拍品描述：
签名：小东1991 (左上)；形影不离 100 X 73 CM 刘小东 1991（背面）
出版：《纬度/态度：少励画廊二十周年展》，少励画廊，香港，2012年，第123页，彩图
背面贴有少励画廊标签
此作附少励画廊开立之作品保证书
拍品部分收益将拨捐香港癌症基金会
来源：香港少励画廊（得自艺术家本人）
少励家族收藏
展览：「纬度/态度 — 少励画廊二十周年展」，少励画廊，香港， 2012年11月26日 - 2013年2月2日
Executed in 1991，Liu Xiaodong's Lovers is an exceptionally rare self-portrait by the artist featuring not just himself but also his lover，fellow painter Yu Hong. As an extremely early piece，the highly accomplished Lovers already illuminates Liu Xiaodong's extraordinary prowess in the genres of portraiture and realism from the very nascence of his career. The artist's exacting technique and unaffected directness of his brushwork is echoed by the sparse，concise，yet powerfully eloquent composition.
Yu Hong embraces her lover from behind，encircling her arms around his body. Liu Xiaodong's hands are loosely folded over his lover's tightly clasped palms; a casual，relaxed，yet telling posture evocative of love，comfort，and protection. While Liu Xiaodong appears lost in a reverie，Yu Hong's gaze is direct，piercing，even coyly provocative. Anchoring the composition is the young lovers' gracefully interlocking forearms，their bare skin and long fingers enacting a dialogue that is simple，unpretentious，yet rich with emotion. An exquisite testament to the superlative power of Liu Xiaodong's unique brand of Neo-Realism，Lovers captures a deeply private moment，and in so doing manifests a quietly revolutionary encapsulation of a gravely estranged chapter of contemporary society—a feat that anchors the very core of Liu Xiaodong's greater oeuvre.
Undisputedly one of the greatest Chinese artists of the present generation，Liu Xiaodong occupies a singular position within the history of Chinese contemporary art. In 1989，when Liu Xiaodong participated in the landmark exhibition 'China Avant-Garde'，his straightforward，apathetic realism was at odds with the bombastic satire of Cynical Realism and Political Pop. Espousing a detached documentary style that subtly yet powerfully conveyed the conflicting energies of society at the time，Liu Xiaodong swiftly emerged in the 1990s as a leading figure of a new generation of Neo-Realist painters，with his adherence to figurative painting amounting to a kind of conceptual stance in an age dominated by photographic media. Encapsulated within his stark unembellished scenes are gently heart-wrenching medleys of the most human of emotions：tension，anxiety，despair，passive acceptance，and silent revelry within the small joys of everyday life. In terms of technique，Liu Xiaodong's loose brushwork and thickly applied paint convey the abstract potential of the medium while preserving a high degree of realism. Although Lucian Freud was an early and defining influence，what is noteworthy for the present Lovers is that in 1991，Liu Xiaodong had yet to see Freud's works in real life，having only encountered them in books and pictures.
Simultaneously tender，enigmatic，and infinitely arresting by way of Yu Hong's gaze，at the heart of Lovers lies a profound mystery. The architecture of the painting implies the unseen presence of either a camera lens or a mirror：Was Liu Xiaodong painting from a photograph? If so，who took the photo，and where is the camera? Was he painting himself and his lover as live models，using a mirror? If so，where is the easel and brush? And who is Yu Hong looking at—herself，her lover，or the viewer? In a similar vein to Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas (1656)，Liu Xiaodong's Lovers evokes multiple relationships：that between husband and wife，artist and fellow artist，the male subject and his internal psyche，and finally，both subjects and the external voyeur，be it the painter，the cameraman，or the scores of viewers to encounter the painting in the infinite future present.
Little known to many，around the time Lovers was painted，Liu Xiaodong and Yu Hong were cast in the leading roles of Wang Xiaoshuai's film The Days (1993)，a film that was never released commercially in China but won prestigious awards at international film festivals. Shot in black and white，The Days follows the lives of an artist couple. In director Wang Xiaoshuai's words：'... there may not be an obvious story line in The Days，but at least it presents the truth about the lives of people from my generation' (Michael Berry，'Wang Xiaoshuai：Banned in China'，in Speaking in Images：Interviews with Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers (New York：Columbia University Press，2005)，p. 167). In one scene，Chun (played by Yu Hong) stops and gazes directly at the camera for a sustained moment—a scene uncannily echoed by Yu Hong's gaze in the present work. Upon repeated viewings，one cannot decide whether Yu Hong's gaze is tantalizing or passive，inviting or apathetic. Endlessly alluring，her frozen，infinitely sustained gaze in Lovers encapsulates the documentary impulse that drives Liu Xiaodong's painterly oeuvre as well as the singularly poignant apathy that pervades the very best of his creations.
