Zhu Jinshi

(b. 1954, Beijing)

Born in Beijing in 1954, Zhu Jinshi moved to Germany in the mid-1980s, and at present lives and works in Beijing. Zhu began painting abstract works in the late 1970s, and participated in the Stars group exhibition, the first Avant Garde art exhibition held after the Cultural Revolution. The core of Zhu's artistic practice is most fittingly characterized by traditional Chinese aesthetics, which emphasizes the harmony between human beings and the natural world.

Part of the legendary generation of artists who left China in the 1980s, Zhu was clearly marked by his move to another country and culture. It was in Germany that Zhu first encountered the work of Joseph Beuys, Carl Andre and Arte Povera amongst others.

Resembling colorful landscapes, Zhu's paintings range in palette and scale, but the artist is known to always apply his oil paint with spatulas and shovels. Producing dense lashings of color, the artist's method recalls the style and techniques espoused by the German Expressionists, who Zhu was profoundly influenced by during his years living in Berlin. In addition to painting, Zhu has also produced photographic, video, installation, and performance works.

Selected exhibitions of Zhu's include Thick Paint: Jean Fautrier, Franz West, Zhu Jinshi (2014) at Luxembourg & Dayan Gallery, New York, USA; Zhu Jinshi: The Reality of Paint (2013) at Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong; Gravity to Balance Violence (2012) at Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, USA; Power and Territory (2008) at Arario Gallery, Beijing, China; Orient/Ation, 4th International Istanbul Biennial,Turkey (1995); Fang (1990) at DAAD Gallery, Berlin, Germany; and The 1st Xing Xing (Stars Group) Exhibition (1979) at Gallery in

HEAVEN OF KAFKA NO. 2

2012
OIL ON CANVAS
THE EAST WEST BANK COLLECTION
70 9/10 X 63 IN

On display at:

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

As a pioneer of Chinese abstract and installation art, Zhu Jinshi's Heaven of Kafka No.2 is characterized by the artist's thick layering of paint that gives his works a three-dimensional, sculpture-like effect. The paint is applied with shovels and other heavy-duty implements and the works themselves take several years to dry. The vibrant oil on canvas painting is an example of Zhu's approach to abstraction, which in turn derives from the traditional Chinese ink painting approach of emptying the mind and letting the brush flow.