梅墨生
中国画研究院一级画家
中国画研究院理论研究部副主任
晚峰是条西北汉子，生于甘肃，活于陕北。然而，他在西北活得不轻松也不愉快。于是，他来到了北京城。
晚峰去了趟江南，在黄山呆了一个月，他傻了。天下竟有如此的美景！在西北雄浑山水之外，周晚峰第一次发现了秀丽、发现了清逸、发现了奇幻的美。
北归的晚峰沉醉于黄山云烟中。他的创作激情喷薄而出。从此，晚峰山水多了一种水墨韵味，多了一种云烟气象。在他笔下，西北高原风物都染着一缕烟云变灭的奇气，原本雄健苍凉的风物，多了份韵致，莫名的奇秀。
我与晚峰萍水相逢，有一年的有一天，我收到他寄来的一批作品照片和复印文章材料，后来，我也看到了报刊上的介绍，才算初步了解他。他给我的印象，热烈奔放，率直单纯，挚爱艺术。在他的身上，豪爽与执著合一，失落与进取同步。在命运的坎坷与生存背景的不顺之下，晚峰有一股劲，风风火火的闯劲。如今他在中央美术学院代课，教学颇受学生欢迎。好家伙，他这一闯，闯到了美术的最高学府里来了，一批名家对他的作品给予了好评。
晚峰有时十分自信。有一次，他抱了一大捆作品到我家来，一张张，一张张，如数家珍。神态中自得，言语中自信。这就是艺术家！
近日，我看到了他的一摞黄山写生稿，是炭笔，大气而恣肆，画得真好！又看了一批写意山水画，却是用云水风格表现北国高原景象，画得也很好！好在北画南韵，雄秀兼得，痛快淋漓；好在恣肆张扬，奇崛朴拙，生辣酣畅，与时下之山水画风迥然不同。可不要小看了这一点不同，这一点不同已经非常难得，它是一种思想与精神的突破，它透露出晚峰为人为艺的个性与追求。在竞尚雕饰，一派“秀气”的山水时风中，更是为艺的“真”字才能够使然。
晚峰的画像烈酒、纯高粱酒，辣而冲，喝了让人热血沸腾。为此，我期待着这酒再沉淀一下，再醇厚些，让它成为陈酿！
 
Unrestrained Wanfeng
by Mei Mosheng
Wanfeng is a native of Northwest China. He was born in Gansu Province, and lived quite a few years in the north of Shensi Province. However, he came to Beijing as he didn’t have a pleasant time in the northwest.
Once Wanfeng went south of Yangtze and stayed in the Mount Huang for a month; to his astonishment, he found a most beautiful scenery in the world. Beyond the majestic mountains and waters of northwest China, for the first time in his life, he saw the beauty of grace and fancy of nature.
Wanfeng, who has just returned to the north, absorbed himself in the clouds and mists of Mount Huang. His passion of creation burst forth. Then in his landscapes were added the aroma of ink and wash and the atmosphere of clouds and mists. With his brushes, the landscape of the northwestern plateau is tinged with a marvelous scent of the changes of the clouds and mists, making the originally majestic and bleak scenery more elegant and beauty.
I got to know Wanfeng by chance. Several years ago, I received from him some of paintings and copies of some articles on his works. Later, I also happened to read the introduction to his works in newspaper- which is my first knowledge of him. I was impressed by his unrestrained passion, his frankness and innocence, and his devotion to art. There is the combination of straightforwardness and perseverance and the sense of both loss and persistence in him. Despite the frustrations and the bad living conditions, Wanfeng has a kind of undaunted pioneering-spirit. Now he is teaching in Central Academy of Fine Arts, and a very popular teacher among his students. This reckless guy pioneered into the best academy of arts in China, and was praised for his works by a lot of artists of high prestige.
Sometimes, Wanfeng is very confident. He once brought a lot of works to my house, and showed me one by one. Full of his satisfaction and confidence-that is the real artist!
Recently, I saw a couple of his sketches of Mount Huang which were done with charcoal pencil. They are magnificent and unrestrained, they are really impressive! I also saw some of his beautiful freehand brushworks, which are characterized by clouds and waters, showing the sceneries of plateau of North China. They are beautiful because the northern landscape in his paintings is seasoned with the charm of the southern sceneries—a combination of majesty and elegance, thoroughly impassioned; they are beautiful because they are unrestrained, bold and simple, with ease and verve, which are quite different from the present landscape paintings. Don’t ignore This difference can never be ignored because it is really hard to see, and it is a revelation of thought and spirit, which shows Wanfeng’s personality and pursuit as a man and as an artist. In the refined and“elegant”landscape, it is the“true”spirit as an artist that can make this difference.
Wanfeng’s paintings are like liquor, pure strong liquor, hot and drunk-driven, and they make people indignant. Therefore, I’m expecting the liquor to be purer, and better!