ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM | RAM TALKS ART | ZHOU BROTHERS: 'NEW BEGINNING' OPENS APRIL 4

RAM Talks Art: Zhou Brothers: New Beginning opens April 4

By Patty Rhea, Curator, Rockford Art Museum

Collaboration is defined as the act of working together, especially in a literary or artistic production or project. The Zhou Brothers are contemporary artists who take the collaborative process to a new level.

Renowned for their unique work process, Shan Zuo and DaHuang Zhou have collaborated for more than 30 years on every work of art they have created. Their intuitive style and shared vision has been a lifelong journey, a discovery on the deepest level.

The element of chance is essential to the Zhou (pronounced Joe) Brothers' work. Except for medium and scale, they don't have a plan prior to creating any given work. Moreover, the Brothers do not speak to one another during the creative process. Instead, the resulting work of art becomes a witness to their collaboration. The artists themselves describe the process as a dream dialogue. At any point during the execution of a work, one brother might overpaint or add markings to a section the other is working on without any discussion as to what effect is being sought. The most surprising part is that these paintings are cohesive compositions that do not reveal they are the results of two hands.

In celebration of the new millennium, the Zhou Brothers were invited to perform at the gala opening of the 2000 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. On the stage and under the glare of footlights, Shan Zuo and DaHuang gave a live painting performance set to classical music. The result was the creation of A New Beginning, the artists' most noteworthy painting to date. The energy and strength of their abstract work culminates in this extraordinary painting. This vast canvas, measuring 10 feet by 26 feet, will be on display at Rockford Art Museum this spring as part of an exciting upcoming exhibition, Zhou Brothers: New Beginning (April 4-June 29). A video projection of the creation of this seminal piece will be displayed on an adjacent wall.

The Brothers' common background perhaps explains the highly instinctive approach they share. Born in China to a family of educators, scholars and poets, the brothers were exposed to traditional Chinese culture, music and theater at an early age. They learned the art of calligraphy from their grandmother, an accomplished painter. Encouraged by their father, they developed an interest in the earliest achievements of Chinese civilization. An unforgettable trip to visit the famous Huashan cave paintings left a lasting impression on the two young boys.

Primitive renderings, similar to Neolithic rock paintings, can be seen in their work to this day.

Emerging from the oppression of China's cultural revolution, the artists immigrated to the United States in 1986. In search of creative freedom, the Zhou Brothers left at the peak of their artistic careers. At the time, they were the first Chinese artists to publicly display abstract art. They arrived in Chicago with $30 between them and 50 paintings in their suitcases. Last fall, they returned to their homeland for a 30-year retrospective at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing.

The Zhou Brothers are now considered National Treasures in China.

The RAM exhibition will also feature the Zhous' monumental wood sculptures and iconic woodcuts such as Dance in the Box. In addition, selections from the artists' Open My Door series, a grouping of diptych paintings, will be displayed in Kuller Gallery. This series shows an amazing sensitivity to materials, combining such disparate elements as lead and silk. The Open My Door paintings are delicate distillations that are strikingly modern, yet retain primitive undertones. Duality on many levels is evident in the play of radically different textures, featuring light and dark and earth tones juxtaposed against gauzy pastel hues. As is apparent in earlier paintings, a spiritual resonance permeates the surface of every canvas.

With works like these, one has the feeling there will be many new beginnings for these kindred souls.

Contact Rockford Art Museum Curator Patty Rhea at prhea@rockfordartmuseum.org.

from the March 26-April 1, 2008, issue

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