Chinese painter in a one-man show

MANILA, Philippines - Chinese artist Zhou Jun (photo) is currently taking Europe by storm. The Shanghai-born artist is inspiring contemporary and traditional painters with his unique method of combining and modernizing ink painting and calligraphy without sacrificing the very essence of the ancient Chinese art and the artist’s heritage.

His works have been sought after and collected the world over by the European Culture Commission, the Austrian Ministry of Culture, the former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, to name a few. Zhou Jun had many solo exhibitions as well at famous museums and art galleries in America, China and Europe for example, the Amsterdam Royal Art Museum and the Germany Cologne Asian Art Museum. But it was the company Verkerke, the world leader in art reproduction, which introduced Zhou Jun art to the rest of the world. Verkerke issued two million of Zhou Jun’s prints in the early ‘90s.

Among his peers, Zhou Jun is in fact dubbed as one of the “post traditionalists” today. He is considered “an outstanding representative of Chinese ink painting” with his masterful control of ink and water. Zhou Jun uses the ancient techniques of splashed ink and ink play, exaggerating each stroke to convey his innovative artistic sensibilities. Calligraphy is perpetually present in Zhou Jun’s visual creations. The artist once said that calligraphy and its aesthetic, namely the calligraphic line drawn by the free hand and the duality of the void and the solid, are at the core of Chinese art. Zhou Jun’s works are easily recognizable especially since he continues to sign his works with his seal — a longstanding tradition in China. His masterpieces also stick to Chinese age-old subjects like figures, landscapes and flowers, birds and animals.

To catch more of Zhou Jun, the Chinese artist will visit the Philippines and mount a one-man show on Sept. 17, 18, 25, 26 at The C3 Events Place, Greenhills San Juan. Admission is free.