中国浙江，一个中国画传统深厚的境土，然而往往在艺术传统越是深厚的地方，越是有创新的爆发力艺术能量产生。浙江美术馆副馆长桑火尧在这片土地上不仅扮演着文化保存者的角色，同时也是艺术的创作者；用传统的水墨笔触做媒介，阐述新的水墨画语言。在2011年新年之初，桑火尧将带着属于他的浙江境象绘画风貌至台北索卡艺术中心，于2011年1月8日下午四时撼动各位观者观看中国水墨艺术的感官。

桑火尧的作品运用了中国各大江流的水：长江、牡丹江、亚鲁藏布江和钱塘江的水，再与亲手调制的矿物质一同绘于布面及绢上。作品材料来自于不同的时间与空间，以一个更宏观的视野表达当代人对自然与空间的理解。每一大块的灰色区域像单色薄膜相互重叠，在绘画背景上部署空间，标明了他的表明态度和抒情的抽象内容。

桑火尧的境象艺术基于一切宏观与微观演绎成的境象。中国传统山水一直扮演着当下中国水墨艺术养分的角色，而桑火尧的境象绘画对中国山水进行解构，形成自我的图式与意境。境象之要义在境，境乃绘画之魂，注重主观与自我，包括心境，境界等；象为心迹，比意象更具内蕴，更为深刻，也比抽象更具哲学性，具有理性的因数。桑火尧一路从写实中走来，但他不再做具象表现，也与抽象表现有别，他有他的主张：「境象表现」；因为他要创造只属他的艺术。桑火尧在西元2000年初开始对当代水墨进行梳理，提出了「境象水墨」一说，是具象、意象绘画后的一个新的艺术探索之路。如今已坚持在这条路上十余年，桑火尧作品中所呈现的独特「境」与「象」也将带领观者从不同的宏观与微观方式欣赏当代水墨。

桑火尧说：「只有永恒的情感，没有永恒的程式，改变才是艺术家的唯一使命。」打破传统水墨意境，桑火尧的艺术不受色彩和笔触的限制，将「少即是多(Less is More)」的格言彻底体现，颠覆并创造只属于他的境象艺术。

Zhejiang is a place with glorious tradition of Chinese painting in China, yet, we can always expect to see innovative creative art energy explodes in a place with profound artistic tradition history. The Deputy Director of Zhejiang Art Museum, Sang Huoyao, not only plays a role in culture preservation, but also the creator of art at the same time; using traditional ink and water paint-brush as the medium to express a new language in the art of ink and wash painting. In the beginning of the year of 2011, Sang Huoyao brings his very own Zhejiang scenery to Soka Art Center – Taipei, and astonish the sensory of the fellow audience on Chinese ink and wash painting on Jan. 8, 2011 at 16:00.

Sang’s work transported the water from the major rivers of China, such as Changjiang River, Mudanjiang, Yarlung Zangbo River and Qiantang River, then he painted on the cloth silk with hand-made mineral substance. All materials of his work came from different geography spaces, he wants to express the modern generation’s understanding of nature and space in an even more macroscopic vision. Each area of grays on his work seems to overlap like monochromatic membrane. By deploying space across the paintings Sang marked his gestured and lyrical abstractions.

The cosmic spirit painting of Sang is the conception image art based on the phenomenon of all the macro and micro deduction. While Chinese traditional landscape painting is still playing the part of nourishing for the Chinese ink and wash paintings nowadays, the cosmic spirit of Sang’s painting deconstructs the Chinese landscape, gradually forming his own painting patterns and artistic conception. The main point of “Jingxiang” is the Jing, Jing is the soul of painting, which focus on the subjective and self, including the mood and state; Xiang is the true state of one’s mind, which is more connotative and profound than “Yixiang” (image). Sang started from the realistic painting, but he has stopped painting concrete expression, and he sees himself different from abstractionism as well; he has his own idea: Jingxiang (Cosmic Spirit) Expression, for he will create his own art. Sang started to comb the contemporary ink and wash painting since 2000, and put forward the Jingxiang (Cosmic Spirit) ink and wash painting; it is a new exploration for art after the concrete and image painting. Sang has insisted on this revolutionary road for a decade, the unique “Jing” and “Xiang” of his work will lead the audience to appreciate and admire contemporary ink and wash painting from a different macro and micro fashion.

“There are only eternal feelings, no eternal pattern. To change is the only task for artists,” said Sang. Breaking the artistic conception of traditional Chinese ink and wash painting, the art of Sang is not restricted by color and stroke, and reflected the adage that “Less is more,” which creates the cosmic spirit art of Sang’s own.