陈建周是一个勤奋、上进又充满创造和想象力的青年艺术家。他的学艺经历相对顺遂，自小喜欢绘画，于是一路学下来，直至2012年从北京联合大学毕业。近几年他以自由艺术家身份创作和生活。

本人最初关注陈建周，是缘于他的《飞翔•欲望》系列作品。那个飞行器出状况的小飞行员的各种情绪和画面。一眼就可以知道那个人是陈建周自己，或者，也是我们内心的一部分。对于陈建周来说，他在自己的心里创造了一个世界。这个世界有关梦想、有关英雄、有关挫折、有关纯真和成长。在扎实的基本功和娴熟的技巧之上，陈建周用明丽的色彩给我们呈现了他构建的“超人”想再飞的故事。

而《西游记》系列，可以说是陈建周自幼就在心里播下的种子。他记不清小时候看过多少个版本的《西游记》连环画，也记不清反反复复看过多少遍。这个由吴承恩发端，经由张光宇（1964动画《大闹天宫》美术制作）、万籁鸣（1964动画《大闹天宫》导演）、张令涛（上海人美1980年《西游记》连环画作者）、周星驰（《大话西游》主演、《西游降魔篇》导演）等人塑造和各自演绎的神魔故事，本身就有着巨大的生命力。对于陈建周来说，《西游记》是他最早的艺术启蒙之一，他学艺过程中对国画、线描画、工笔画，甚至版画、年画等民间艺术形式总是一往情深，这都是《西游记》的结果。而在他初中时代，每次看《西游记》漫画，他都对着画面入神，那种发自心底的神往，陈建周至今记忆犹新。

在开始独立创作之后，陈建周尝试对《西游记》进行了个人化的视觉叙述，并最终成了系列作品。这个思想性和艺术性都堪称一流的古典名著，唐僧、孙悟空、猪八戒、沙僧这四位历经九九八十一难的英雄，陈建周那里，他用卡通的形象和时而诙谐时而戏谑的情节，对经典故事和人物进行了解构。在他自己对这一系列的解读上，我们可以一窥一二：“岁月更替，世事变迁。现实改变了我们，那么就尽量不让浮华侵蚀我们最真实的自己，改变我们最本质的使命—取心经”、“恍惚梦中见到病倒在床上而且正在输液的孙悟空，神通广大的孙悟空居然会生病，人再强大也有脆弱的时候”、“虽然前面路很长，英雄依然是英雄”。这是陈建周所理解的英雄和西游记，他们是鲜活的，有能力的，也不完美的。也正因为不完美，才要去更多追求，更多坎坷，更多磨砺。这跟周星驰演的孙悟空和周杰伦唱的蜗牛，为什么受到那么多的人喜爱的原因一样，因为有时候是自己做不到，前怕狼后怕虎，畏畏缩缩；也因为有时候，自己有共鸣，不抛弃不放弃，永远在路上。

或许很多喜欢陈建周作品的朋友跟我一样，他的作品所打动我们的，是里面的我们自己的影子，和那个一直都想实现的梦。

陈建周是一个不向命运屈服的人，他清瘦阳光的外表下，有着一颗强大、勤奋的内心。想到一句话：“人不可貌相，海水不可斗量。”此语恰好出自《西游记》第六十二回。陈建周在我眼里就是一个准超人。期待他的更多作品，让梦想的光芒来得更耀眼些，照进更多的现实。

译

Great Painting of Journey to the West

Chen Jianzhou is a young, diligent and aspirant artist full of creativity and imagination. He likes painting since childhood and he keeps learning it all the time. In 2012, Chen was graduated from Beijing Union University. He paints and lives as a freelance in recent years.

I initially focused on Chen Jianzhou, is due to "Fly Desire" series of his works. Especially the emotions and images of the little pilot whose aircraft doesn’t work well shocked me. I could tell at the first glance that the little pilot is Chen Jianzhou himself, or we can see the pilot as a part of our heart. For Chen, he has created a world in his heart. The world is about dreams, heroes, setbacks, innocence and growth. Based on his solid training and adept painting skills, Chen tells us a story of a “superman” desiring to fly again.

For the series of "Journey to The West", I think that Chen has sowed the seeds in his mind since he was a little child. He can't remember how many versions of "Journey to The West" comic books or how many times he has read that story. This great fairy story written by Wu Cheng’en, once shaped and interpreted separately by Zhang Guangyu (Art Producer of 1964 animation "The Monkey Creates Havoc in Heaven, story about Sun Wu Kong "), Wan Laiming (director of 1964 animation "The Monkey Creates Havoc in Heaven, story about Sun Wu Kong "), Zhang Lingtao (comic book author of Shanghai person 1980 "Journey to The West"), Stephen Chow (Protagonist of "A Chinese Odyssey", Director of “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons”), itself is filled with vitality. We can say that "Journey to The West", which makes him be interested in the traditional Chinese painting, line drawing, kung-pi (traditional Chinese realistic painting), and even folk art forms such as engraving prints, New Year pictures, is one of the earliest art enlightenment for Chen. Memories of his being fascinated and aspired for the comic pictures of "Journey to The West" in his junior high school time is still fresh to Chen.

After starting to create his own picturing, Chen Jianzhou tried to interpret "Journey to The West" in the personal visualized way, and eventually created a series of works. The ideological and artistic classic, the heroes Tang Priest, Sun Wukong, Chu Pa-chieh, Sand Monk who has experienced eighty-one difficulties, were deconstructed by Chen with cartoon images and witty, humor and banter plots. His interpretation of this series gives us a glimpse: "Time flies, things change. Though reality changes us, try not to let the vanity erode the most true of us and the nature of our mission - to pursue heart sutra", "In dream trance, we see Sun Wukong lying on bed and being infused, and we then know that everyone is fragile and vulnerable including the so-called omnipotent Sun Wukong”, "Although the front road is very long, the hero is still a hero". This is the hero and "Journey to The West" Chen understands. They are living, full of ability and also not perfect. However, it is the “not-perfect” that propel us to pursue more, to experience more and to be honed better. It is similar to Sun Wukong acted by Stephen Chow and The Snail sang by Jay Chou that are loved by so many people. I like his works because sometimes I am too cowardly to do what I want to do and sometimes I have similar experiences and I never give up and am always on the road.

Maybe a lot of friends like Chen Jianzhou’s works just as same as me. What touches us is our reflections in Chen’s works as well as the dream that we want to realize all the time.

Chen Jianzhou is an artist who will never yield to Fate. "Man cannot be judged by their looks, and the ocean cannot be measured in bucket." These words are just from the sixty-second chapter of Journey to The West. Chen Jianzhou is a superman in my heart. I am always looking forward to more of his works which can make the light of dream much more dazzling and can illuminate more realities.

2046

March 6, 2015

In Wangjing Huajiadi