Zhang Jiangzhou

Zhang Jiangzhou (Chinese: 张江舟; pinyin: zhāng jiāng zhōu; born 1961) is a Chinese artist who is the former vice-president of the China National Academy of Painting and Chief Editor of </nowiki>The Studies of Ink journal (Shuimo yanjiu). He is skilled in Ink figure painting, and he is known for his expressionist humanistic expressions in his works which focus on problems of public mental health and emotional experience.
He is a member of the Assembly of Fellows and Artist at China National Academy of Painting. He also supervises postgraduate and PhD students at Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. He is an honorary member of Russian Academy of Arts. He is a council member of the China Artists Association. He is recognized as an ‘outstanding Chinese cultural and artistic expert’ by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, receiving the State Council special allowance.
=== Biography ===
Born in Zhangzhou of Fujian Province in 1961, Zhang Jiangzhou. In 1969, he moved to Zhengzhou of Henan Province with family. Since 1973, he had studied traditional Chinese painting, comic strip and Western drawing techniques under the mentorship of Chen Duanhao. In 1977, he joined the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and created works with the theme of army life. Two years later, he fought on the front line of the Sino-Vietnamese War (Feb 17, 1979 – Mar 16, 1979). His experience of the war gave him an insight into the essence of life and death, so most of his later paintings expressed a strong humanistic concern.
After the war, he enrolled at the Zhongzhou University in 1982 in Zhengzhou to study art and design. At the time, the college entrance examination was restored after being suspended for a decade influenced by the Cultural Revolution.
After graduation in 1986, he returned to the army and worked as an artist. In 1990, he moved to Beijing and worked in the PLA literature and Art Publishing House as a graphic designer. Six years later, he started his career as a professional painter at the China National Academy of Painting. He was appointed the Vice President of the China National Academy of Painting from 2009 to 2021.
=== Career ===
In his capacity as vice-president of the China National Academy of Painting, he endeavored to promote cultural and art exchanges between China and foreign countries and curated numerous exhibitions and academic forums on ink. He led the delegation of Chinese artists to visit the United States, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Argentina, Malta, Russia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Mauritius, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, etc.
=== Publications ===
Zhang Jiangzhou published more than 20 personal albums and two monographs. A large number of his works were exhibited and awarded by national fine art exhibitions in China. His achievements in artistic creation and research and his active academic engagement have made him a representative figure with great influence in the Chinese art circle.
=== Art ===
In the past decades, he has reflected on the experience of life and death, questioning the value and meaning of life, and showcasing the humanistic feelings about compassion. Most of his works focus on historical events and real life, advocating the spiritual and realistic cultural significance of artistic creation and advocating the lofty, magnificent, holy and broad aesthetic sense.
==== Heroic· Student Movement in Peking on December 9 ====
Zhang Jiangzhou’s Heroic· Student Movement in Peking on December 9 is one of his representative works, for which he undertook the national major historical theme creation project. This work is based on the December 9th Movement which was a mass protest led by students in Peking in 1935 to call on the Chinese government to actively resist Japanese aggression, with the underlying themes of patriotism and heroism. In terms of techniques, the use of a large number of twisted lines enhances the sense of tension and movement of the picture with writing and freehand style, and the use of color is also strong. It is a masterpiece of his thematic creation. The work was collected by the National Art Museum of China in 2009.
==== Ink Whispers ====
Life Whispers is a series of Zhang Jiangzhou’s creationary works from 2008 to 2013. Life Whispers is a reflection on the value and meaning of life through ink art. The series consists of more than 40 large-scale works, and was exhibited in six cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Jinan, Xi 'an and Zhengzhou in 2013. The works were inspired by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake|Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. These pictures do not reproduce the tragic scenes in the earthquake-stricken areas, but convey the artist's calmness after experiencing great sorrow and pain in an artistic and poetic language.
==== Soul Whispers ====
Soul Whispers is Zhang Jiangzhou's artistic creation series since 2019, which shows his rational speculation on the times he lives in and calls for human's cultural attitude of observing the soul and returning to the heart. Soul Whispers is an extension of his creation theme of Life Whispers. It pays continual attention to the historical context, human destiny, contemporary social life, people's living conditions, spiritual experience and mental state, reflecting his critical thinking, cultural stand and value judgment on contemporary urban social problems and humanistic morals.
Category:1961 births
Category:Chinese people
Category:Chinese artists