John and June Allcott Gallery: Xuewu Zheng, One’s Religion

Reception and gallery talk: October 24, 5:00-7:00 pm, with the talk starting at 6:00 pm–on that evening, there will be a one-night-only installation of his work Century Text

Xuewu Zheng examines history and contemporary experiences in a very personal way and thinks about the cultural relationships between the East and the West. He integrates philosophy, religion, and everyday reflections into his art, opening the language gap between Eastern and Western cultures and paying attention to the relationship between humans, nature, and modern civilization. He also thinks that the process of artistic practice is ordinary labor, a simple and natural creation, and a consciousness of action.

When he creates artwork, it is also a process of his own meditation and self-development. This creative process is more important than the final works. Art is his profession and way of life; his understanding and knowledge of art come from history, eastern philosophy, and religion. The road of art is full of hardships. From the perspective of art history, his process reveals whether his creation has meaning. He considers his process as something different from the masters, as something different from anyone else, and for himself.  This may require denying everything that has become a textbook. His work becomes a cultural, political, religious, and especially a rebellious act of traditional ideas.

Xuewu Zheng was born in Heilongjiang Province, China, and received his BFA at Harbin Normal University in China, an MFA at SUNY New Paltz in Printmaking (2020), and an MFA at SUNY New Paltz in Painting and Drawing (2022).

His work has been included in numerous group exhibitions throughout Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States. He has been a Visiting Professor at Harbin Normal University, China; Appalachian State University; The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Columbia University; Vassar College; University College Cork, Ireland. He has attended the following international residencies: Vermont Studio Center; Frans Masereel Centrum, Belgium; Gwangju Art Museum, Korea; Jingdezhen Sanbao International Center, China; and Nebraska Art Farm.

Xuewu’s work is part of the collections of the National Art Museum of China; Kaethe Kollwitz-Museum-Berlin, Germany; Australian Embassy, China; Woo Jae-Gil Art Museum, Korea; Ackland Art Museum, Guilford College, and The Turchin Center for Visual Arts, United States; and Gwangju Art Museum, Korea.

Admission: Free
Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 am-5 pm

A weeknight or daytime permit is now required after 5:00 pm on weekdays. There is no permit needed from 5:00 pm Friday through 7:30 am Monday. A $1.00 one-night pass is available in selected lots. More information can be found at Weeknight Parking.

Image: A Fragment of Time