画心以言
——林容生在“曾锦德画展学术研讨会”的发言
时间：2015年3月26日
地点：福建省画院
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感谢范迪安老师，在他的强烈举荐之下，我们能够在这里，对曾锦德先生的艺术和作品能够有一个非常好的学习的机会。
这个展览给我一个非常大的触动，实际上是给我们当代正在进行创作的这些艺术工作者提出思考的问题，尤其是进行中国画创作的思考的问题——我们的创作、我们从事的画画到底是为了什么？我在展厅阅读这些作品的时候，想到这个问题。
我们的创作，长期以来尤其是在学院里头，经过对传统的学习，经过对各种艺术家的了解，慢慢会在心里头建立起一个自己的所谓的对艺术追求目标和理想。在这个过程中，我们往往带有一些所谓的学术的思考，甚至还有一些属于功利的思考，约束了我们对艺术创作的原本的发自内心、发自灵魂的冲动。
在曾锦德先生的作品里头，我看到了他很纯真、完全是发自自己内心的表现。这种表现表面上看似乎没有过多强调一些技术上的东西，传统的一些所谓的笔墨在绘画里建立的一整套笔墨程序和标准，也没有过多刻意追求我们现在常做的风格。但是我们在他的作品中感到，他以绘画作为表达心声的工具，在作品中流露出的真实情怀。他的一些画清楚地体现了他对传统的研究和学习，但在这个过程中，他又表现得非常自由。此外，我们也可以看到他作品中有许多对生活的描写，这种传统文人笔墨的表现，在他作品中更多地呈现出一种自由和对生活的真实感受。
我在创作时也想表现得更自由一些，想到可能到了七八十岁，甚至九十岁，我可能会达到那种非常自由、非常放松的状态。曾锦德先生遗憾过早去世，但我已经在他的作品中看到了非常自由的状态——他是一个真正为自己心灵作画的画家。这是我们需要学习和思考的地方。
林容生（中国国家画院国画专业委员会研究员）
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Speaking Through the Heart of Painting — Lin Rongsheng on Zeng Jinde
Thanks to Professor Fan Di’an’s strong recommendation, we are here today with a valuable opportunity to study the art and works of Mr. Zeng Jinde.
This exhibition has left a deep impression on me. In fact, it poses questions for contemporary artists engaged in creation, particularly for those practicing Chinese painting: why do we create? What is the purpose of our painting? I reflected on this while reading the works in the exhibition.
For a long time, especially in academic settings, through studying traditions and understanding various artists, one gradually establishes personal goals and ideals for the pursuit of art. In this process, we often carry academic considerations, and sometimes even utilitarian thoughts, which can constrain the innate, soul-driven impulses of artistic creation.
In Zeng Jinde’s works, I see pure, heartfelt expression. On the surface, these works do not overemphasize technical aspects or rigidly follow the established procedures and standards of traditional brushwork. Nor do they deliberately pursue the stylistic concerns common in contemporary practice. Yet through his paintings, we sense an artist using his art to express the voice of his heart, revealing authentic emotions. Some works clearly show his research and study of tradition, yet throughout, he maintains a remarkable freedom. Additionally, many of his works depict life itself, presenting the traditional literati brushwork in a way that feels liberally expressive and genuinely connected to lived experience.
In my own practice, I strive to achieve similar freedom. I imagine that by the age of seventy, eighty, or even ninety, one could reach a state of total freedom and relaxation in creation. Although Mr. Zeng Jinde passed away prematurely, his works already display this profound freedom—he is truly a painter who creates for his own spirit. This is the aspect we must learn from and reflect upon.