Zheng Liu, known by the pen name Kuang Chu, is a Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory member. He provides some fascinating insights into his practice and experience as a cross-border, cross-disciplinary artist, as he responds to the questions below:
- How did you find and develop your personal aesthetic?
- How has social media changed your practice? Do you include less nudity in your work now to fit their censorship standards?
- What obstacles have you encountered as an artist, and how did you overcome them?
- How do you market yourself and your art to gain recognition from galleries and collectors?
How did you find and develop your personal aesthetic?
It all started in the 2000s when I was deeply struck by the works of masters like James Jean and Tomer Hanuka, and I aspired to create something similar. Naturally, I faced many setbacks in practice. I had to continually explore possibilities based on my existing skills and the visual effects I could achieve, searching for what was satisfactory to me. Incorporating traditional European engraving techniques into “Red Balloon” was one such solution, and I’m still exploring other avenues.
I feel that my artistic creation has an energy core, somewhat like a nuclear submarine’s reactor or Iron Man’s Arc Reactor. It’s fueled by things that happen in my solitude: the deeply impactful things I’ve observed, the truths about the world I’ve grasped, and the cosmic energy I’ve felt. Giving physical form to these almost tangible sensations is the enduring driving force of my creation.
How has social media changed your practice? Do you include less nudity in your work now to fit their censorship standards?
To answer your second question first, yes, I do. However, the biggest impact social media has had on me is through Instagram. Unlike other platforms like Facebook, Instagram requires high-quality images to be displayed on the same page, and if you want more followers, you also need to maintain a frequent update schedule. This has forced me to speed up my creative process and start producing works that can be completed in a shorter time, such as my new series of small pencil drawings.
Instagram has also created a very negative side effect: out of fear caused by long periods without updates, I’ve become afraid to experiment and fail. It also leaves me no time for foundational practice, which is essential to the growth of an artist. However, this has also sparked some positive developments: I’ve tried transforming my practice into doodle works, which led to my beloved “Library Doodle” series. In this series, I find random images in the library, use them as a basis for sketching practice, and then add other elements to transform the entire piece into something that can be exhibited in a gallery.
What obstacles have you encountered as an artist, and how did you overcome them?
Besides the common challenges most artists face – shortages of time and money – my biggest obstacle is that I am red-green colorblind, which makes working with color a significant issue for me. Therefore, my art primarily consists of black and white drawings, with an occasional addition of another monochrome color, such as the red in the “Red Balloon” series.
However, I’ve recently started experimenting with digital painting, using color pickers on digital devices to select colors that appear natural to people with normal vision. In my traditional art, I’ve simply broken free from the constraints of natural colors, using them in an abstract way, as seen in my “Library Doodle” series.
How do you market yourself and your art to gain recognition from galleries and collectors?
I have a talent for communicating with the public and strong writing skills. In China, I’m involved in art and culture popularization, for instance, serving as a chief writer for “Bedtime Poem,” China’s most influential poetry and culture popularization platform. I also understand public taste while having a deep appreciation for fine art, allowing me to act as a bridge between the two. My work has the unique characteristic of being both gallery-exhibitable and understandable to the general public.
Combining these strengths, I leverage my communication abilities and passion for cultural dissemination to connect with a large number of followers and friends who become my collectors. Some of these individuals also work in galleries, which has steadily increased my presence in the fine art landscape.
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