Artist figures out the path to success, mistakes and all
By Wang Jie |
July 1, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SOMETIMES the subject of an artist counts as much as - or more than - technique, becoming akin to a signature.
This may be partly true for Zhao Zhu, a veteran teacher at Guizhou Art Academy, who has recently found a wider audience and travels to Liverpool in the UK next month for his first overseas exhibition.
"You can call my style an oil figure sketch," said Zhao.
Eschewing preliminary sketches, Zhao works straight onto canvas, his focus being on depicting his subject, often within an hour.
Zhao says he finds his models among "ordinary people around us," - such as neighbors, friends, relatives and colleague.
"I like the process of meeting a person face-to-face for a limited duration," he explained.
Yet while his choice of subject may help define Zhao's work, his technique is also distinctive.
At a recently ended show with other artists at Hongqiao Contemporary Art Museum, his work aroused great interest from visitors.
"I never see such figure paintings before," said Chen Fan, a local oil painter. "I don't know how the artist did that, as every brushstroke appears quick, spontaneous and complete."
Zhao says he does have a distinctive style. "Believe it or not, this is not a technique that could grasped by many Chinese artists," he said, "I don't know how I maintain this style, it seems that it was always with me."
Born in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, Zhao graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1987. Upon graduation, Zhao's local government told him and other graduates to return home.
"I was not a bold person at that time, even though I didn't want to leave the capital," he recalled.
"However, looking back, I feel fortunate that I went home. Away from the hustle and bustle of China's contemporary art scene, I have been quietly considering the characteristics of art."
In Guizhou, Zhao pursued his own path with his figures. "All the control of the palette is diminished. The direct visual encounter leaves not enough time for design or decoration," he explained.
"Sometimes when I inspect a painting later, I find mistakes. But these mistakes have their own vitality. This is my way to record life.
"It is not a purely silent recording, but a fluidity that presents a figure," he explained. "The feel of art lies in the 'scattering'."
Zhao stresses that his subjects are vital. "People are beautiful in their own beautiful way. I am able to observe such beauty, to distinguish them from mediocrity."
Zhao never sells the oil figure sketches, which he claims makes his creations more pure. "I don't have the market and I don't need it, what I am interested is only in the artworks itself," he said.
However, he does have a studio in Songzhuang, in the Beijing suburbs, dividing his time between there and Guiyang.
Next month, in Liverpool for his exhibition, Zhao is set to start on his next big project - overseas Chinese.
"I want to sketch those overseas Chinese immigrants to the West," he said.
After Liverpool, his next stop is Vancouver in Canada, which has a large Chinese immigrant community.
Zhao predicts the resulting work will "create a visual record of these overseas Chinese quite different to those found in films and novels."
This may be partly true for Zhao Zhu, a veteran teacher at Guizhou Art Academy, who has recently found a wider audience and travels to Liverpool in the UK next month for his first overseas exhibition.
"You can call my style an oil figure sketch," said Zhao.
Eschewing preliminary sketches, Zhao works straight onto canvas, his focus being on depicting his subject, often within an hour.
Zhao says he finds his models among "ordinary people around us," - such as neighbors, friends, relatives and colleague.
"I like the process of meeting a person face-to-face for a limited duration," he explained.
Yet while his choice of subject may help define Zhao's work, his technique is also distinctive.
At a recently ended show with other artists at Hongqiao Contemporary Art Museum, his work aroused great interest from visitors.
"I never see such figure paintings before," said Chen Fan, a local oil painter. "I don't know how the artist did that, as every brushstroke appears quick, spontaneous and complete."
Zhao says he does have a distinctive style. "Believe it or not, this is not a technique that could grasped by many Chinese artists," he said, "I don't know how I maintain this style, it seems that it was always with me."
Born in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, Zhao graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1987. Upon graduation, Zhao's local government told him and other graduates to return home.
"I was not a bold person at that time, even though I didn't want to leave the capital," he recalled.
"However, looking back, I feel fortunate that I went home. Away from the hustle and bustle of China's contemporary art scene, I have been quietly considering the characteristics of art."
In Guizhou, Zhao pursued his own path with his figures. "All the control of the palette is diminished. The direct visual encounter leaves not enough time for design or decoration," he explained.
"Sometimes when I inspect a painting later, I find mistakes. But these mistakes have their own vitality. This is my way to record life.
"It is not a purely silent recording, but a fluidity that presents a figure," he explained. "The feel of art lies in the 'scattering'."
Zhao stresses that his subjects are vital. "People are beautiful in their own beautiful way. I am able to observe such beauty, to distinguish them from mediocrity."
Zhao never sells the oil figure sketches, which he claims makes his creations more pure. "I don't have the market and I don't need it, what I am interested is only in the artworks itself," he said.
However, he does have a studio in Songzhuang, in the Beijing suburbs, dividing his time between there and Guiyang.
Next month, in Liverpool for his exhibition, Zhao is set to start on his next big project - overseas Chinese.
"I want to sketch those overseas Chinese immigrants to the West," he said.
After Liverpool, his next stop is Vancouver in Canada, which has a large Chinese immigrant community.
Zhao predicts the resulting work will "create a visual record of these overseas Chinese quite different to those found in films and novels."
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