Zhou Hao Exhibition
September 16 (Thu) – October 7 (Thu), 2010
10:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Closed: Every Tuesday (by appointment only) & Wednesday
Venue: Artland Gallery
Exhibits: Prints, Ink Paintings, Oil Paintings, Paper Sculptures… Approximately 30 works
At Artland Gallery, we are pleased to present an exhibition by Zhou Hao, an artist based in Yokohama who is active in Japan and China (Shanghai) and has recently been creating prints in a workshop in France.
Born in Shanghai, China, in 1960, Zhou studied printmaking at Musashino Art University and its graduate school in 1988. Since then, he has held solo exhibitions primarily in Tokyo and Shanghai, as well as in Hong Kong, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, and other locations. In 2005, he held a large-scale solo exhibition at the Shanghai Peninsula Art Museum, and in 2008, he produced a series of 11 new etchings at the printmaking studio of Rémy Petit in France. These works are currently being showcased in France and Japan, and they will be exhibited at our gallery as well.
Regarding Zhou Hao's new etchings, there is a catalog titled "Eleven Etchings: Zhou Hao's Harvest in Alsace," which features an excellent text by Yusaku Masuda titled "The Meaning of 'Meaninglessness': Zhou Hao's Etchings and Their Surroundings."
The author insightfully describes Zhou's creative process as an "Eastern graphic representation of 'emptiness,' seeking to glimpse the reality of the formless." He points out that Zhou's essence lies in his desire to "deny forms that suggest meaning, striving to create something else through action alone." Therefore, the forms seen in Zhou's works are shadows, traces, and resonances, which, as the author notes, stem from Zhou "painting the void."
In recent years, Zhou has also been working on oil paintings. Initially, these works involved reconfiguring print motifs within the space of a canvas. However, more recently, the motifs have almost disappeared, leaving behind delicate lines on divided color fields, resulting in works that evoke a "subtle and profound" atmosphere. We will explore how Zhou has reached this state of subtlety and profundity by examining his brushwork and pictorial space.
Regarding his brushwork, Zhou has moved away from the traditional method of adjusting paint viscosity with oil to create a smooth, hard surface. Instead, he directly applies small patches of paint from the tube, layering them to create a textured, soft surface with shading.
As for the pictorial space, Zhou has shifted from the traditional method of constructing space with large color fields to creating space through the layering of small color patches, while leaving some areas unpainted, which he expresses as lines. These lines, which might be seen as voids in the surrounding space, effectively reverse the usual relationship between form and void. By inverting the Eastern concept of void, Zhou emphasizes the presence of "emptiness."
This solo exhibition at Artland Gallery will be Zhou's fifth, following exhibitions in 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2008. The exhibition will feature approximately 30 works, including etchings created at the printmaking workshop in France, original three-dimensional paper sculptures based on his drawings, recent oil paintings, and ink paintings (some of which are mounted). We warmly invite everyone to visit the gallery and view these works.
ZHOU Hao
Biography, Selected Exhibitions and Public Collections
Biography
Zhou Hao was born in Shanghai, China, in 1960. From the age of six through his high school years, he spent approximately ten years living through the Cultural Revolution.
In 1983, he came to Japan as a privately funded international student. The following year, he entered the Department of Oil Painting at Musashino Art University. In his third year, he transferred to the newly established printmaking course, becoming a member of its first graduating class and studying lithography. During this period, his work gradually shifted toward abstraction.
At the same time, he encountered the Mingei philosophy of Yanagi Sōetsu, which made a profound impression on him. Through the writings of Suzuki Daisetsu on Zen, he also began to reconsider the classical culture of his native country. While reading works on Daoist thought, particularly Laozi and Zhuangzi, he developed a strong interest in contemporary art in both Japan and the West.
In 1987, he received a scholarship from the Koyama Keizo Foundation for the Promotion of Art and participated in the first Asian Art Student Residency Program, working in residence at the Shirakaba Museum of Art in Yamanashi Prefecture, with the support of Tokyo Gallery Yoshii.
In 1988, he graduated from the Printmaking Course, Department of Oil Painting, College of Art and Design, Musashino Art University. In 1989, he received a Japanese Government Scholarship from the Ministry of Education. In 1990, he completed the master’s program in printmaking at the Graduate School of Art and Design, Musashino Art University.
After completing graduate school, he joined MMG, a printmaking studio in Higashi-Azabu, Tokyo, directed by printmaker Yusaku Masuda. While working in plate preparation and printing, he continued to produce and exhibit his own prints. He left the studio in 2003 and thereafter devoted himself fully to his artistic practice.
In 2008 and again in 2010, through the introduction of Yusaku Masuda, he produced intaglio prints at Atelier Rémy Bucciali in France. In 2016, he participated in the LOVEART – Summer Artists Residence Project and worked in residence in Italy.
Based between Shanghai and Yokohama, Zhou Hao continued his artistic practice and presented solo exhibitions primarily in Japan and China, while also participating in international print exhibitions and art fairs in Japan and abroad.
He passed away in September 2023 at the age of 62.
