就开始学习篆刻，高中毕业后，19岁的他成了海军东海舰队一名水兵。韩天衡擅长写字、画画、写文章，很快在部队脱颖而出，并从此走上艺术之路。当时部队驻扎在温州，他得知篆刻大师方介堪先生曾为国画大师张大千刻过许多图章，于是一有空就去方先生那儿讨教。那段时间，他眼录手摸的印谱达1700多部，摹写临刻的古印有3000多枚。买到好印谱，他就挑灯夜读，看累了就放在枕边，枕着书香入眠，梦里时常拿着刻刀雕刻图章。

韩天衡20岁前主攻篆刻，从方介堪、方去疾先生那里学习治金石及印章;以后从马公愚、陆维钊处学习书法。35岁以后学习绘画，师从谢稚柳先生学习国画及美术理论。他从上海画院领导岗位退下后，对传统艺术已烂熟于心，声望早已饮誉海内外。然而他认为，任何艺术都要有独特性，要不断追新求变，突破创新。韩天衡说：“作品首先要有别于老师，其次要有别于古人，最后要有别于时人。”篆刻上他承袭了邓石如“书从印出，印从书出”的理论，但又从师辈的鸟虫篆中跳脱出来，形成了灵动、大胆的多变风格。韩天衡有了自己的篆刻流派，人称“韩派”，这次他展出的篆刻，拙中藏巧，平中见奇，动中寓静，含蓄自然，充分体现了雄、变、韵的情致。

这次展出的书法部分，比起以往，更为刚健雄浑，有了兵戈之气，如一进门的“涛声”，字体硕大，气势磅礴，如海浪咆哮，涛声如雷。当然也有逸秀之姿。他对书法有八字真言：圆、健;平、奇;虚、实;风、神。就是说，线条要有质感、厚度，给人以浮雕般的视觉效果;要有张力，展现出力度，而不是纤弱萎靡，藤蔓般无章蜿蜒。他说，艺术既要平稳端庄，又不流于平淡，索然无味，要平中见奇，给人出其不意的惊喜，不呆板，亦不怪诞。我想也许这是韩天衡这么多年来追求艺术峰峦的真谛。

人要有精气神，艺术作品亦如此。好的作品，自有它的风采和神气，给人以力和美的愉悦。在这次展览中，韩天衡独创的那只纵横天地间的三角形的鸟，早就被大家所认可！是白鹤？是鹳？是白鹭？是白天鵝？好像是，但又好像都不是。它就是一只特立独行的“韩鸟”。但在我看来，这次画展中韩天衡虚构的鸟，更具灵性，仿佛有芸芸众生之态，三角形的眼和脑袋，倒三角形的鸟背，椭圆形的鸟尾，但细节处又无限逼真，赋予它鸟的灵魂和生命，无羁无绊，翱翔天地间。

韩天衡70年来好学求变，与学为伴，不断吸收，日日寻觅，用了多年耳濡目染前辈的墨韵和实践，悟出了“诗心文胆”四字，使得这次展出更有新的境界，人们从中可领悟到韩天衡在寻觅艺术高峰中的新突破。

（本文图片除署名外由作者提供）

Han Tianheng， a calligrapher， painter and seal engraver， held a solo exhibition in Ningbo in December 2017. The exhibition celebrated the artists 70-year art career. On display were over 300 artworks and 100 publications. A one-week-long seminar explored the artists achievement and career and artistic characteristics.

Han Tianheng began carving seals at the age of four. Upon graduation from senior high school at the age of 19， he joined the navy and served at East Sea Fleet. He was stationed in Wenzhou， home to Fang Jiekan， a master of seal art. While studying under the tutelage of the master， the young artist studied over 1，700 books of seal prints in collections of private collectors and seal artists and libraries. And he examined over 3，000 ancient seals and copied and carved seals in imitation.

In 1964， General Tao Yong， commander of the East Sea Fleet， came to inspect the navy units in Wenzhou and learned about the young soldier who was eager to study and practice the seal art. The 24-year-old Han was transferred to the headquarters in Zhoushan. While checking in the luggage of the young navy soldier， the luggage employees became suspicious and wondered how come a young soldier had two large cartons that weighed about 85 kilograms altogether. It turned out that the two cases had nothing inside but seal stones， books and seal prints.

In his younger years， Han Tianheng studied a wide range of arts and was lucky to have masters to teach him. Before 20， he dedicated himself to seal carving under the tutelage of Fang Jiekan and Fang Quji. After twenty， he began to study and practice calligraphy from Ma Gongyu and Lu Weizhao. After 35， he turned to painting and studied under the tutelage of Xie Zhiliu. By the time he retired from an administrative position of Shanghai Academy of Traditional Painting， he had firmly established his reputation at home and abroad as a master of traditional arts. Thanks to all these special teachings from the masters， Han has been seeking changes， innovation and breakthroughs in his artwork. His theory sounds simple enough： “Your artworks must be different from those of your own masters， then different from those of ancient masters， and then different from those of your contemporaries.”

Those who know him and his theory see how the artist has brought something unique into his artistic creations， as testified by the exhibits at the exhibition held in Ningbo. In a career of 70 years， Han Tianheng has focused upon learning from the masters and creating something unique and new. Boldly， he has introduced elements of poetry and prose into his artworks. The exhibition well presented the new realms Han has been exploring.