Fire and Lacquer

Hephaestus forged metal between fire and hammer; Zhuangzi observed the world between Dao and nature. The former speaks to craft, structure, and making; the latter to time, non-action, and the way things reveal themselves. The practices of Rao Pengcheng and Wang Zhe emerge from these different material experiences, each developing its own language through labor, time, and the physical presence of objects.

Working with lacquer, Rao Pengcheng has developed his recent practice around the idea of “沉漆留迹” — a process of repeated layering through which time and labor are gradually embedded within the material. Layers of lacquer and ground are applied day after day, with each new surface covering the textures and traces that came before. These earlier stages do not disappear; they are absorbed and sealed within the work. What remains visible is a restrained, almost minimal surface, while beneath it lies the accumulated record of repeated actions and passing time.

Wang Zhe, by contrast, works with metal to explore structure, space, and perception. Fire, forging, polishing, and construction not only determine the physical form of his works, but also shape his ongoing understanding of the material itself. Reflections across metal surfaces, structures extending into space, and the adjustments made throughout the making process allow the works to open outward, establishing changing relationships between object, viewer, and space.

When the darkness of lacquer is placed alongside the reflectivity of metal, two distinct modes of making begin to emerge: one accumulates labor and time inward through repeated layering, while the other opens material outward through forging and construction.

Neither artist seeks to impose a fixed narrative on the work. Instead, both begin with the material itself, allowing labor, time, and structure to become part of how the work comes into being. One preserves process through covering; the other opens space through making. Between fire and lacquer, accumulation and expansion, the works gradually reveal themselves.

赫菲斯托斯在火与锤之间锻造金属，庄子在道与自然之间观看万物。前者关乎技艺、结构与生成，后者指向时间、无为与事物自身的显现。饶鹏程与王喆的创作，也分别从不同的材料经验出发，在劳作、时间与物之间形成各自的语言。

饶鹏程以大漆为媒介，近年的创作围绕“沉漆留迹”展开。漆与灰在日复一日的髹涂与覆盖中不断叠加，新的表层一次次遮蔽此前留下的肌理与痕迹。那些不可见的过程并未消失，而是被收纳、封存于材料内部。最终呈现出的，是趋于极简、平静的视觉状态，而其内部则积累着无数次重复劳作与时间留下的真实轨迹。

王喆则通过金属展开对结构、空间与感知的持续探索。火、锻造、打磨与构造不仅塑造作品的形态，也构成他理解材料的过程。金属表面的反光、结构在空间中的延伸，以及制作过程中不断发生的调整，使作品在物质性之外，也逐渐打开人与空间之间的观看关系。

当大漆的暗黑与金属的照见并置，两种不同的创作状态由此显现：一种通过反复覆叠，将时间与劳作向内沉积；一种经由锻造与构造，让材料向空间展开。

两位艺术家并未试图为作品附加明确的叙事，而是从材料本身出发，让劳作、时间与结构成为作品发生的方式。一个在覆盖中留存过程，一个在锻造中打开空间；物也由此在火与漆、沉积与展开之间，逐渐显现。