This exhibition will display more than 90 paintings, spanning Zhou Gang's 35-year career in art. Starting from Shanghai, studying in Tokyo, furthering his studies and creation in Paris, and he is now returning to Shanghai to begin a new artistic journey. His artistic pursuit indicates that the artist has completed an artistic journey of life by returning to the motherland. The themes of the exhibition involve the early "Tibetan Dream" series; the figure painting series "Paris Feelings" in Tokyo and Paris; and the "Wandering in the Universe" in Paris and Shanghai the landscape painting series of the unity of nature and man. The works show the artist's artistic exploration on the material and spiritual level from multiple angles and levels. During the exhibition, a large-scale album "Zhou Gang's Painting Collection" will be launched at the same time. This documentary album records the artist's artistic exploration and practice in different periods and different locations, and more comprehensively describes the artist's artistic wandering career and the trajectory of painting style transformation.

Zhou Gang was born in a Danqing family in Shanghai in 1958. He was fond of calligraphy and painting since he was a child. He studied Chinese painting under the famous painter Fang Zengxian. In 1982, he graduated from the Art Department of Shanghai Normal University with a major in Chinese painting and was taught by Mr. Zhang Peicheng. After graduation, he served as a reporter and art editor for the Youth Daily. He used to be the vice chairman and secretary general of Shanghai Young Artists Association, a member of Shanghai Artists Association, a member of French Artists Association, and a member of UNESCO International Art Association. From 1987 to 1989, he studied at the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo, Japan, where he was a graduate student specializing in modern art and Japanese art. From 1990 to 1992, he studied at the University of Paris, France, as a doctoral student of plastic arts and obtained a doctorate degree. During his stay in France, he travelled to European and American countries, studying Western art, and now lives in Paris and Shanghai as a professional artist.

As early as 1986, in the "First Shanghai Youth Art Exhibition", Zhou Gang won the first prize for "Winter". In 1997 and 1999, he held solo exhibitions at the well-known Seibu Gallery in Japan; his works were also exhibited in the famous Paris Art Fair in France; in 2005, he was invited to participate in the "travel tour" organized by the "China Shanghai International Art Festival" with the painter Zhu Dequn. In 2009, at the invitation of the French Toulon Municipal Government, an eight-month solo exhibition of Zhou Gang's ink paintings was held at the Asian Art Museum. He was hailed as "one of the best contemporary Chinese artists" ; In 2011, as a new generation of French contemporary ink painter, he was invited to participate in the famous group exhibition "Emotion from the East" held at the Contemporary Art Center of Pyrenees, France, with artists such as Mi Xiao, Zao Wou-ki, Zhu Dequn, Gao Xingjian; In 2014, he participated in the "Contemporary Chinese Artists Collection Exhibition" at the Asian Art Museum in Paris, and is known as the pioneer of the innovative synthetic painting school of ink.

Since the 1980s, as a young art explorer, Zhou Gang has relied on his profound Chinese ink painting skills and long-term life experience in Paris, which represents a Western cultural background. After traveling east and west, he was influenced by Eastern and Western art and he has cleverly integrated his experience in Japan and France. On the basis of in-depth research and appropriate experience of contemporary Western humanistic background and art, he gradually formed a unique personal style. In terms of subject matter, he was the first to directly use Chinese painting materials to depict the urban style of Paris. This initiative broke through the limitations of traditional ink and wash in expressing themes, and directly incorporated Western humanistic landscapes into Eastern paintings. This initiative broke through the limitations of traditional ink and wash in expressing themes, and directly incorporated Western humanistic landscapes into Eastern paintings. In terms of form, he traverses east and west, creating paintings that include both the abstract and the concrete, with modern composition, combining line and surface, and juxtaposition of ink and color, integrating classical ink spirit into modern aesthetic taste. Through more refined brushwork, he creates reality and the scene where dreams, clarity and nihilism blend between Yin and Yang, provides a fusion of Chinese and Western painting.

1)    The "Tibetan Dream" series is the author's early works. It represents Zhou Gang's artistic pursuit in his youth: primitive, simple and resoluteness. The Tibetans living on the roof of the world have devout beliefs and simple lifestyles, and they are all reflected in Zhou Gang's paintings. "Tibetan Customs" records every detail that moved him. Behind the rugged and powerful lines is the spiritual outlook of the Tibetans. The Tibetans are the human race closest to the sun, with blue sky, white clouds and green grass eagles. The Tibetans are so close to nature. The work, "Remote Memories" left people with such refreshing moment.

2)    In the "Paris Feelings" figure painting series, Zhou Gang painted what he saw, heard, thoughts and feelings on rice paper in an eclectic manner, and created visual characters which are full of romance and aesthetics. The series of "The Lady and the One Horned Beast", which is composed of workmanship and writing, blending ink and color, seems to represent the artist's personal philosophy of pursuing artistic perfection. In the "Paris-Sleepless Night" series, Zhou Gang let art express the most passionate emotions. From the musical performances of the Moulin Rouge to various bars, the bustling nightlife of Paris is full of bitterness and helplessness while letting people linger. The "Parisian" and "Cafe" series also attracted people's attention. They are like a mirror reflecting Western society, reflecting the fragility of their respective human natures, reflecting the painter's sympathy and curiosity for people, love for life, and exploration of the loneliness of people's inner spirit.

