认识徐微强是因为我写作《中国后现代艺术》》那本书，后来见面交往开始多起来，他是一个很性情化的人，而且有着一种天赋的能力，很善于和女性交往，他可以在大街上随便就认识一个漂亮的妹妹，然后很快把那个女孩变成朋友，这源于他对女性的尊重，因为他的交往往往不仅仅涉及到性。但是他的作品却与性有着难以区分的瓜葛。我们不得不从性的角度来阅读他的作品。
徐微强的作品对性的张扬引起了我的兴趣和关注，在艺术的历史上，对于性的表达从来都是艺术家感兴趣的问题。因为人类的两大需要食与性中，性占去了一半，性对于人类是太重要的一件事。徐微强的作品直接揭示了性和身体与当代生存处境的关系。古往今来无数的艺术家和艺术作品涉及到性的问题。性是人类艺术表现最永恒的主题之一。性的问题直接与人类和社会的发展有关。弗洛伊德认为性是一切艺术的根源，他的泛性论影响了无数的现代作家和艺术家。徐的作品早期受到学院的写实主义的影响，带有明显的习作痕迹。但是从《非常男女》、《后宫佳丽》、《玫瑰人体》等作品开始他直接在意象化的人物身上描述了许多的女性的性器官，我们看到这种情况几乎在他的这组代表性作品中随处可见。头和脸被巨大的女性性器官所替代所掩盖，他对女性的表述直接而夸张。这组作品正是对于当下泛滥和混乱的性状况的揭示和隐喻。这次展出的作品《蒙娜丽莎》也是他的一系列作品中的组成部分。是他借用达芬奇的名画《蒙娜丽莎》来表达出他关于女性的另外的思考，在他的世界中女性也是神秘的、神圣的。在他的眼中女性的器官承载着人类的使命，没有女性人类将一无所有。性其实不仅仅是欢娱和生殖的图谱，性关涉到层面远远超出了我们的认识。徐的作品呈现出的性的变异图象重新将性的问题与社会生存、精神发展和道德情境的转变等多个领域联接在一起。性与一切有关，并且将伴随人类的开始和终结。性的表述方式的改变决定着社会变革性的重建，也是社会结构的重建基础。
徐微强的作品兼有涂鸦艺术的语言和表现主义的内在表现力，他的作品应该属于理性表现主义的范畴。
这次为徐微强的新作品个展写评论并不仅仅是缘于朋友的关系，对于朋友来讲徐微强是一个满真诚的人，他有钱的时候一定会毫不吝啬的请你吃饭，当他拮据的时候也一定是他面临经济压力的时候。在上海苏州河畔的艺术家中他的经济状况不是很好，很多的时候还要面临房租的压力，但是他还是努力地坚持着，在他那间不大不小的工作室中独自创作和接待来自四面八方的朋友。我对于他的认识到现在来讲也很是有限，我和他之所以能够成为朋友有一个原因在于他是一个不设防的人，他的秉性率真，喜欢谁不喜欢谁，有什么话都会说出来，当然这种性格也使他得罪了很多朋友，但是徐微强不是那种会使心计的人，没有存心害人的想法，他有的时候也很自我，但是当他理解了你的想法之后，他也会尝试着去改变自己，这也许是他还可以塑造的理由。这次展出的竹帘上的作品与他原来作品的主题一脉相承，所不同的是他在材料上有了自己的新尝试。
竹帘在中国人的传统生活和社会习俗上都有着悠久的渊源，是我们非常熟悉的物件。徐微强将他的那些关于性的作品画在这些竹帘之上给了我们很多联想。我们很多的时候关心的其实是竹帘的后面是什么，竹帘后面的故事也许更能够引起我们的思考和联想。面对这些帘上作品我不禁想起“垂帘听政”的故事，还有“一帘悠梦”、“帘外雨潺潺，罗衾不耐五更寒”这样缠绵的辞句。走进他的作品，我们也走进一个被竹帘所悬挂起来的世界，帘里帘外都承载着我们的希望与失望、追求与梦想。徐微强的作品在当代其实与任何的潮流都没有关系，他是那些沉浸在自我世界的艺术传统中的一员，这个历史中有从米罗、克利等延续下来的一部分基因。
I met Xu Weiqiang through the preparation of my book <<Chinese Post Modern Art>>, and we have been friends since then. He is a sensible person and is born with the gift to make friends with females. He can meet a pretty girl in the street and make friends with her, which originates from his respect for women. His communication with women is not only sex, though sex is such an unseperatable element in his works of art. We will have to understand his works of art from a sex point of view.
The exaggeration and promotion of sex in Xu Weiqiang’s work attracted me. Historically, artists are always interested in the expression of sex. There are two main needs in human life: food and sex, implying the importance of sex. Xu Weiqiang’s work disclosed the relations between sex, human body and contemporary art. Lots of artists, old and new, have used sex in their art works; it is such an eternal theme in art. It is directly connected to the development of humanity and society. Freud thought sex is the basics of all art, and this idea has influenced numerous artists and authors. Xu Weiqiang’s early works has obvious academic realism influence, but since <Very Male and Female>, <Beauty in the Back Palace> and <Rose Body>, etc he started to paint female reproduction organ on imaginary body figures, which can be found in many of his works. Heads and faces are replaced and covered with huge female reproductive organs, representing his direct and exaggerate description of femininity, also disclosing the current chaotic sex relations in the society. This exhibition ‘I LovE U’ on bamboo screens is also part of this series, which shows his understanding of women being mysterious and holy. He thinks that female organ carries a huge task in the human society; there would be nothing without women. Sex is not only an enjoyable and reproduction tool, it is also to do with things that are beyond our knowledge. The appearance of sex in Xu’s work reconnects sex with social living, spiritual development and moral change, etc. Sex is to do with everything, also together with human birth and death. The change of expressing sex determines the revolutionary social reconstruction; it is also the fundamental of the social reconstruction.
Xu Weiqiang’s work has both graffiti language and the inner power of expressionism, his work is concerned to be rational expressionism.
Writing this article for this new show is not just for friendship. He is such an honest person as a friend. He would definitely buy you dinner when he is rich, when he is not as so generous, he must be in some financial pressure. His financial situation is not so good among all the artists in Suzhou creek, sometimes he even has to face the pressure from the landlord, he still insists in painting meeting people from all over the world in his studio. I am friends with him because he never has protective barriers, he is direct and he says what he thinks. Although he made himself unpopular sometimes because of his direct personality, he would never try to harm anyone. He may hold on to himself to much, but he would change his mind if he understands your suggestions, which probably means he is still shapeable. This show on bamboo screens is the same theme as his previous works, only using new materials.
Bamboo screens has always been traditionally used in daily lives of people in China. We are all familiar with bamboo screens but Xu Weiqiang’s work has given us a lot more imaginations and thoughts about such an everyday item. A lot of the times we concern about what is behind the screen, and lots of poems were written about the mysterious of the screen. Entering his works of art, we also entered a world hung up by bamboo screens. Both inside and outside of the screen have our hope and disappointment, desire and dream. Xu Weiqiang’s work has nothing to do with the current trend; he is one of those who indulged into their own artworks, which has some genes from Milo and Klee.