ILLUSTRATED:

Zhou Chunya, Timezone 8, Hong Kong, May 2010, color illustrated, pp. 238-239

In 1993, Zhou Chunya, recently returned from Germany, saw a German shepherd dog at the house of his old friend, Cen Xuegong (famous Chinese ink painter and founder of the Three Gorges School). Zhou was drawn in by this dog's strong sense of form, with its black and gold fur that glowed in the sunlight. Cen introduced him to the dog's owner, where Zhou picked up a puppy, which he named Heigen. This encounter solidified Zhou's relationship with dogs, and set him on the path to dizzying artistic heights.

Heigen is a German name, a nod to the artist's days studying abroad. Zhou studied art at Kassel. There's another reason for the name: there was a famous bar in Chengdu in those days, near the Minshan Hotel, called Heigen Tavern. Zhou would often go there for a drink with his friends. It was a familiar and close setting. Before meeting Heigen, Zhou Chunya didn't really like dogs. But afterwards, Zhou fell in love with all dogs. In his eyes, dogs are the most faithful and lovable animals in the world.

Heigen was a spirited and mischievous dog. Throughout his six year life, he was like a member of the family, rather than a pet. He often pouncesdaround the house, engaging people at play. When he still lived with his former wife, Zhou often referred to Heigen as their son. While he was with Heigen, Zhou began studying literati painting, often creating oil landscapes in the literati style, and Heigen naturally became his best model. We can see the traces of those happy times in every one of Zhou's Heigen-themed paintings, such as "Heigen with Family", "Heigen Playing on the Roof", "Heigen Running" and this lot, "Heigen Standing on Platform".

Zhou Chunya would often evoke the vivaciousness of this dog, and his doting love for it, with a few scant brushstrokes. His black paintings of Heigen were a continuation of his 1990s explorations of the stone and flower themes, and were more like a living diary of a painter. The chapped, rugged strokes of the brush tip are interspersed with smooth strokes, creating a sense of vitality and evoking the artist's relaxed and happy demeanor. "Heigen was very smart. At the time, I was driving an old Beijing Jeep, and the engine was really loud. Heigen could pick out the sound of my car from several blocks away, and he would bark in excited anticipation." After all these years, when he thinks of Heigen, Zhou Chunya can't conceal his fondness for his old companion. Though they were only together for about six years, Heigen has become an eternal symbol of Zhou's artistic progression.

Heigen passed away in 1999, dealing a blow to the artist second only to the passing of his father. It was over a year before he could bring himself to lift his brush again. "Heigen slept by my side since I'd first carried him home when he was a month old. When he died, he died on my bed. It was so sad." Zhou said that even after all these years, he cannot bear to visit Heigen's grave at Muma Mountain, because the pain would be too great. In 2001, Heigen began to reemerge on Zhou's canvas. This time, Heigen was no longer there just to present the artist's understanding of traditions and his skills with the brush. He had been released to become a freer spirit. This was when the artist's more famous "Green Dog" series came into being.