The training in fresco-style painting makes him both aware of what the elegant flowing lines, rich colour and composition, and transcendence of time and space this medium
convey as essence to Chinese painting. But he was unhappy about the nature of this style as basically rendering colour to black and grey expression on a white medium,
portraying forms only in two dimensions. He needed the bright, unadulterated saturation of colour oil could bring to his vivid expression of life in nature, the unadorned beauty
with rhyme and rhythm, in the pursuit of his passion for a “glorious musical movement in colour”. On the other hand, the realism and form delineation of traditional western oil
painting does not reflect the ethereal and suggestive nature of his view on nature and his expression of it, in the spirit of Chinese painting.
The journey ended in 1996 when he emerged from his isolation with his Zhongcai Oil style and technique fully evolved, and with his huge collection of works to show for it.
The suggestions of form in these works reveal themselves as subtle to bold lines, using oil tools in Chinese ink brushstrokes. The wholes are complete compositions, the
details in flowing broad strokes, defying form. Each of these compositions finished in one unbroken session, preserving the integrity of his excitement and imagination of the
moment, a fleeting moment in time, in the field, when he conceived his vision.
“I cannot reproduce any of the work I have done, and they defy reproduction by anyone else. My aesthetic sense is my own. I have imbued the spirit of Chinese calligraphy,
poetry, folk art and music, wood-block, fresco, even Thangka, in each stroke, and the uninterrupted free flow of the work as a whole. This to me is Chinese art, using the
medium of oil, not Chinese painting done in oil. There is no key-light, no obvious perspective or lack of perspective, yet the colours depict details in bright, solid, lively
highlights, with the tensile force and density which painting in oil allows me. My brushstrokes form bold to subtle lines without deliberately delineating objects. That’s why I
don’t sketch. I put oil on canvass only after rendering in my mind the composition in detail, sometimes on the spot, sometimes taking days; but once I have that, the work
flows through non-stop.”
In the depth of winter of 2005, Zhou sat at an outcrop at the convergence basin of the Yellow River where the thundering falls plunge perilously past him. This time he made
oil sketches. For 3 days he made 16 of them. Back in his studio he stared at those sketches for days. Then one day in mid-morning he picked up his brush, and started to
work on a 3 by 8 metre canvas, and continued for 6 hours until he finished, completely worn out.
This work, named “Chinese Soul”, was auctioned for US$1.4 million the next year.
Zhongcai painting
A tradition of painting in colour dating back to the fresco-painting in Dunhuang, the tempera based technique, which is finely delineated, with colour applied in successive
layers. The Chinese phrase Zhongcai could be interpreted as either layered colour or heavy colour, portraying both the technique of applying paint and the contrast between
fresco painting and the delicate nature of ink-brush colouring. The delineation is a constraint on the free-flowing of line and object creation, and the tempera is not bright,
saturated, and ultimately dense enough for vivid contrast.
Exhibitions
An exhibition of Zhou’s work was held during the Beijing Olympics as a designated Olympics key event by The Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
Zhou held his first outside exhibition in Hong Kong in 2007, showing 270 works.
Right after that he prepared his Taiwan exhibition by clocking nearly 10,000 km around that island in a little over 100 days, and finished 114 original works for the show, 5 of
those 1.5 by 3 metre canvasses.
He wants to continue to do this, one country every six months, around the world.
On the evolution of oil painting:
I’m following on the path of evolution of 6 artists, each a landmark of innovation in the progress of oil painting, redefining the point, line and plane of expression:
1. Paul Cezanne: Post-Impressionism, on the essential geometric shapes of elements of objects, or polygons
2. Georges-Pierre Seurat: Neo-Impressionism, on the primary points of colour, or pixels
3. Claude Monet: Impressionism, on the changing of colour with light
4. Pablo Picasso: Cubism, on multiple viewpoint of depiction of objects
5. Henri Rousseau: Naïve Art, on the use of patterns and unrefined colour
6. Wassily Kandinsky: Abstract Art, on the perception of point and line to plane of paintings
His contribution is the creation of lines without delineation.
On traditional Chinese painting:
With all the ethereal suggestive qualities and inherent romanticism, traditional Chinese painting is not an expression of real life, but emulation of traditional vision, and without
unique suggestions of feelings and passion. The ink brush cannot be as free-flowing, and cannot apply layers of paint; the resulting two-dimensional surface does not come
alive with its own character, making it eminently reproducible.
convey as essence to Chinese painting. But he was unhappy about the nature of this style as basically rendering colour to black and grey expression on a white medium,
portraying forms only in two dimensions. He needed the bright, unadulterated saturation of colour oil could bring to his vivid expression of life in nature, the unadorned beauty
with rhyme and rhythm, in the pursuit of his passion for a “glorious musical movement in colour”. On the other hand, the realism and form delineation of traditional western oil
painting does not reflect the ethereal and suggestive nature of his view on nature and his expression of it, in the spirit of Chinese painting.
The journey ended in 1996 when he emerged from his isolation with his Zhongcai Oil style and technique fully evolved, and with his huge collection of works to show for it.
