EXHIBITED:
Chinese Fine Arts in the 1990s: Experiences of China, Sichuan Museum of Art, Chengdu, China, 1993

ILLUSTRATED:
Chinese Fine Arts in the 1990s: Experiences of China, Sichuan Museum of Art, Chengdu, 1993, color illustrated
Zhou Chunya, Time Zone 8, Hong Kong, 2010, color illustrated, pp. 190-191

Zhou was born into a literary family; his parents are well-educated scholars with artistic attainments. His father died at an early age of 47 during the Cultural Revolution when Zhou was only 14, his last wish to Zhou was “Keep fit, keep drawing.” He also left Zhou a broad range of Western and Chinese classical art theory series and a few original works of Zhang Daqian. Chinese traditional artistic elements are in Zhou's blood and rooted in his memory and body. Like many grandmasters of modern contemporary art, Zhou went through a traditional digestion process in terms of culture heritage, influence and projection of Western culture: recognition of traditional Chinese culture, abandoning its shackles, imbibing western culture, combination of two different cultures, abnegation of western culture and regression to the origin. German Expressionism has a great influence on Zhou, he left the majority of his art pieces to his professors and landlord in Germany.

“I know myself, because I have explored the world with my eyes.” After returning to China, flood of instability destroyed his artistic creativity; meanwhile, Chinese traditional painting began to emerge its glamour in his artworks, as if it is premeditated. The traditional essence and profoundness of classical literati significantly inspired his creation, which made him understood that the development of Chinese traditional painting and western art are identical-a unique, independent, integrated and sophisticated style is developed from imitations of predecessors.

As early as the 1990's, Zhou turned to the use of all new techniques in re-interpreting the traditional Chinese mountain rock. Mountain rock is a traditional theme in Chinese painting, reflecting the spirit of the literati and serving as a bastion for the soul. In Zhou's painting a completely different aspect of mountain rock is revealed. Colors not found in nature are used to express the nature of the rocks themselves.

Zhou Chunya’s Stone series specifically addresses the convergence of Eastern and Western aesthetic traditions, utilizing a combination of elements to create a more universal composite. Addressing this series, Zhou explains: “When I created these “stones,” I had been studying the landscape paintings of the literati. I didn’t, however, perceive them in a way like the Chinese traditional painters. I did not attempt to scrutinize their material properties and patterns and shapes, but to search, according to my own purposes of expression, for those features that all together estrange and amaze me. I have spent much time studying texture, as I tried compulsively to capture and ponder over the deep-rooted factors that affect our visual perception of the stones. Their augmentation and magnification are in essence the form; their visualization is in essence the content, so they require no further explanation or reference. These stones are more astounding and startling than those that are viewed and interpreted from a conceptual and technical perspective.”

With each construction, Zhou seeks to utilize the framework established by literati compositions and build upon this foundation with Western Expressionist stylistic elements. Often erotic or sensual, Zhou imbues each Stone configuration with an emotional core, animating each static pillar or landscape composition. With particular attention to the multifaceted surfaces of the stones and surrounding elements, Zhou layers colors and contrasts to emphasize the sense of dimension and volume for each piece.

"Stone Series" presents an arresting example of this series as a whole. Standing starkly against a commanding background of opulent shades of blue, the unusually hued stone rises upward in a pitted, textural column on the right side of the composition. With special attention to the surface and details of each carved and hollowed cavity, Zhou has rendered the static stone with the character and animus of a living organism. Contrasting with the washes of blue along the background, this stone arrests attention, and radiates a sense of deeper visceral emotion. A shadowed tree stands firmly in the foreground, it’s branches curled and twisted upwards with a sinister reach. The gnarled bark reflects the porous surface of the stone, the two elements converging in a surreal expression of landscape structure.