When I was young, my father used to tell me: “One must do something in life, something meaningful!”. But I thought, “meaningful is not enough, I desire to do things that are interesting”. To me, art is very interesting. Later, I found out the hard way, to do art as an interesting thing is not so easy!

My early art education started from the ten years of the Great Cultural Revolution which was launched in 1966. In an effort to “brain wash” his people, Chairman Mao started propaganda campaigns. Much of the propaganda included paintings, “big letter posters” were posted on walls everywhere across the country. The most common themes were in praising “our dear leader Mao”, “our great, honorable, and always right communist party”. Paintings and drawings illustrated “the class struggle between the proletariat and stinky intellectuals and the landlords of the old society”. Drawing, painting and calligraphy had became very popular talents.

I learned painting from my neighbors, and quickly fell in love with the art form. Although my paintings were a far cry from any kind of expression, I learned the techniques of drawing and painting under these unique circumstances.

In the late 70's, after the death of Mao, the Great Cultural Revolution came to an end. It was then that I faced career choices. I was led to the road of accounting by my caring parents. The word “starving artist” frightened them tremendously. After being an accountant at a factory for three years, I couldn't stand it anymore. I quit my very stable “iron rice bowl” job working for the state and started pursuing art, that something “interesting” I had always longed for.

At the time, the idea of “independent artist” was unheard of. I struggled along with a few of my “starving” artist friends. Then Western Art started to push in the barely opened doors of China.

I was fascinated by the idea that art allows for self expression. At this period of time, my work was mostly the expression of my feelings. The images that I created were heavy and very bitter.

In the early 90's, I saw some Tang Dynasty murals in the History Museum of Shan Xi, and was moved deeply by the culture of my ancient ancestors. With that inspiration, I created a series of mixed media works on paper, work I later called “The Heritage Series”. Those works were mostly based on historic events in China, and horses became the major subject of those paintings. I experimented using traditional Chinese painting techniques such as ink brush strokes and calligraphy combined with a Western modern art approach. I used the media freely, and included photography, old newspapers, cheese cloth, tissue paper and found objects in the work.

Wading through these means, I found my own language to tell my stories.

Now my work has expanded to include sculpture, performance art, ceramic and design.The performance art work I have done with a group of artist friends has received international recognition.

My paintings have been shown and published in China, Germany and America and are in private collections of art collectors around the world.

I currently work from my painting and ceramic studios in Chengdu, China.

To contact the artist concerning his work, e-mail me at reagerto@iupui.edu. If you speak and write Chinese I will provide you with Zeng Xun's contact information, if not and you wish to communicate with him I will have your request translated into Chinese and will forward to him.