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Lot Essay
Zhou Chunya shares a similar trajectory as other artists of his generation in the new wave art movement and experimented with personal expression as opposed to China's traditional realism. Following his graduation from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in 1982, Zhou left China to further his studies at the Kassel Academy in Germany. While other artists focused on their changing social environment, Zhou incorporated Neo-Expressionistic elements in his artwork in order to free himself from repressive limitations of his earlier training. A defining moment came for the artist when he returned to China in 1989 and discovered a newfound affinity for his country. From then on, Zhou combines Chinese motifs with an emotive and highly personal Western expressionism, using experiences and reflections from his daily life as inspiration.
Zhou is most well-known for the paintings of his late German Shepherd, Heigen, the main subject of his Green Dog series of more than a decade. Executed in both paint and sculptural forms, in each depiction, the dog's mouth is always open, revealing a pair of menacing canine teeth but in a gesture of appeasement rather than aggression. The humorous, candid expression of energy and ardor of the Green Dog Series (Lot 295) contrasts with the hostile nature associated with German Shepherds. The shiny coat of industrial paint carries a vibrant expression and the color green is described by the artist as "quiet, romantic, and lyric, which contains in it the tranquility right before an explosion." The three-dimensional rendering of Green Dog Series functions as a delineative self-portrait of Zhou himself, which has taken the shape of an animal, as he sits looking out to viewers passing by with a sense of openness and uncertainty, clearly a representative of the realities in his life.
Zhou is most well-known for the paintings of his late German Shepherd, Heigen, the main subject of his Green Dog series of more than a decade. Executed in both paint and sculptural forms, in each depiction, the dog's mouth is always open, revealing a pair of menacing canine teeth but in a gesture of appeasement rather than aggression. The humorous, candid expression of energy and ardor of the Green Dog Series (Lot 295) contrasts with the hostile nature associated with German Shepherds. The shiny coat of industrial paint carries a vibrant expression and the color green is described by the artist as "quiet, romantic, and lyric, which contains in it the tranquility right before an explosion." The three-dimensional rendering of Green Dog Series functions as a delineative self-portrait of Zhou himself, which has taken the shape of an animal, as he sits looking out to viewers passing by with a sense of openness and uncertainty, clearly a representative of the realities in his life.