PROLOGUE | PERSONAL
Xianwei, imagine welcoming us into your studio or home. Where shall we speak, where shall we meet you? In my new studio in Düsseldorf Heerdt, With huge windows, bright light in an industrial area. Maybe we’re sitting at your favorite place? The corner with the old leather armchairs in front of the window.
Image above :Xianwei Zhu in his studio, courtesy the artist
You were born in 1971 in Qingdao, China, where you were a lecturer at the university there from 1996 to 2000 before you came to Germany in 2001. Where do you currently live and work? I currently live and work in Düsseldorf, Krefeld and Stuttgart. Which stations and people have particularly influenced you in your life so far? There have been many stations in my life: As a child, I studied painting with a Chinese master for many years. He was to be a very important person who put me on the path of art. After that, I studied painting at the China Academy of Art. At the beginning of the 1990s, art education in China was very closed and the teaching system in terms of realistic painting was completely conservative. But at my academy I saw German Expressionism, New Painting, Anselm Kiefer, Georg Baselitz, Gerhart Richter through the media, and that really impressed me. After that I decided to come to Germany. My time at the art academy in Stuttgart was a phase in which I experimented freely with different artistic languages. These stations are very important to me now, and the accumulation step by step allows me to find my own painting language.
Which writers do you find exciting at the moment and which books are on your bookshelf? I like reading philosophy and poetry, Heidegger, Hölderlin, Rilke, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching and ancient poems from China. Which books have influenced or shaped you? The Serenity by Martin Heidegger; “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu and Han Shan’s book of poetry, Cold Mountain. Many of my paintings are influenced by Han Shan’s poem. What are you currently reading and where is the book to hand? I am currently re-reading Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. I often read my books several times because I can repeat familiar passages. You often discover new things. Books that I am currently reading are lying next to the sofa or on the bedside table. What music do you listen to and when? I like listening to music by Tom Waits, Eric Satie and Bach. Music is particularly important to me when I paint. If you could cook something for us what would it be Braised beef, a Chinese specialty. What is your favourite food? Seafood dishes. What do you think of breakfast? A good breakfast is the start of the day, followed by tea or coffee. Then I start to paint. What sport or balance to your work do you do? My painting requires a lot of physical movement and it is also a sport for me. I also like hiking and swimming.
Do you have special passions that you burn for, and if so, which ones? At the age of 20 I was crazy about Chinese rock n’ roll, in university I was the lead singer of a band and now I prefer to be in the quiet nature. Example hiking, camping by the lake … What personality trait makes you particularly special? I think I’m very open and honest. Do you have a concern that you would like to share with us? Or an answer to a question (not asked by us) that is currently on your mind? Do your own thing and have fun doing it. Let nature take its course. An old Chinese proverb.
INTERVIEW | ARTIST + POSITION
We would like to briefly present your artistic career. From 1989 to 1993 you studied art education at the Shandong University, from 1993 to 1996 painting at the China Art Academy in Hangzhou. From 1996 to 2000 you were a lecturer at Qingdao University. From 2001 you studied free painting at the Stuttgart State Academy of Fine Arts with Cordula Güdemann, graduating in 2008. In the following year, 2009, you received a teaching position at the Merz Academy in Stuttgart. From 2010 to 2012 you were a visiting professor at the Beijing Film Academy and from 2016 to 2020 at the Yunnan Art Academy. 2020 -2021 you received a teaching position at the Technical University of Dortmund. Did we miss an important station?
That’s pretty much it. Over the years I have mainly worked as a freelance artist.
What are you most concerned about at the moment; what is on your mind?
Most of all I think about how I can further develop my painting.
Your works are currently on show at the CSR Contemporary Show Room in Berlin as part of the exhibition HUMANITY. What made you choose these works?
I recently exhibited new work on the subject of emptiness and whiteness. Wisdom is a play on words… (Editor’s note: Word play from the German words Weißheit (“whiteness”) and Weisheit (“wisdom”).
How did you get into art? Why art?
It was my childhood dream to become a painter. I was lucky enough to realize my dream. Art is the language of the human soul and it is a blessing to be able to freely express the inner world.
What makes you happy right now?
This is too much, painting our blooming garden, hiking in the mountains, in nature …
What are you currently afraid of?
Fear eats the soul. I believe in a saying from Zen Buddhism; Every day is a beautiful day.
Do you think art has a social responsibility? And what do you think it can do?
Art must be the natural expression of every artist and therefore it is best not to give it any socio-moral or religious function. But good art can be a true expression of the inner human heart or a response to social problems and is therefore good for the health of society.
What is your art? What is your work about – what are the central themes?
For me, painting is a way to find my inner truth. Currently the subject of my paintings is the landscape. People in the digital age are becoming more and more distant from nature and I hope that my paintings inspire a desire to go back to nature.
