記得德國文豪托瑪斯曼（Paul Thomas Mann 1875-1955）曾如此形容：「在自己的思想歷程中，尼釆(Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche 1844-1900)、叔本華(Arthur Schopenhauer 1788-1860)、華格納(Wilhelm Richard Wagner 1813-1883)對他的影響最甚，有如指引他方向的三顆星。」而在岑龍的創作中，東西方的哲學思想、文學和音樂，以及前輩藝術大師們的創作精神，都是引領他方向的明星。岑龍的創作母體，大多是堅忍對抗惡劣生存環境的平凡人，他自小就被這些人深深的感動著，對他們充滿同情與崇敬之心，並在承受了父輩的苦難經歷帶來的影響以及自身生活的磨礪和檢驗之後，這種決擇就更加堅定了。

岑龍的創作風格從表面上看來使用的是具象的技法和表現手段，但實質上他追求的是抽象的觀念表達。他一直視繪畫為參悟生命和表達情感的方式。岑龍所描繪的人物造型，都是出自於用心的凝鍊和構建。他廣泛吸收哈爾斯(Frans Hals 約1580-1666)、維拉斯奎茲(Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez 1599-1660)、范戴克(Sir Anthony van Dyck 1599-1641)、林布蘭(Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1606-1669)等古典大師的技法，以及當代創作包括抽象繪畫的諸語彙。岑龍注重單純的色彩運用、筆觸力度和畫面結構的佈局，經過長年的實踐，形成了個人凝重厚實的繪畫特色，他以樸素的心靈和筆法編織了一個自己的理想境界。他試圖用畫筆傳遞愛與希望，我們可以從其作品中感受到岑龍對他筆下人物的敬重。他企圖將他們按個人的理解畫出來，希望能夠在畫布中留下這些人的精神。岑龍認為：「生命會消失，但生命中產生的各種精神力量則是永恆的。」他對樸實的生活和人物抱以虔誠和謙卑的態度，以至於最終得以賦予其作品無盡的生命力。

這一次的展覽《蒼穹星光-岑龍和他的藝術》，主要展出2018-2019年的最新創作，內容分為三個部分：「生命的誕生」、「生命的歷程」以及「生命的昇華」。生命的誕生包含了孕育和母愛等內容，我們可以從參展作品〈生命禮讚〉體會到生命延續起始的美好時刻。而〈海女祭〉則描繪推漁船上岸的海女們，日夜為生存操勞，週而復始的場景，海灘滿是她們吆喝呼號的迴響⋯⋯畫面右方的漁女手執火把，暗示了夜晚的時空環境，同時也代表畫家對待生活的態度，他認為能夠支撐生存的唯一信念，就是希望。生命的昇華則包含對生活的回首，對人生種種矛盾和行為的探究，也是對人們在生存過程中從不妥協、努力奮鬥的禮讚，讓生命和靈魂得以慰藉、昇華。我們在作品〈蒼穹星光〉中看到夜空下的牧羊女，仰賴著天上的點點星光尋覓歸途。夜空中的星星，就是明確的標識。

長期以來，岑龍深入探索和關注人類行為的本質，他的理念就是用最簡單的語彙表達出深刻的涵義，以最貼近生活的創作方式，將作品變為與觀眾交流的橋樑。這也是他一直堅持以具象技法來呈現藝術思想的原因，因為岑龍希望讓觀眾可以輕而易舉的進入他的繪畫中，體會到他所刻畫出來的「善良」與「愛」、「希望」與「力量」等等意境。岑龍希冀他的繪畫能夠成為喧囂的現代社會中，眾人心中的那一顆南十字星，撫慰人心，帶來希望。


Thomas Mann, the renowned 20th-century German writer, once remarked that Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Wagner were the greatest influences on his worldview; they were his three navigational stars. Cen Long too has had illustrious guiding stars: ages of literary, philosophical, and musical cultural tradition, brought to being in past great masters, can be identified as the constellation which has influenced and guided his artistic path. Inspired by this history, one of his main artistic motifs has been the dauntless resistance to the harshness of life, the insistent will-to-persist, and the contentment with their little means of the grass roots of society. Since his childhood, he has been touched deeply by their undying morale, which has inspired a lifetime of empathy and respect—Not least, this was influenced by experiencing the downfall of his own family and forced social re-education amidst turbulent times; his affinity for simple, organic lifestyles has grown ever stronger through hard experience.

Cen Long’s paintings appear to follow the style of realism—but this appearance subtly belies layers of subsurface complexity. He has observed and absorbed the techniques of the old masters: Frans Hals the Elder, Velazquez, Rembrandt, and Van Dyck; he is fluent in the semiotic language of contemporary art. Drawing from this knowledge, he utilizes simple color schemes, varying the stiffness of his strokes, and carefully constructing beautiful architectonics. His paintings create a coherent interior world buttressed by his dedication and crafted by his brushwork. Despite his reverence for the artistic tradition, years of refinement have developed his distinct and precise, yet personal style. However, beneath the surface of his style and subjects, he regards painting primarily as a media for understanding life and expressing emotions; in essence, beneath his apparent realism he has always pursued the representation of profound and abstract truths. The composition and style of the figures he paints derive from long, deep contemplation and reflection. And it is through this careful double-artistry that he expresses love and hope through every brushstroke; anyone could see the great reverence for his subjects as well as his inspirations shining through the paint. Cen Long captures characters as they are, hoping to understand and interpret their spiritual essences, and to project the soul of a person onto linen. He believes that while life is ephemeral and quickly evaporates, the spiritual energy contained in a person’s values, actions, and personal meanings crystalize into immortality. Guided by this philosophy, Cen Long is deeply respectful of those who live simply, humbly, and truthfully, and this, imparts infinite vitality to his paintings.

In Cen Long’s newest collection, “The Constellations: Cen Long and His Art,” he presents the three phases of life: genesis, journey, and attainment of meaning. Childhood is represented by nursing, rearing, and familial joy—Ode to Life captures the tender moment when life begets life. On the journey of life we see The Pearl Fishers’ Rite, depicting a dynamic moment in the lives of pearl-fishers as they push their boat ashore; the shore witnesses the never-ending cycle of their continuous labor, reverberating with the echoes of their singing calls… The pearl fisher holding the torch not only indicates the nighttime setting but symbolizes Cen Long’s attitude to life: only hope can illuminate and justify the weight of living.

Finally, Cen Long looks back, from the culminating point of our search for meaning; he introspectively evaluates the ambiguity and contradictions inherent in human activity of all kinds. He affirms the determined insistence and resistance in the face of life’s struggles in the exultant dance of survival, the unwinding of a life-history: through this act, the human soul achieves gratification, justification, and an actualization of peace—the apotheosis of our journey. In The Constellations, a shepherdess gazes up at a guiding star and navigates her returning path by the patterns of the firmament. After all, have the sky and stars not always encoded the clarity and hope which is the essence of our life on the ground?

He has devoted his life’s work to an exposition of humanity’s essence. He strives for an ideal: to announce the most profound meanings with the stylistic methods closest to real life, and thereby make his artwork a bridge to communicate deeply with any audience. It is this fundamental goal which drives his insistence on expressing artistic insights through realistic technique; through the universal intelligibility of this style the audience may effortless fall through the canvas and traverse the universe of aesthetic-moral values: love, kindness, hope, and strength. Through Cen Long’s style, underlying philosophy, and tireless effort we peek at his true intentions—he aspires to paint guiding stars for the era of modernity, to help us all recover hope and peace from the sound and fury of our time.