Time does not always appear as fleeting or ephemeral in nature. Taking the perspective of a geologist, wrinkles of the Earth are telling not just an age but also a duration. Strata, tree rings, fossils, and sediments capture time as a body with length, as a line composed by repeated dots. Chen Duxi sees these natural phenomena as objects that are “specimens of time,” a space in which time operates in irregular paces for contemplation and imagination to reside.

The Contemplate series is Chen’s experiment to slow down time in order to submerge his intimate thoughts and sentiments in a mental space. With monotone wrinkles and traces, Chen’s subject matter flows slowly across the still image, wrestling with and unraveling the emotional states of “telling but not saying."

Unearthing these mental states through the representation of natural objects is a momentum toward the internal thoughts. The streams and the lines flow from his enclosed inner self to his audience, turning his paintings into a conduit for unveiling intimate thoughts and deciphering unspeakable sentiments. In fact, Chen approaches the nature in a similar manner. He paints the anatomy but not the portrait of natural objects, yet he rejects anatomy’s scientific coldness and instead diagnoses the inside with sensual tenderness. Such tenderness is maintained by touch, albeit the artist is absent in the image, he is there as the streams and traces caress his mind. At the same time, his sentiments can also be preserved in an intimate tone.

时间在自然中并不总以转瞬即逝的方式存在。在地质学家的视角，地球上的各式褶皱不仅记录某物的年龄，更展示一段时间的绵延。地层、年轮、化石、沉积物，都以实体的方式展示着时间的长度，将时间表达为无数个点连成的线段。陈督兮将这些自然事物看作是“时间的标本“，在其中，时间不以常规的方式运作，反而给沉思与想象提供了空间。

《持颐》系列是陈督兮的一个实验，他通过放慢时间将自己最亲密的想法和情感沉浸在了一个精神空间。带着单色调的褶皱和痕迹，陈督兮的创作对象在静止的图像中缓缓移动，一边解开“含蓄”的情绪状态，一边与之纠缠。

通过自然事物发掘这些精神状态是一种朝向内心的动势。陈督兮笔下的水流和线条从他合拢的自我流向他的观众，将他的画变为一个处在难以言说的亲密情感与可被读懂的陈述之间的通道。他以相似的方式追寻自然。他为自然万物画解剖图而非造像，但他拒绝解剖图中科学的冷峻，而是以温柔感性的方式诊疗内在活动。这种温柔在画中靠触感维系，于是尽管画家本人不在图中，我们仍能看出他的线条在轻抚他的心灵。与此同时，他的情感仍以亲密的语气保留。