3)    In the creation of the imagery landscape of "Wandering in the Universe", Zhou Gang expressed his awe and infinite longing for eternal nature, pursuing the ideal state of spiritual transcendence and the unity of nature and man. It is also a true portrayal of the artist's return to the spirit of Chinese culture in recent years. He successfully integrated Western abstract expressionism into the atmosphere of Chinese traditional cultural outlook, and closely integrated the spiritual realm of Eastern civilization with the Western culture through the smooth flow of Chinese ink, highlighting Chinese traditional culture. Zhou Gang uses the Eastern cosmology and aesthetics to interpret this great world. He does not describe the concrete appearance of the landscape, but is keen to fly freely between the sky and the earth, expressing the natural elements such as wind, water, sky, earth, and aura. He wanted to use his paintings to reveal the mysterious and ancient power of the universe. It further implies that nature is the starting point and the final return point of life. Zhou Gang's paintings are like a bridge to the future, showing infinite space for transcendence and imagination in a limited space. It is both abstract and concrete, permeating a deep-rooted Chinese cultural spirit-the golden mean. His "Wandering in the Universe" imagery landscape painting series, through modern forms of expression, reveal for us the mystery of the yin, yang, and void of the Chinese cosmology.

Zhou Gang has held solo exhibitions at home and abroad. China Shanghai International Art Festival, Shanghai Art Museum, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Takaoka Art Museum, Japan, Seibu Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, Toulon Asian Art Museum, France, Chiano Contemporary Art Center, France, Antony Museum of Contemporary Art, Paris, Fez Dunberg Gallery and Korong Gallery hosted Zhou Gang solo exhibitions. Zhou Gang's artistic achievements have won him the Gold Medal at the First International Art Exhibition in Cannes-Côte d'Azur, France, the Toyama International Ink Triennial Award in Japan, and the first prize at the First Shanghai Youth Art Exhibition. He has published personal albums in China, France, Japan and other countries. His works are collected by Asian Art Museum in Paris, Shanghai Art Museum, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Japanese public institutions and private collections of various countries.

Thoughts on Viewing Zhou Gang’s Works

I have been teaching in the Fine Arts Department of Shanghai Normal University for more than 20 years. Zhou Gang was a relatively impressive student. I still remember that he was a hardworking student who was desperate to paint, and there was always a pile of paintings on his desk. Now that more than 20 years have passed, many of these students have gone to study abroad, but not many of them choose to become artists, especially those who are still diligent in Chinese ink painting. But Zhou Gang is one of such scarcity. I believe that in the past few years, traveling east and west, he must have encountered a good job that is better than being an artist. However, he has never regarded art as a craft, but as a need for life, just like water or air, so he has never given up the paintbrush or the rice paper. His persistence touched me, and it is the reason why I am willing to write this article.

He visited me once the year before and brought me his album. I was very surprised to see his works, I mean, he actually painted such ink paintings in Paris! The exuberant air is still there, but it is more relaxed. Many elements of Western painting are blended in his ink so naturally.

What really surprised me in these works is the style of Chinese seems to be stronger than those of us painters living in the local area. Because of the collision of ink and rice paper in his paintings, the speed and calmness of the brush, the rhythm of dryness and light...The special qualities of Chinese ink are overflowing. And all this seems a bit strange in our field today. Perhaps it is because there is no distance in the local area and I can't feel these beautiful qualities. Perhaps the endless innovation and revolution have numbed artists’ mind. Zhou Gang was immersed in Western culture in Paris and felt the charm of his hometown, so ink painting became a special complex for him.

Zhou Gang studied ink painting in China. In 1987, he went to the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo in Japan, specializing in modern art and Japanese art studies. In 1990, he went to Paris, France, to complete a doctoral course in plastic arts. It can be seen from his learning experience that he is a painter from an authentic academic background. The study and life in Japan undoubtedly made him think more deeply about the painful experience of the development and fission of Japanese art from China after the Meiji Restoration under the squeeze of Western civilization.

In Zhou Gang's works, both the concrete and the abstract ink show a kind of aura. The so-called aura is something full of vitality, vitality heralds his development, heralds the possibilities of unlimited choices. In his paintings, the freedom of ink bleeding on the paper is always under the control of the painter. And all this is due to the painter's understanding of art and perception of life. In terms of subject matter, he took the lead in directly using Chinese painting materials to depict the urban style of Paris, breaking through the limitations of traditional ink and wash in expressing themes, and directly incorporating Western humanistic landscape into the painting, embracing a unique, unconventional, and anti-fashion route. n his paintings, you can see the figure and life of the Westerners, but he uses the vernacular Chinese ink artistic language. He combines the traditional Chinese aesthetic taste with the modern aesthetic consciousness to form his own unique painting style.

In Zhou Gang's works, the rhyme is also a major feature. The touch of the brush and rice paper and the dance of the brush on the paper are so vigorous, without the slightest procrastination or hesitation. There are only traces of unrestrained mood left on the paper. It let visitors release from the interpretation of the shape and enter into feeling of mind. It is this brushstroke that gives life to the ink.

Today, Zhou Gang appeared in the painting world with the image of landscape painting, which returns to the connotation of Chinese culture. His pursuit of the artistic conception of Chinese painting has made a new breakthrough in the aesthetics, and further developed the expression form of traditional Chinese painting. It provides a new model for the integration of Chinese and Western culture to express the realm of Chinese ink civilization.

Zhang Peicheng

Vice Chairman of Shanghai Artists Association, former Director of Liu Haisu Art Museum