Green Dog

GREEN DOG
exhibition by Zhou Chunya

As one of the most important contemporary neo-expressionist painters in China, the free expression of colors and a focus on life have been perpetual themes in Zhou Chunya’s work. In the years since he became a professional painter, he has witnessed such historic shifts in Chinese oil painting styles as ‘scar art’, ‘rustic painting’ and the ’85 New Wave,’ but he has always maintained a clear head and independent understanding. He has never belonged to any particular style or group, and has consistently defied classification.

Zhou Chunya tends to depict those beautiful things which can evoke passion in him. This passion is primal, innocent, special and impulsive. The subjects he depicts are not those which the common people would eulogize, but under his brush, these objects take on a natural tranquility, as if they were just meant to be. From his earliest New Generation of Tibetans to his literati-infused Taihu stones and mountain rocks, then on to the flower vase series which combined soft flesh with hard stone, and then his green dog and peach blossoms, every change and reshaping of Zhou Chunya’s art has extended his feelings towards another subject that has always been there but always been overlooked. These were changes in his mental trajectory as well as the most sincere observations from his heart. That is the case with Zhou’s painting, and it is the same for his sculpture, which is also a complete reflection of the passions of his life. His sculptures make up for some of the sense of realness and bulk that he cannot convey through painting, and these works are more direct and tangible.

Some people think that Green Dog is one of Zhou’s more image-oriented works, but the artist’s intention is not merely the image. He is seeking the simple forms of literati bird and flower painting and the sense of volume of sculpture, to present force and speed through flowing painting, to convey texture and tangibility through brushstrokes. In a certain sense, the Green Dog series is a sculpture made by the artist on a canvas, and a reconstructed touch of a sculpture from literati bird and flower painting.

For over a deacade Zhou Chunya worked on the Green Dog subject, and the dog has been depicted in all kinds of moods and postures. The ‘green dog’ is a symbol, and the indistinct, ambiguous setting is the uncertain extension of this symbol, an allusion to the loneliness of modern man and the tension that lies between people. Its form, setting and the surrealist techniques come together to expose the artist’s expression of life and his contemplation of human existance.

Felicia Guo
Jakarta, October 2010

Opening : Thursday, November 4th, 2010 at 5.00 – 8.00 pm
Closing : January 5th 2011
Venue : Fang Gallery
Address : The Plaza (Plaza Indonesia), 27th Floor Jl. M.H. Thamrin kav. 28-30 Jakarta 10350 – Indonesia


Events, Exhibition