Zhu Jianzhong The Painting That Conceived a Mirror

Tokyo Gallery + BTAP is pleased to announce Zhu Jianzhong solo exhibition——The Painting That Conceived a Mirror, which will be held at Beijing space from May 10 to June 21, 2025. This marks the artist's fourth solo exhibition at Tokyo Gallery + BTAP, following his previous show in 2020.

"The Painting That Conceived a Mirror" originates from the interpretation of Zhu Jianzhong's works by renowned Japanese critic Toshiaki Minemura. Toshiaki Minemura argues that the solitary shadows of pine trees, or even the boat-like pieces geometric patterns and lines resembling in Zhu’s paintings, are not merely insignificant specks adrift in a sea of emptiness. Instead, his painting seems to contain a "mirror." The pines on their paper boats did not inhabit the real, horizontally extending space that met our gaze as we viewed the work. Nor did they betray any hint of turning the pieces of paper into window frames from which they could soar off into some alternate space. Neither proliferating horizontally nor flying off into the heavens, Zhu Jianzhong’s pines touched down on the reflective watery surface that seems to exist in the deepest depths of the well-like imaginary space that plunges vertically through one’s field of consciousness—the opposite extreme of memory perhaps—and unflinchingly returned the gaze emanating from my physical person. In other words, what was working its effect on me was a vertical force that pulls the eyes of the viewer down into the depths of their own consciousness and a mirror structure at the base of those depths that instantly returns the gaze to unify the viewing self and the pine being viewed into something like the two sides of a single phenomenon.

This exhibition will showcase Zhu Jianzhong’s recent works, which remain rooted in ink painting while exploring new materials, with some pieces presented on canvas. Compared to his earlier works, some of the new creations employ a lighter and brighter color palette. In terms of material choice, the artist has long transcended the constraints of medium, evolving from the pragmatic use of acrylic to mend Xuan paper to the current application of delicate, translucent layers on canvas, emphasizing the texture and breath of the fabric itself. The compositions have also become more ethereal and transparent, as if any superfluous element could disrupt the balance. Some works feature only a wisp of a line or a floating pavilion, embodying not only the ease brought by subtraction but also enhancing the interplay of space and substance in the picture plane. Perhaps this is the visual projection of a lucid mind, constructing a microcosm brimming with philosophical contemplation.