In 1980, Chen Yifei, a highly acclaimed artist in the Chinese art world, made a resolute decision to pursue further studies in the United States. Having only 38 US dollars in his pocket, he courageously pursued his artistic dreams overseas. That year, Art News hailed Chen Yifei as the "first artist from the People's Republic of China to study in the United States", and he subsequently enrolled at New York University. It is evident that the American media regarded Chen Yifei as an exceptional artist. Later on, the renowned Hammer Galleries recognized his talent, leading to an exclusive contract and making him the gallery's sole Asian artist at the time. It was during these nine years of relentless dedication that Chen Yifei's masterpiece, Opening Night, came to fruition in 1989.
Collection of Long Museum, Shanghai
Chen Yifei had a deep love for music since childhood and also learned to play the violin. Additionally, his childhood experiences included attending church services with his mother, where the mysterious and solemn religious icons, ethereal and harmonious singing, and sacred interplay of light and shadow left a profound imprint on his memory. In the early 1980s, he began creating a series of portrait works with music as the themes. Employing realistic photography techniques and highly modern visual compositions, he vividly presented the images of elegant and intellectual contemporary musicians. In these works, Chen Yifei portrayed performers, clarinetists, pianists, violinists, and other elements associated with musicians, bringing their images to life. In Opening Night, Chen portrayed a female violinist performer featuring an exquisite facial features, lustrous hair, fair skin, depiction of the violin held in the performer’s hand creates a subtle resonance between the painting and music, and the interplay between light and shadow on the figure’s front and back emphasize the focused expression on the figure, appearing as if the violinist is about to step out of the painting and engage in direct conversation with the viewers.
Courtesy of The Wildenstein Collection
In terms of technique, Chen Yifei skillfully employed lighting and meticulous composition to immerse the viewer in a solemn concert hall atmosphere. He boldly chose a black background, eliminating artificial constraints of time and space, symbolizing the eternal existence that transcends time and harmony. This blank background echoes the technique of empty space employed in Song Dynasty portraiture, with Chen Yifei using "black" as a substitute for the "white" in traditional Chinese ink painting, creating a meditative space that focuses the viewer's gaze on the upper body of the figure, highlighting the figure's graceful body lines, elegant facial contours, and body movements. Furthermore, the theatrical arrangement of the composition and strong contrast of light and shadow carry a sense of religious mystery reminiscent of the late 16th-century Renaissance master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The dignified posture of the figure and the strongly formal composition make the performer appear as devout as a saint, while guiding the viewer's gaze to flow throughout the entire composition, experiencing the harmonious rhythm akin to music along with the performer’s movements.
Heralded as a “romantic realist” by American critics, Chen’s creations bear witness to the liberation of the Chinese art scene, successfully achieving a significant breakthrough in emotional expression. His works blend unique Eastern aesthetic connotations with exquisite realism techniques, merging Eastern and Western cultures on the canvas, earning widespread acclaim. Opening Night, completed in 1989, was exhibited in the same year at the Seibu Shibuya Art Gallery, and was included in "Chen Yifei Exhibition" and relevant literature, serving as Chen’s significant iconic work during this period.
1980年，中國藝術界備受肯定的陳逸飛毅然決定前往美國深造，攜帶著僅有的38塊美金，勇敢地追尋藝術夢想。當年《藝術新聞》稱陳逸飛是「第一位從中華人民共和國到美國學習的藝術家」，並其後就讀紐約大學。可見美國媒體認為陳逸飛不是一般的藝術家。隨後，他更受到美國知名的哈默畫廊賞識並與其簽約，成為當時該畫廊僅有的亞洲藝術家。創作於1989年的《開幕夜》則是陳逸飛在這九年的辛勤努力下孕育出的成果，堪稱經典之作。
上海龍美術館藏
陳逸飛自幼對音樂充滿熱愛，並且學習小提琴。此外，他的童年經歷包括隨母親參加教堂禮拜，教堂中神秘莊嚴的聖像、空靈和諧的歌聲以及神聖的光影變化都深深地刻在他的記憶中。八〇年代初，他開始創作一系列以音樂為題的肖像作品，運用照相寫實主義的技法和極具現代性的畫面構圖，呈現出多位優雅而知性的現代音樂家形象。於此系列中，陳逸飛以演奏者、單簧管家、鋼琴家、小提琴家等元素作為主題，以生動的方式展現音樂家的形象。《開幕夜》中，陳逸飛選擇了一位女性小提琴演奏家形象，捕捉她在準備持琴的瞬間，與音樂產生微妙的共鳴。她精緻的面容、明亮的秀髮以及背部所呈現的光影與身前的陰影，突顯了她白皙的膚色和專注的表情。這樣的構圖賦予黑色背景無限的空間想像力，使得人物彷彿即將從畫面中走出，與觀者直接對話。
米開朗基羅·梅里西·達·卡拉瓦喬，《魯特琴演奏者》，約 1596 年，油畫畫布，100 x 126.5 cm.威爾登斯坦收藏提供
在技法上，陳逸飛巧妙運用燈光處理和精心構圖，讓觀者彷彿置身於莊嚴的演奏廳中。陳逸飛大膽地選擇了黑色背景，消除了人為的時空限制，象徵著跨越時空、美好和諧的永恆存在。這個空白的背景與宋代人像畫中留白的技法相呼應，陳逸飛以「黑」代替中國水墨畫中的「白」，創造了一個冥想的空間，使觀者的目光聚焦於人物的上半身，突顯出人物柔美的肢體線條、優雅的臉部輪廓和身體動作。此外，舞台式的畫面佈局和強烈的光影對比帶有16世紀末文藝復興後期巨匠卡拉瓦喬（Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio）的宗教神秘感，人物的端莊姿態和形式感強烈的構圖使得演奏者顯得虔誠如聖徒，同時引導觀者的目光在整幅畫面中流動，隨著人物的動作感受到音樂般的和諧韻律。
陳逸飛被美國評論界譽為「浪漫寫實主義」藝術家，他的創作見證了中國畫壇的解放，成功實現了情感表達的重要突破。他的作品融合了獨特的東方美學意涵和精湛的寫實技巧，將東西方文化融匯於畫布之上，贏得了廣泛的讚譽。創於1989年的《開幕夜》同年在日本西武畫廊展出，並被收錄於《陳逸飛作品展覽》及相關文獻中，成為陳逸飛這一時期創作的重要代表。