THE DEED | DAS WERK: Xianwei Zhu
Born in Qingdao, China, and living in Düsseldorf, Krefeld and Stuttgart, artist Xianwei Zhu (*1971) talks about the central message of his artistic work during his interview.
Please describe the core theme and central message of your work.
Since 2014 I have been concentrating on creating landscape paintings. Behind the landscape painting is our understanding and our thinking about the concept of nature. After experimenting with different means of expression and painting styles, it is a process of returning for me. A return to the Eastern culture I studied as a young boy, to the origins of ancient Chinese painting, to the spirit of European romantic painting. A return to the mountains and forests described by the Chinese poets and Hölderlin. Nature is the source of both Eastern and Western cultures, it is the source and home of our common culture as human beings.
In a landscape No. 1, 2021, Acrylic on canvas, 200 x 130 cm
We, on the other hand, are in a time of crisis, a time in which the rapid development of digital information technology threatens our very existence. Our relationship to nature, to ourselves, to others and to society is in question. Attention and reflection on this issue are essential for solving our current problems. I want people to go back to our symbiotic relationship with nature, just as our ancestors did for generations. I believe that when we face a crisis, we can draw the power of rebirth from nature.
Introduce us to the work that you think exemplifies the message of your work, or that you think best embodies it.
The four-part picture “To enjoyed No. 1” In this exhibition in Berlin. The picture shows a landscape in the Danube valley in southern Germany. It shows rocks, rivers, clouds, trees and little hikers. The painting is based on my memories. I used to go for walks there with my friends, paint and meditate. It is a landscape, but not a realistic one. It is memories and experiences in nature. The heavy mountains criss-cross the landscape and the clear white clouds add a sense of mystery. I don’t want to see the landscape with my eyes, like Monet did, but with the eyes of my mind, like Caspar David Friedrich and the ancient Chinese did. So it is not a visible landscape that she embodies, but an inner landscape. The same goes for my other works, all of which are inner feelings and reflections that I convey through the landscape. The landscape is only the carrier.
To genossenen Nr. 1., 2020, Acrylic on canvas, 116 x 292 cm
By the way, at this point I would like to explain where the title comes from. It is a composition by the French composer Eric Satie. I am obsessed with his music and often listen to it when I paint. His mysterious and ethereal music makes me very calm and the atmosphere is in perfect harmony with my paintings. Both divert and transcend thoughts from time.
What is the goal of your art, your work – what effect should it have on the viewer?
Looking at a painting requires calm, looking at it and developing associations takes a long time. I wish that the viewer slowly enters my paintings, stops thinking with his head, remembers his own experiences in nature and thinks about the absurdity of time to discover his own unchanging existence.
Searching for the freedom, 2021, Acrylic on canvas, 54 x 38 cm
The purpose of the painting is the viewing experience, not superficial political views or illustrations. I hope that my paintings have a kind of spiritual power, not to catch the eye, but to slowly penetrate the viewer’s inner eye. In such a busy world, to help people feel themselves.
THE DEED | DAS WERK is a complementary and separately presented part of THE INTERVIEW IN|DEEDS with Xianwei Zhu.
How do you protect yourself from too much inspiration these days?
To paint.
How much of your work is planned beforehand – how much is created intuitively?
I paint without a plan. My approach is to let nature take its course.
What are your (next) goals?
I don’t set myself any goals, I just want to paint freely.
How do you feel about faith? Do you have any beliefs or is there a motto?
I’m not religious but I’m open to religion. God is not God personified, God is an invisible and perceptible being. Lao Tzu called it Tao. It’s all. Let go.
Which project would you still like to realize if lack of time, lack of courage or financial resources played no role?
I don’t design goals, many things have to go with the flow. If I had enough time, I would like to paint more larger and stronger works.
In your opinion, what are the attributes of good art?
Unique and extraordinary artistic language, simple, powerful and direct!
Are you born an artist? Or is an art degree compulsory in your opinion?
Some people are born artists. An art degree is still necessary, but not all artists necessarily need a degree.
To whom do you show a new work first?
To my wife who is also an artist.
What does the first hour of your day look like?
I don’t like to get up early, I have my breakfast in peace and when I have nothing else to do, I go painting.
Are galleries still necessary in the age of the Internet of Things? If so, why and for what?
For me it is YES. Since my skills are in painting, promotion and sales should be handled by a more professional person.
Social media – blessing or curse?
There is too much information these days, too much for me， I like the simple life.
EPILOGUE | CURRENT
The exhibition HUMANITY with 16 paintings by Xianwei Zhu alongside works by five other Chinese contemporary artists can be seen from 25 June to 30 July 2022 in the CSR CONTEMPORARY SHOW ROOM, Friedrichstraße 67-70, 10117 Berlin-Mitte.
The DEEDS interviews are not edited or shortened by our editorial team and are always reproduced in original sound. Therefore, we do not translate the interview into English or German unless the interviewee submits a translation or we are entrusted with the translation. Here, the English version of the interview was submitted by the artist.
