Tang Contemporary Art is proud to announce the opening of Zhu Jinshi’s dual solo shows “Ship of Time” and “Rejecting River Currents” on March 10, 2018. Based on the unique architecture of both of Tang Contemporary’s Beijing spaces, these parallel exhibitions will present important works of installation and the artist’s unique “thick paintings.”
In space II,“Rejecting River Currents” showcases Zhu Jinshi’s abstract painting from the early 1980s to the present, with a particular emphasis on his unique “thick paintings” from the last decade. Since completing his first abstract painting in 1980, Zhu Jinshi’s style has changed. He has shifted among styles, gaining experience, but his “thick paintings” have always been distinct. The power of his work impacts viewers, helping them to experience the cutting edge of contemporary painting. Compared to his concise installations, Zhu Jinshi pursued the opposite path in his painting; his paintings are rich and dazzling, chaotic and fierce, wild and aggressive. His painting tools are particular, but very different from those of other artists; his studio contains over one hundred 15-centimeter-wide paintbrushes and plaster trowels coated in thick paint, and several hundred painting palettes that he uses instead of brushes.
Zhu Jinshi
b.1954, Beijing
Zhu Jinshi produces abstract paintings whose surfaces are built up with thick, near-sculptural layers of oil paint. Resembling colorful landscapes, Zhu’s images range in palette and scale, but the artist is known to always apply his oil paint with spatulas and shovels. Producing dense lashings of color, the artist’s method recalls the style and techniques espoused by the German Expressionists, who Zhu was profoundly influenced by during his years living in Berlin. Zhu belonged to a group of Chinese avant-garde artists named the Stars, which formed in 1979 to challenge aesthetic conventions and exhibit their work publicly.
Zhu Jinshi is a pioneer of Chinese abstract art and installation art. At present, he lives and works in Beijing. Zhu’s major solo exhibitions include: Li Bai's Snow, Tang Contemporary Art, Hong Kong (2020); "Wood Character", Fusion Art Center, Beijing (2020); The Ship of Time / Rejecting River Currents (2018), Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing, China; Zhu Jinshi (2016), Yuan Art Museum, Beijing, China; Performance in Paint: Zhu Jinshi (2015), Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing, China. His major group shows include The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China (2019), Los Angeles County Museum of Art， Los Angeles，USA；Abstract and Beyond—The Research Exhibition of Abstract Art in China (2016), Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, China; 28 Chinese (2013), The Rubell Family Collection, Miami, USA; The 5th Shanghai Biennale: Hyper Design (2006), Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China; Orient/Ation, 4th International Istanbul Biennial in Turkey (1995), Istanbul, Turkey; Chinese Avant-Garde Art (1993), Palace of World Culture, Berlin, Germany; The 2nd Xing Xing (Stars Group) Exhibition (1980), National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China.
Zhu Jinshi’s works have been collected internationally by notable public and private collections：Allison and Warren Kander, USA; Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, USA; Basma Al Sulaiman Museum of Contemporary Art, Saudi Arabia; Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA; Busan Museum of Art, South Korea; Dean Valentine Collection, USA; Delphine Arnault, France; Deutsche Bank, Germany; East West Bank, USA; Fubon Art Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan; Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing, China; Mario Testino, UK; Minsheng Museum, Shanghai, China; M+ Museum for Visual Culture, Hong Kong, China; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea; Picasso Foundation, Málaga, Spain; Rubell Family Collection, Miami, USA; Song Museum, Beijing, China; The Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China; The Schaufler Collection, Sindelfingen, Germany; The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia;Today Art Museum, Beijing, China; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada; Wall Art Gallery, Beijing, China; White Rabbit Collection, Sydney, Australia.
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