The suggestions of form in these works reveal themselves as subtle to bold lines, using oil tools in Chinese ink brushstrokes. The wholes are complete compositions, the
details in flowing broad strokes, defying form. Each of these compositions finished in one unbroken session, preserving the integrity of his excitement and imagination of the
moment, a fleeting moment in time, in the field, when he conceived his vision.
“I cannot reproduce any of the work I have done, and they defy reproduction by anyone else. My aesthetic sense is my own. I have imbued the spirit of Chinese calligraphy,
poetry, folk art and music, wood-block, fresco, even Thangka, in each stroke, and the uninterrupted free flow of the work as a whole. This to me is Chinese art, using the
medium of oil, not Chinese painting done in oil. There is no key-light, no obvious perspective or lack of perspective, yet the colours depict details in bright, solid, lively
highlights, with the tensile force and density which painting in oil allows me. My brushstrokes form bold to subtle lines without deliberately delineating objects. That’s why I
don’t sketch. I put oil on canvass only after rendering in my mind the composition in detail, sometimes on the spot, sometimes taking days; but once I have that, the work
flows through non-stop.”
In the depth of winter of 2005, Zhou sat at an outcrop at the convergence basin of the Yellow River where the thundering falls plunge perilously past him. This time he made
oil sketches. For 3 days he made 16 of them. Back in his studio he stared at those sketches for days. Then one day in mid-morning he picked up his brush, and started to
work on a 3 by 8 metre canvas, and continued for 6 hours until he finished, completely worn out.
This work, named “Chinese Soul”, was auctioned for US$1.4 million the next year.
Zhongcai painting
A tradition of painting in colour dating back to the fresco-painting in Dunhuang, the tempera based technique, which is finely delineated, with colour applied in successive
layers. The Chinese phrase Zhongcai could be interpreted as either layered colour or heavy colour, portraying both the technique of applying paint and the contrast between
fresco painting and the delicate nature of ink-brush colouring. The delineation is a constraint on the free-flowing of line and object creation, and the tempera is not bright,
saturated, and ultimately dense enough for vivid contrast.
Exhibitions
An exhibition of Zhou’s work was held during the Beijing Olympics as a designated Olympics key event by The Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
Zhou held his first outside exhibition in Hong Kong in 2007, showing 270 works.
Right after that he prepared his Taiwan exhibition by clocking nearly 10,000 km around that island in a little over 100 days, and finished 114 original works for the show, 5 of
those 1.5 by 3 metre canvasses.
He wants to continue to do this, one country every six months, around the world.
On the evolution of oil painting:
I’m following on the path of evolution of 6 artists, each a landmark of innovation in the progress of oil painting, redefining the point, line and plane of expression:
1. Paul Cezanne: Post-Impressionism, on the essential geometric shapes of elements of objects, or polygons
2. Georges-Pierre Seurat: Neo-Impressionism, on the primary points of colour, or pixels
3. Claude Monet: Impressionism, on the changing of colour with light
4. Pablo Picasso: Cubism, on multiple viewpoint of depiction of objects
5. Henri Rousseau: Naïve Art, on the use of patterns and unrefined colour
6. Wassily Kandinsky: Abstract Art, on the perception of point and line to plane of paintings
His contribution is the creation of lines without delineation.
On traditional Chinese painting:
With all the ethereal suggestive qualities and inherent romanticism, traditional Chinese painting is not an expression of real life, but emulation of traditional vision, and without
unique suggestions of feelings and passion. The ink brush cannot be as free-flowing, and cannot apply layers of paint; the resulting two-dimensional surface does not come
alive with its own character, making it eminently reproducible.
Zhou Changxin Chinese Art using the medium of oil, not Chinese painting done in oil
From Fresco to Oil
Zhou paints in oil, without sketching, without modeling and without outlining, and completes each work in one
session, usually outdoors painting life in nature.
He started painting first year in elementary school, received his Masters at the Central Academy of Art’s School of
Fresco Painting, where he was mentored by Professor Du Dakai of Chinghua University of Art. He began life as
an artist with a thorough training in Fresco-style painting in colour, and prolific works produced, in the traditional
Dunhuang Zhongcai technique, using layering of masking colours on delineated objects. Then he started to feel
the limitation of both this technique and the method of expression of Chinese traditional painting. In 1996, he
started to paint in oil, immersing himself for 10 years evolving his Zhongcai Oil technique, producing hundreds of
paintings, in a journey all his own.
From Fresco to Oil
Zhou paints in oil, without sketching, without modeling and without outlining, and completes each work in one
session, usually outdoors painting life in nature.
He started painting first year in elementary school, received his Masters at the Central Academy of Art’s School of
Fresco Painting, where he was mentored by Professor Du Dakai of Chinghua University of Art. He began life as
an artist with a thorough training in Fresco-style painting in colour, and prolific works produced, in the traditional
Dunhuang Zhongcai technique, using layering of masking colours on delineated objects. Then he started to feel
the limitation of both this technique and the method of expression of Chinese traditional painting. In 1996, he
started to paint in oil, immersing himself for 10 years evolving his Zhongcai Oil technique, producing hundreds of
paintings, in a journey all his own.
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| World of China: Middle Kingdom: 003: Special Articles for Sharing: 013 Zhou Changxin Chinese Art using the medium of oil, not Chinese painting done in oil received from Carter Tseng, PhD |
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