Ｉｎｇｅｎｉｏｕｓ Ａｒｔｉｓｔ Ｂｒｅａｋｓ Ａｗａｙ ｆｒｏｍ Ｔｒａｄｉｔｉｏｎ

I was astonished by the paintings I saw at the Henglu Gallery one afternoon in early winter of 2007. It was artist Zhou Jianzhong’s solo show of ink paintings under the title of “A Way to Hidden Beauty”. Nothing in the paintings suggested familiarity. I did not see any typical images in conventional flower-bird paintings and landscape paintings. Nor were there any figures that remotely resembled human beings in the paintings.

Yet， Zhou’s ink paintings radiated fresh energy， ebullient brushstrokes， gracious colors， and ingenious combinations of lines， dots and washes. The paintings presented no concrete images， but the compositions were natural and elegant. These paintings suggested no tradition， no imitation， and no repetition. I could feel the surging emotions of the artist. My heart throbbed with a strange excitement.

My past experience with alternative writers gave me a hint that Zhou Jianzhong was probably an alternative artist. I can be right in thinking so: Zhou is not blessed with any academic art training. He is a successful businessman and guest professor of art at several fine arts academies.

Zhou’s paintings have nothing to do with tradition， but they display essentials of masterful brushwork and ink techniques. The artist’s refusal to identify with traditional images makes him stand out. Zhou describes his artistic explorations over the past 26 years as seeking an alternative way to hidden beauties. Maybe his inspirations come from nature， from Zen， from other arts， or from literary masterpieces. In addition， his professional experience with artistic decoration may have helped him achieve a delightful harmony of colors， moods， and appearances in his paintings.