Zhu (front left) with mother and siblings
Shanghai, circa 1937
Painting Pushkin in high school
Beijng, 1952
Painting by Longyangxia Dam
Qinghai, 1986
Revisiting Qinghaihu Lake
Qinghai, 1986
REVIEW OF LIFE AND ART OF ZHU NAIZHENG
Zhu Naizheng (pronounced in English as ju ny CHUNG) is one of the most well-known oil painters in China. His fame perhaps centers on his unique aesthetic sensibility which straddles eastern art and western art. He has the capability of framing his art renditions of extraordinary formal complexity, yet providing a window on each of the eastern and the western cultures.
Born in l935, Zhu Naizheng grew up with strong family training in traditional Chinese arts and classic Chinese literature. Ever the seeker of more knowledge, as a teen-ager he became interested in western art after becoming a creative member of the Beijing 24th High School Art Association. He chose to study in Beijing at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts. From l953 to l957 he studied oil painting under Wu Zhuoren, Wang Shikuo, Ai Zhongxin, Wei Qimei, and was deeply influenced by others like Durer, Rembrandt, Goya, Monet, Freud, and Wyeth.
Zhu Naizheng, the young promising artist, then undertook an exile-like life from his art for twenty-one years due to the special political climate in China and its strident rules emphasizing realism and propaganda art. Quietly continuing his search, he developed the techniques to incorporate western and eastern art into his oil paintings. He never allowed the immediacy of western art to get the better of his Chinese eye--and that has stunned and excited viewers of all kinds. He said: "I had to get away from various disturbances and relax in a world with a slower pace. I close my eyes and start roaming in my own world. With the help of my brush, I find the world of eternal tranquility." If one were to peer into Zhu's studio it would remind the viewer that Zhu's paintings transcend nationality--and would provide the viewer with tranquility.
After those twenty-one years honing his skills and talents Zhu burst upon the center stage of the public art world in l980 as a professor at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts and became a much sought-after exhibitor in major art shows and museums in China, Japan, Europe, the United States, and South America. Japanese critics have glowingly called him "The Ghost Genius," so ethereal are his cultural illusions. He is the rare master of the calligraphic line, simple yet sensual, which, set on an Impressionist-like oil, becomes his artistic signature.
Currently he lives in Beijing with his wife, An Yuying, a photographer. He still keeps close ties with the academy although he has resigned as the president due to health reasons. However, while enjoying teaching students in oil painting and Chinese calligraphy, he continues to play an important role in changing school systems upwards to new levels. He believed and advocated diversity in the academy and strongly supported the establishment and development of 4th Studio to encourage students to seek new creative direction. Under his encouragement and supervision many artists of new generations, like Liu Xiaodong and Yu Hong, have begun to draw international attention. It was the hardships he endured while in exile that pushed him to help others. As a member of the CPPCC (Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) his opinions and suggestions have influenced many policy reforms in art related fields in China.
Zhu Naizheng is also famous for his calligraphy, his Chinese ink and wash, and his other impressive talent which he sometimes combines with his art--poetry composition. With the publication of “Collection of Zhu Naizheng’s Essays” in 1998, his talent as a writer has been widely noted. More and more, having him as preface-writer has become an honor for many Chinese artists.
Writing in one of his essays, Zhu stated "...if an artist is only trying to recreate images on canvas, that can only be called ' imitating' or 'copying.' The spectral quality of Chinese art is all about how an artist improvises and gives earthly life divine meaning. To reach that level, we need absorb the nutrition from roots of our culture and inspire future generations to greater efforts."
It is because of the artistic ability of Zhu Naizheng that past generations have been and future generations will be inspired to enjoy the cultures of the East and the West.