一 Xu Hongfei Cantonese Humor Captured in Sculpture 一
一一
2018-07-23 14:47:32 来源：本站
Xu Hongfei: President of the Guangzhou Sculpture Institute/ Member of the Chinese Artists Association. Xu in his studio. Photo by Nanfang Daily.
●Xu and his “Chubby Women”
When it comes to Xu' s sculpture, his ‘Chubby Women’ are some of his most iconic pieces: a series of sculptures portraying the women with big bodies going through daily life. In recent years, this series has met with an overwhelmingly positive response. Contrary to the traditional view that holds thinness as a symbol of beauty, the ‘Chubby Women’ demonstrate confidence, good humor and happiness. They are currently being exhibited around the center of Guangzhou and as a kind of embodiment of the Guangzhou spirit.
The Flying Piano exhibited at the Guangzhou Grand Theater in November 1st, 2016. Photo by Nanfang Daily.
In front of the R&F Center in Zhujiang New Town. Photo by Nanfang Daily.
●World tour
Since March 2013, the ‘Chubby Women’ have been on exhibition in 28 cities around the world including London, Paris,
Hamburg and Sydney, which posed the question of whether people from different cultural backgrounds would appreciate Xu and his Chubby Women, however, these sculptures successively made audiences around the world laugh,
some even imitating the postures and taking pictures with Chubby Women.
Xu’s sculptures exhibited in Melbourne.
When asked about why Chubby Women have gained so much popularity outside of China, Xu credited
humor and joy as being a common sense of feeling shared by people all over the world, not
subject to geographical restrictions nor language barriers. Wherever they are exhibited, happiness is all around.
Xu’s Chubby Women exhibited in Sydney. Photo by Nanfang Daily.
●Ideas and conceptions
As an artist, instead of immersing himself in his immediate successes, Xu always keeps his next
piece or exhibition in mind. He is committed to being people-oriented, living in relaxation and joyful appreciation with his work.
His works are mostly related to the daily lives of ordinary people and recognize the emotional value of citizens.
In terms of how Chubby Women came into being, he said he was inspired by the people living in Guangzhou,
a down-to-earth city. Xu adheres to the idea that an artist can never indulge in empty talk about their
creations without taking the background of the times into consideration.
Xu and his sculptures in the studio. Photo by Nanfang Daily.
Xu has an intense curiosity about life. Whenever he has a flash of inspiration, he will jump into action.
When he was a student, he would sketch at the local market or railway station in Guangzhou, carefully observing
all kinds of people passing by and recording individual moments, either ordinary or extraordinary. He says it was
Guangzhou that gave life to his Chubby Women.
●Vision and future
There is no magic formula for creating art, there is only one path, persistence. Many Europeans have no idea of
where Guangzhou is on a map when they read on a plaque ‘Xu Hongfei, from Guangzhou, China’. He said he would
like to make Guangzhou known by more and more people worldwide.
在广州大剧院旁，一尊奇特的雕塑总能吸引过往的游客和市民停下脚步，一个肥女身体腾在半空中，
飞起来弹钢琴，完全颠覆了人们心目中端庄典雅坐着弹琴的传统观念。不远处珠江新城的富力中心外，
一排“肥女”雕塑成为一道靓丽的风景线，肥女们形态各异，或骑马或骑单车，或拥吻或拔河，
过路的行人总会不自主地模仿肥女们的姿势。近些年来，这些热情奔放又憨态可掬的小人物雕塑，已慢慢成为广州这座城市
精神印象的艺术载体，代表着一种“广式”幽默。
▏广州给予他创作灵感
第23届广州春季艺博会刚刚结束，“花见花开——许鸿飞花城雕塑主题创作展”引发了观展热潮，
又再掀起“肥女”话题热潮。次日，位于广州海珠区江泰路的石磨坊里，夏日阳光穿过嫩绿的树叶，照入古朴的工作室，
一头红头发、蓄着一字胡、正叼着烟斗的许鸿飞正安静地创作一件新作品，一个肥女人正准备拥吻一个瘦男人，栩栩如生。
在他的眼中，上一站的展览尽管无限精彩，但艺术家的目光始终专注于下一件创作、下一次展览。
“我创作的肥女系列都是从身边找创作灵感，她们都是平实可爱又具有真性情的小人物，生活在广州这座接
地气充满烟火气息的城市。”许鸿飞始终坚持，一个艺术工作者永远都无法跳脱时代环境去空谈作品的创作。许鸿飞学习
生活创作都在广州，读书时他一有空就在市场上画速写，放假时就去汽车站、火车站等人多的地方画速写，仔细对各式各样
的人们进行观察，把他们平凡而精彩的生活瞬间记录下来。他说正是广州这块独特的沃土，孕育了他和肥女系列雕塑的茁壮成长。
提起许鸿飞和他的肥女系列雕塑，黄永玉是绕不过的人物，两人的忘年之交在艺术圈里被众人所津津乐道，
在石磨坊里，处处可见黄永玉的字画，许鸿飞最爱的肖像画就出自黄老之手。1998年出差途中，许鸿飞偶然买了
两本肥女人的人体画册，萌生了创作“肥女”的念头。次年，黄永玉看到肥女雕塑后，甚是喜欢，在其鼓励下，许鸿飞
坚定了做肥女雕塑的想法。“我和黄老的共通点在于，我们对生活都很有很强的好奇心，一旦冒出一个好的灵感，就会马上付之于行动。”
▏带着“肥女”周游世界
撇弃传统的“以瘦为美”，许鸿飞创作的肥女雕塑，夸张的体形背后透着自信、快乐与幽默。从2013年3月开始，许鸿飞
带“肥女”们周游世界，五年间走过五大洲的十多个国家，英国伦敦、法国巴黎、德国汉堡、澳大利亚悉尼等等大城市，
一共进行了28站巡展。每一站的展览都选择在这些重要城市的地标广场展出，长期浓厚的艺术熏陶让国外观众对雕塑的欣赏眼光更为挑剔。
28站巡展将来自中国广州的肥女雕塑投放到陌生的文化语境里，接受不同国度、不同民族的观众们参观，这是一场探险和挑战。
“肥女们”或翘起健硕大腿欢快地牵着手，或是被强有力的瘦小男士拉着高高飞起，又抑或是骑在飞奔的骏马上，
蹬踏着单薄的自行车……她们总能引得全世界的观众开怀大笑，观众们甚至模仿它们神态动作，拍照留念。许鸿飞
认为这是因为幽默和快乐是世界性的情感，不会因地域或语言所隔阂，作为雕塑家，要贴近和关注百姓的生活现状，
将市民的情感价值注入到作品中。
“搞艺术是条很长的路，只能坚持，而且是不带着功利的，在欧洲展览，我的铭牌都写着中国广州许鸿飞，
一些欧洲人并不知道广州，我希望通过我的坚持，我的肥女作品，让全世界越来越多的人知道广州这座城市。”
许鸿飞如是说出了自己的心愿。
