RZ
RENEE ZHANG
AN INTERVIEW WITH renee
ART IS A JOURNEY REACHING THE DEPTH OF OUR SOULS
I was born in a painter's family. My father is an artist and a planner and designer of city parks. When I was very young, I was influenced by my family and was fascinated by painting. When I was in the juvenile art class, my miniature artworks were selected to be exhibited in the juvenile art exhibitions in Asia, Africa, and South America. That was the first time I was praised for art.
I choose sculpture as my undergraduate education major. My undergraduate experience really made me a sculpture fan. I participated in a large-scale sculpture project and visited many important ancient sculptures in the East. At that time, although I learned the principles of Western sculpture in class, I visited ancient Eastern sculpture after school. Comparison and contrast made me notice the special way in which oriental sculpture expresses the artist's understanding of life, religion, the world or other larger things through abstract shapes. After graduation, I became a professional sculptor. Within ten years after graduation, my public sculpture works have been placed in some very important locations in many cities. I am obsessed with sculpture art. This is the first time I realized that art is not only a skill to make a living, but also my dream and my life.
SCULPTURES ARE THE LANGUAGE OF A CITY
Later, I not only began to study sculpture, but also other types of art, including oil painting, ancient architectural decoration and other art. This kind of learning has always been an important part of my artistic life. I am often amazed by the creative courage and incredible imagination of other artists. I remember that there was a Buddha statue in Mogao Grottoes that I visited when I was in college. I was very impressed. Although it was so detailed and magnificent, its strange facial expressions and strange body shape also confused me. At that time, I thought the creator must be a careless person who could not make the whole work perfect. Years later, I finally understand the creator: art is not perfect. Creators use their unique ways to express their ideas. We humans are eager to project ourselves into larger and more meaningful things, thinking that everything has meaning. Although the entire universe may not have any meaning at all, there are always signs that great things exist. This may just be a phenomenon of time change. However, the creators of Buddha sculptures refused, just like all artists from the beginning of history to the present. It makes no sense for them to refuse to accept the world. How rebellious they are! They choose to live in a world without regulations, traditions or any burdens in real life. In that world, they can express themselves truthfully and thoroughly. When they fall into that world and suddenly forget the reality, this world is theirs. For me, art is not just a skill or a dream, it is a journey to the depths of our soul. At the end of the journey, we found the true freedom, the true us, we call the soul.
Sculpture is the language of the city
After obtaining a master's degree in architecture, I became an urban sculpture planner. During that time, I began to learn more about urban planning and the importance of artistic elements in urban planning. I made a master plan for my hometown sculpture project in 2004. When I was drawing a blueprint for the future urban landscape, I always had a question in my mind. How do I determine which sculpture to import in which area of the city? I spent several days thinking about this problem, until one day I remind myself of the meaning of art. This is to express, express, and convey the creator's thoughts, understanding of things and philosophy. Then, for public sculptures, they would stand in obvious places in the city every day and be seen by tourists and local residents. Shouldn't they speak, show and express on behalf of the city? Tell others about the history, culture and even personality of this city? It's like a book about all the great loves and heroes in history. Can sculpture become the city's book, or the city's language? Once I thought of this idea, I couldn't calm down for a long time. We decided to provide guidance to the sculptors so that their works can speak aloud about the special circumstances of the place where they will be placed. This is a great test. The response of the sculptor was incredible. The guide encouraged their creation in some way. The result was a huge success.
Now I am particularly fascinated by colors. Every day I am attracted by the various colors and sights of the surrounding natural environment: the color of the sky, the change of clouds, the psychedelic sunset, the ripples of the lake, the breath of plants, the look of animals, All attract my attention. I am very fortunate to live in this colorful world. I start to record every moment that attracts me with a brush at any time. Every color seems to have its unique charm. When it resonates, it can make The human soul is healed.