Circle of life brings artist back to his starting point
ZHU Zhechi was an ice sculpture designer 20 years ago in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. His father was a famous ice sculptor at the time and it would have been no surprise if Zhu followed in his father’s footsteps.
But he chose a different path.
This summer Zhu is one of three Chinese artists whose paintings have been selected to appear at the 2015 Milan Art Expo with 100 artists from around the world.
Born in 1968 in Harbin, Zhu graduated from the oil department at the local art academy. Upon graduation, he was assigned to work at one of China’s top ice sculpture festivals in the northeastern city.
“Many see ice sculptures that appear the same every year, but actually they are different with different themes. Creativity is quite critical. I worked there for more than a decade,” he says. “I am grateful for the experience as it widened my scope toward art and life.”
He says the beauty of ice sculptures lies in its physical structure, architectural design and the inspiration behind it.
Because of the festival’s success, Zhu and his team were frequently given the opportunity to travel around the world. He says the trips had a profound impact on him.
“Today when looking back, the festival committee was very generous in nurturing our young designers. At that time, going abroad to see the outside world was considered a rare treat among ordinary Chinese people,” he says, “You know, the realistic or socialism style still dominated the mainstream of China in the early 1990s. So I was dumbfounded when standing in front of original works of art created by Western modern masters. I was so overwhelmed that paintings could be done in such ways.”
Zhu says visiting museums in Europe strongly influenced his understanding of art.
As an ice sculptor, he was busy for three or four months a year, so he had plenty of time to paint at home.
“At first, it was purely for my own enjoyment,” he says. “And after years of doing this I accumulated a fair amount of paintings.”
It was in 1996 that one of his friends suggested he display his work at the National Art Museum in Beijing for a solo-exhibition.
“I thought it was a good idea, and I was curious to see the feedback from others, so I applied and I was admitted.”
Zhu’s paintings typically feature strong and wild brush strokes and abstract female nudes have often been the subject of his works.
At the beginning, his purpose was merely to showcase his paintings to the public, but when more and more visitors showed interest in buying his works at the exhibition, he hesitated.
“It was at that time that I suddenly realized I could sell my artworks rather than treat it as a personal hobby,” he says.
While it’s common in the art world for artists to struggle for years before gaining success, opportunities regularly “knock at Zhu’s door.”
In 2003, he exhibited his work at Shanghai Art Fair for the first time. His paintings on display sold out.
Two years later, against his parents’ wishes, he quit his job in Harbin and embarked on a career as a professional artist.
“I have had paintings exhibited at Shanghai Art Fair for 12 years,” he says. “It was there that I met my French partner who invited me for a solo-exhibition in Paris.”
It’s almost as if he stepped onto the “right track” at some point and it keeps taking him from one great opportunity to the next.
After making his Parisian debut, another friend helped him immigrate to the United States in 2009.
“I like New York and the art environment there is terrific. When walking along the galleries beside the Hudson River, I told myself that one day my paintings would be showcased there,” he says. “Then I was introduced to a veteran antique dealer at 5th Avenue.”
When mentioning his visit to the dealer’s home in Manhattan, he says it was almost like a dream.
“I felt that I was suddenly pulled into a movie scene. There was a chandelier and numerous antiques. The whole apartment was so luxurious, it really daunted me,” he says. “The family liked my paintings and wanted to sign a two-year contract with me.”
Perhaps in the eyes of many, this was a golden chance, especially for a newcomer to the “Big Apple,” but Zhu turned it down.
“One of the regulations stipulated in the contract was that they would be able to transfer me to other dealers when the contract expired,” he says. “I felt uncomfortable about it. I am a free person and I don’t want to be shackled.”
Today he spends half the year in New York and the other half in China. He does whatever he finds interesting. Subjects in his paintings vary from flowers and street scenes to Buddhas blurred under a chaotic backdrop of hues.
Everything was going smoothly until several years ago when his wife asked for a divorce.
“I asked myself a thousand times — why? I didn’t have an affair and neither did she,” he says. “We have had so many beautiful moments in life. We have a 10-year-old son, and I was just about to plan our new life in New York.”
Zhu tried to win her heart back, but it wasn’t to be.
“Of course, life goes on, whether the big blow beats me or not,” he says.
This unexpected blow also meant he poured more of his energy into painting, “perhaps as an emotional release.”
The changes enriched his understanding toward life and unwittingly changed the subjects in his paintings to Buddha palms and faces.
“I feel fortunate that art finally cured me,” he says. “I am now planning a big solo-exhibition at the National Art Museum in 2016. It is a big circle, I am returning to where I started.”
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