在1991年完成的刘小东的《形影不离》是一幅非常罕见的艺术家自画像，不仅描绘了他自己，还描绘了他的妻子、同为画家的喻红。作为一幅早期的作品，《形影不离》已经展示了刘小东在肖像画和写实主义方面非凡的才能。艺术家精确的技巧和率性的笔触，直接、扼要却又强烈地表现了作品的情感。
喻红从后面拥抱着她的爱人，双臂环绕着他的身体。刘小东的手佣懒地迭在爱人紧紧扣住的手掌上；俨然一个休闲、放松，却充满爱意、舒适和保护的姿态。刘小东的神情彷佛陷入沉思，而 红的眼神却显得直接、锐利，甚至略带挑衅。画面的焦点落在这对年轻恋人优雅地交错的前臂上，裸露的肌肤和修长的手指展现了简单、真实却充满情感的对话。作为刘小东独特新写实主义风格的见证，《形影不离》捕捉了艺术家与爱人深刻的私密时刻。同时，将刘小东作品的核心概念—隐藏在当代社会疏离之下真实情感，展现出来。
刘小东无庸置疑是当代中国艺术最伟大的艺术家之一，在中国当代艺术史中独树一帜。1989年，当刘小东参加具有里程碑意义的「中国前卫」展览时，他那直接、沉静的现实主义与玩世写实主义和政治波普的浮夸讽刺形成鲜明对比。在一个被摄影媒介主导的时代，他坚持具象绘画，以一种概念性的立场，表现出冷静的纪实风格，微妙而有力地传达了当时社会的矛盾能量。在1990年代，刘小东迅速崛起为新一代新写实主义画家的代表人物。在他朴实无华的场景中，蕴含着最人性化的情感：紧张、焦虑、绝望、被动接受和在日常生活中难以言喻的小确幸。在绘画技巧方面，刘小东厚涂、随性的笔触，既表现了油画媒材的可能性，又保留了高度的写实性。虽然卢西安•弗洛伊德对刘小东早期作品有绝对性的影响，但在1991年创作《形影不离》时，刘小东没有亲眼见过他的作品，只有从书本或图片中看过。
《形影不离》这幅画同时充满着柔情、神秘的气质和吸引力，其中的核心谜团在于喩红凝视的方式。这幅画的构图暗示了拍摄者使用了相机镜头或者镜子：刘小东是从照片中作画的吗？如果是，照片是谁拍摄的？相机在哪里？他是将自己和爱人作为现场模特儿，利用镜子进行绘画的吗？如果是，画架和画笔在哪里？而喻红凝视的是谁——是自己、爱人还是观众？和•委拉斯开兹的《宫女》（1656）一样，刘小东的《形影不离》唤起了多种关系：恋人之间的关系、艺术家和艺术家之间的关系、男性主体和他的内在心理之间的关系，最终，还有两个主体和外部观者之间的关系，无论是画家、摄影师还是无数未来会遇到的观众。
很少人知道的是，在《形影不离》完成之时，刘小东和喻红担任了王小帅的电影《冬春的日子》（1993）的主演。这部电影在中国从未在中国的戏院中上映，但却在国际电影节上赢得了重要奖项。《冬春的日子》以黑白摄影的方式呈现一对艺术家夫妇的生活。导演王小帅说：「...也许《冬春的日子》没有明显的故事情节，但至少它呈现了我这一代人的生活真相」（Michael Berry，《影像对话：当代中国电影制片人访谈》，纽约：哥伦比亚大学出版社，2005，第167页）。在一个场景中，春（由喻红饰演）停下来直视摄影机，持续了一段时间——这一幕与喻红在《形影不离》中的凝视形成了奇妙的回响。反复观看后，人们无法确定喻红的凝视是具有诱惑力的还是被动的、邀请的还是冷漠的。她静止的、持续不断的凝视在《形影不离》中永不衰退，体现了驱动刘小东创作的对纪实的冲动，以及他顶级作品中那种独特的、深层沉着的情感。