Born in 1955 in Chongqing, China, Zhou Chunya became a contemporary painter and sculptor. He is best known for his related works in two and three dimensions. A strong influence of traditional Chinese painting and German Neo-Expressionism is easily recognized in his artworks. The latter can be traced back to his graduate school days in Germany, where he obtained his Master’s degree from the Kassel Academy of Fine Art in 1988. Zhou returned to China in 1989. His education is not the only German thing to inspire Zhou. It is his dog, a German Shepherd named Heigen, that takes the most credit for these exquisite pieces of Chinese art.
The Meaning of Color in Zhou’s Art
The artist is renowned for his Green Dogs series of artworks. His beloved dog Heigen was the main motif of his art for more than a decade. The bright colors of his choice are no accident since Zhou has a precise shade of green called Italian Classico Verde 290. For the artist, this green dog serves as a symbolic self-portrait. And the color gets its meaning only when people think of it, it is at that moment that it becomes a symbol, says Zhou. And when confronted with Zhou’s paintings, the spectator is bound to look at a mysterious web of symbols. His art depicts the distance between people, with a background of uncertainty and loneliness. Green Dogs series is a mere projection of the artist’s life circumstances.
His art depicts the distance between people and feelings of loneliness
Appreciating Life
After his dog had died, Zhou’s style of art changed, as he suddenly sees the beauty of life around him. His motif now becomes peach blossoms, as he watched them blossom, and was moved by their vigor. He started combining the traditional Chinese motif with a rather modern approach to sexuality, as his paintings receive pink men and women in an embrace. The figures are sinuously shaped, giving a different meaning to the traditional denotation of the peach blossom tree, which now receives a lascivious meaning. The fragile flowers remind the spectators of the ephemeral nature of life, maybe warning them to embrace the beauty just like lovers embrace one another.
The figures are sinuously shaped under a peach blossom
Beyond Art
Not only is Zhou a prolific artist, counting a number of artistic accomplishments, he also serves as a council member of the Chinese Oil Painting Society and holds several VP positions of different Associations and Committees. His work has been exhibited around the world, in a number of international galleries and museums – National Art Museum in Beijing, Shanghai Gallery of Art and Museum of Fine Arts in Huston, to name a few.
Zhou Chunya lives and works in Chengdu, China.
Featured image: Zhou Chunya – portrait – photo via chengdumoca.com
Useful Resources On Zhou Chunya
| Year | Exhibition Title | Gallery/Museum | Solo/Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Flora and Fauna', | Solo show at ARCO Madrid, Spain | Group |
| 2007 | Red Hot! Asian Art from the Chaney Family Collection, | Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA | Group |
| 2007 | Zhou Chunya, | ChinaToday Gallery, Brussels, Belgium | Solo |
| 2006 | Zhou Chunya, | Zeng FanZhi and Ji DaChun Longrun Art, Beijing China | Group |
| 2006 | Ten Years | Chinese Contemporary Gallery, Beijing, China | Group |
| 2006 | Blue House Artists | Chinese Contemporary, Beijing, China | Group |
| 2006 | Zhou Chunya: Three on the Bund | Shanghai Gallery, Shanghai, China | Solo |
| 2005 | Living in Chengdu Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Oil Painting | 18 Chinese Contemporary Artists, Soobin Art Gallery, Singapore | Group |
| 2005 | Focus on China | WBK Vrije Academie Den Haan Holland | Group |
| 2005 | Biennale International D'Art Contemporain | Chinois de Montpellier France | Group |
| 2005 | Land of Warmth - the opening exhibition | Red Bridge Gallery, Shanghai, China | Group |
| 2004 | Dreaming of Dragon's Nation-Contemporary Art Exhibition from China | Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ireland | Group |
| 2004 | Living in Chengdu-Inviting Exhibition of Chinese Contemporary Oil Paing | ShenZhen Art Museum China | Group |
| 2004 | New Works by Liu Wei Zheng ZaiDong | Zhou ChunYa Shanghai Gallery of Art at Three on the Bund | Group |
| 2004 | Beyond Boundaries | Shanghai Gallery of Art at Three on the Bund, Shanghai | Group |
| 2003 | Alors | La China Centre Pompidou, Paris France | Group |
| 2003 | Six Marks of the Paintbrush | Gallery Miejska Arsenal, Pozna | Group |
| 2003 | Made in China | Fondation D'Art Contemporian Florence-Daniel Guerlain, Paris, France | Group |
| 2003 | BWA-Salon Sztuki Wspolczesnej | Bydgoszcz, Miejska Sztuki, Lodz Gallery, Bielska BWA, Bielsko-Biala, Poland | Group |
| 2002 | The First GuangZhouTriennial | Guangdong Museum of Art Guangzhou, China | Group |
| 2002 | Dream 02 Contemporary Chinese art | The Red Mansion Foundation, London | Group |
| 2002 | Zhou Chun Ya | Museum of Art Modern Contemporary, Trento Italy | Group |
| 2002 | Green Dogs | 314 International Art Centre Bergen, Norway | Solo |
| 2001 | Towards a New Image | National Art Museum, Beijing, Shanghai Art Museum, Sichuan Art Museum, Guangdong Art Museum, China | Group |
| 2001 | The First Chengdu Biennial | Chengdu Museum of Modern Art, Chengdu, China | Group |
| 2001 | Five Chinese Avant-garde artists | Seoul, Korea | Group |
| 2000 | Chinese Oil Painting in the 20th Century | National Art Museum, Beijing | Group |
| 1999 | Liberation | Chinese Contemporary London, England | Group |
| 1999 | China | Limn Gallery San Francisco, CA | Group |
| 1998 | Green Dog & Masters | Chinese Contemporary London, England | Group |
| 1998 | East Meets East in the West | Limn Gallery, San Francisco, USA | Group |
| 1997 | 8 Avant- Garde Chinese Artists | Soobin Art Gallery, Singapore | Group |
| 1997 | The Works of Zhou Chunya | Taipei Nothern Banker Art & Culture Art Gallery Taipei, China | Group |
| 1997 | Beizhuang Gallery, Taibei, Taiwan, | Solo | |
| 1996 | The First Shanghai Biennale | Art Museum Shanghai, Shanghai | Group |
| 1996 | China! | (Chinese Contemporary Art) | Group |
| 1994 | The Annual Exhibition of Works of the Artists Nominated by Art Critics | National Art Museum, Beijing | Group |
| 1994 | The Works of Zhou Chunya | Taipei, China | Group |
| 1994 | Xiaoya Gallery, Taibei, Taiwan, | Solo | |
| 1993 | China's New Art, Post-1989, | Art Central, Hong Kong | Group |
| 1992 | The First 90 Guangzhou Biennale, | Exhibiting Central, Guangzhou | Group |
| 1987 | The Works of Zhou Chunya, | Düsseldorf, Germany | Group |
| 1987 | Zhou Chunya Invitational Exhibition, | Linz, Austria | Group |
| 1981 | Seconds Chinese youth Exhibition, National Art Museum, Beijing |
