Zhu Yiyong 朱毅勇 Sichuan, China, b. 1957

Zhu Yiyong studied at the Oil Painting Department of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. His monumental painting, Father and Son, was selected for an exhibition of works by Sichuan Young Artists. He then participated in the Second Chinese National Youths Art Exhibition where he received a bronze medal, before placing in The Sichuan Youths Art Exhibition at the Sichuan Museum of Art in 1980. In 1981, Zhu Yiyong became a Professor at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute where he still holds a position as an esteemed academic. The artist has exhibited internationally with recent solo exhibitions at Galerie du Monde, Hong Kong (2012/2014/2016), Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong (2011) and 798 Avant Garde gallery, New York (2008).

Zhu Yiyong received critical acclaim early on in his career for his ‘Rustic Realistic painting’ a field in which he is a leading artist. His portraits of rural life in China and delicate use of colour to construct a social commentary became the cornerstone of his work, with his series ‘Memories of China’, featuring Chinese holding up a cat’s cradle in the shape of a red star, winning him critical acclaim in recent years.

While contemporary artists increasingly feel drawn towards a growing art market, Zhu remains true to his personal experience and his personal experience only, as he observes the physical environment of the society he finds himself in, using an avant-garde approach to critique economic growth, sprawling urban society in China, and the destruction of the natural environment.