The First Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Zhou Changjiang was born in 1950 in Shanghai, China. Following studies at the Art Department of the ShanghaiTheatre and Drama School, Zhou Changjiang worked at the Shanghai Art DesignCompany from1978 to 1985. He has participated in group exhi­ bitions in China, England and the United States including 'First Horizon Exhibition', Shanghai, 1986; 'ModernChinese Painting', London, England, 1987; 'The Last Supper - Modern Art', Shanghai, 1988; 'China Avant­ garde', Beijing, 1989; and 'I Do Not Want To Play Cards With Cezanne', Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California, United States, 1991. In 1988 Zhou Changjiang received an award as 'Outstanding Shanghai Artist' and in 1989 was awarded a silver medal for his 'Complement' series at the '7th National Art Exhibition', Beijing. He is currently employed at the Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Academy. Zhou Changjiang states: Modern art is the product of the distillation of the creative conscience. Within modern art, there have been extraordinary artistic devel­ opments and breakthroughs resulting from the artists' belief in self and the ability to engage in critique. Criticism is one of the quintessential elements in the evolution of modern art. ZhouChangjiang's knowledge of modern art hasinformedhis development as an artist. Beneath the apparent unchanging subject matter of his paintings is an interest in free­ flowing form. A self-critical consciousness has determined the nature of his artistic practice. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s ZhouChangjiang was a realist painter. His exploration of theancientChinese culture of the Yellow River and Central Plains area, together with the influence of modern Western art, made him re-think his own artistic practice. After the mid 1980s, his 'Complement' seriesbecame the basis for ongoing stylistic experimentation. He abandoned realism and embraced what may be termed Eastern rationalist space, and began to use symbols, colour, texture and two- and three-dimen­ sional forms to construct a series of 'critical' paintings. Whilst adopting a critical attitude towards the object and its representation, he moved away from painting on canvas and took up sculpture and installation. The concept of 'complement' is very loose and accommodating. It articulates the notion of the attraction of opposites and the CHINA ZHOU CHANGJIANG Mutually joining, becoming the one Buddhist world (from 'Complement' series) Paint on canvas, plastic tubing, wooden board, shoes 200x230x 100cm Collection: The artist omnipresent conflation of opposites: yin and yang, heaven and earth, man and woman, rational consciousness and perceptual consciousness, the material and the spiritual, East andWest ... In Zhou Changjiang's recent works, symbolism has begun to recede. The forms that find their way into his works have a heightened sense of the 'oneness of the natural world and self'. That is to say, there is a symbiotic relationship between the natural attributes of material objects which strengthen and enrich the structure of the 65 work, and the social significance of material objects which bring together the creator and the viewer. The 'Complement' series is a large and challenging work which represents the culmination of Zhou Changjiang's artistic endeavours. Li Xu