< Opening Talk >

Please feel free to attend the following opening talk with Mr. Zhou Hao.

Date & Time: October 11 (Sat) 17:00-18:30
Venue: Artland Gallery
Fee: Free of charge

Based on Zhou Hao's memoir "The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to be a Painter," Zhou will share his story of growing up in the turbulent period of the Cultural Revolution and studying in Japan up to the present.

■ A passage from Zhou Gao's memoir "The Story of a Boy Who Wanted to be a Painter

In 1966, the decade-long Cultural Revolution began. I was just six years old, and the natural changes that surrounded me were more like a scene from a drummer than fear and amazement. Fortunately and unfortunately, my time from elementary school to high school coincided with this. ----------------

At the time, there were revolutionary posters and political cartoon wall newspapers all over the city, "This is art," and as a result, they were my first lessons in drawing. In retrospect, those stylized paintings were not very good, but they had a powerful impact."

Audio of Zhou Gou's Exhibition Talk - Overall and Dialogue

The opening talk with Mr. Zhou Gou was a great success. Thank you to everyone who attended. Mr. Zhou was relieved after his talk. We have uploaded the audio of his talk below for those who were not able to attend the event.

The audio of the talk has been edited into two parts, an "Overall" section and an interactive version.
The "Dialogues" section is the entirety of this talk, divided into audio 01 through audio 04. For "Mr. Zhou's Memoirs," please listen to "Audio 02: Mr. Zhou's Memoirs.
The "Dialogues" section is divided into Dialogues 01 through Dialogues 11, which are conversations between Mr. Zhou and the participants.
The recorded sound is low, so please listen with the volume turned up. The numbers in parentheses indicate the recording time.


< "Overall" section >






< Dialogues >





　






Note 1: "Voting" means that each participant was asked to vote for one or two works of his/her favorite among the 18 oil paintings and 7 ink paintings in the exhibition (by attaching a post-it next to the work).
Note 2: See the description in "Simplicity" and therefore "Fertility" (see the bottom of the left-hand column) written by Zhou Gou.
Note 3 Ibid.

View details: Zhou Hao

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.