白明以陶瓷艺术闻名，却不能用陶艺家来归类。
白明是当代艺术家，却不能从当代来理解。
白明是中国艺术家，却不能以中国来界定。
白明画水墨，油画、甚至大漆，但在他使用的各种材料之中，陶瓷占有特殊的地位。陶瓷的特殊性源自它的历史性。中国是陶瓷的故乡，从神秘的仰韶彩陶、绚丽的唐三彩、温润的宋代青瓷、活泼精致的元明青花和彩瓷，充分体现了中国传统技术与艺术的完美结合。白明取材于斯，可谓得天独厚。然而，作为一位当代艺术家，陶瓷也给白明打开了一扇独特的通往当代性的大门。二十世纪西方哲人，得到中国古老的器皿喻像和道家虚无之论的启迪，将“物性”从“物体”中剥离出来。艺术也由此得到彻底解放。白明的艺术之途也是从“成器(物体）” 到“物归(物性）”的长途跋涉，燕处超然，物我同化。
看白明作品，我们首先看到的是“手感反映给你的一种表情”。陶瓷的表情是如此妩媚、优雅而知性。白瓷釉下那一条条相互交织伸展游动的线条，像春天发出的枝芽，具有一种无法捕捉的灵动，像在风中吟唱的芦苇，像蓝天中飘荡的雅云。白、蓝、赭色的互动与糅合，更好似一片“朗天荷梦”；这是“生生不息”的大自然，是充满人间情感的“青山仁爱”，也是外物与心灵交合的“自由快乐”。
格物致知。白明以一位考古学家的态度和视觉挖掘着“墟”、“古城窟”、“交河故道”。他给我们创造了一个新的“山水与时间”，让我们用眼睛去倾听“时间的声音”。在“玄光之下” 、“瓷石之间”，我们透过千疮百孔的“文化虫洞”看到过去与未来。“管锥篇”，像一本无字书，书写着自然与时间留下的痕迹。那形态各异的的“器-形式与过程”，开启一条“参禅”之道。最难忘怀的是那一个个拳掌大小的“白氏杯”，把我们从凡尘俗世带入陶醉冥想之乡。
白明的艺术世界里，立体与平面相互转化，柔和与硬度变成一体，材料的界限被打破，时间和空间重新定位。一片新开启的天地里，人工让步于自然，成器终归于物性。喃喃“物语”，此心何安？
汪涛
2023年5月8日
Preface
Bai Ming is renowned for his ceramic art, yet he cannot be classified solely as a ceramic artist. Bai Ming is a contemporary artist, yet he cannot be fully understood within the context of the contemporary art world. Bai Ming is a Chinese artist, yet he cannot be confined to the boundaries of Chinese culture.
Bai Ming explores ink painting, oil painting, and even lacquer, but among the various materials he employs, ceramics hold a special place. The uniqueness of ceramics stems from its historical significance. China is the birthplace of ceramics, and its rich tradition encompasses the enigmatic Yangshao painted pottery, the vibrant Tang tri-color glazed ceramics, the elegant Song celadon, and the lively and refined Yuan and Ming blue and white porcelain. These ceramics fully embody the perfect fusion of traditional Chinese craftsmanship and artistry. Bai Ming draws inspiration from this heritage, making him exceptionally privileged. However, as a contemporary artist, ceramics also serve as a unique gateway for Bai Ming to enter the realm of modernity. Influenced by Western philosophers of the 20th century, who drew inspiration from ancient Chinese vessels and the Daoist philosophy of emptiness, Bai Ming has liberated “materiality” from the confines of “object”. Art has thus been thoroughly emancipated. Bai Ming's artistic journey can be seen as a transition from “object-making” to “the return of things”, rising above material temptation and merging himself with the external world.
When we encounter Bai Ming's works, the first thing that captures our attention is the expression conveyed through the tactile sensation. Ceramics possess a captivating allure, exuding elegance and intellect. The interweaving lines beneath the white porcelain glaze resemble the sprouting branches of spring, imbued with an elusive liveliness. They resemble swaying reeds singing in the wind, or the elegant clouds drifting across the blue sky. The interplay and fusion of white, blue and ochre evoke a sense of A Lotus Dream under the Blue Sky. It embodies the Endlessness of nature, the deep Compassion of Spring Mountains, and the harmonious coexistence of external objects and the inner self, resulting in a sense of Freedom and Happiness.
Bai Ming embodies the spirit of “studying the nature of things”. With the mindset of an archaeologist, he visually excavates Relics, Ancient City Grottoes and Road of Jiaohe Relics. He creates a new landscape of Mountains, Waters and Time, enabling us to listen to the Sound of Time with our eyes. In Under Mysterious Light and Between Ceramics and Stone, we glimpse the past and the future through battered Cultural Worm Hole. The Spigot, which resembling a wordless book, inscribes the traces left by nature and time. The Appliance·Form and Process with diverse shapes opens up a path of Zen. What is most unforgettable is every palm-sized Bai's cup that transports us from the mundane world into a state of intoxicating contemplation.
In Bai Ming's artistic world, the third dimension and the second dimension transform in each other, softness and hardness become one, limits of materials are shattered, time and space are also repositioned. In this newly opened realm, human intervention yields to nature, and “object-making” ultimately turns back to “the return of things”. Murmuring Speech of Objects, where does this heart find peace?
Wang Tao
2023.5.8