Yuming Zhu - 鱼鸣 Artist/Poet
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Media: Oil/Pastel/Sumi Style: Transism |
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When my brush touches the surface, it lands with the force of a stone plunging into the sea. I do not seek to paint something beautiful—I seek to paint Life itself. Each stroke is a layering of passion, a process of stripping away pretense until only truth remains. Through my work, I invite the viewer to experience the raw joy of being alive in this very moment. Painting and poetry are my two beloved languages—the channels through which my complex emotions find their form. |
Original from China, I began my artistic journey studying under master painters at a young age. After earning my B.A., I came to the United States and received my M.A. from California State University in 1991. Working in oils, pastels, and Chinese/Sumi watercolors, my art embodies a dialogue between East and West—a style I call “Transism.” It reflects my evolving exploration of modern life, social phenomena, music, and heritage.
As art critic Mike Mallory once observed on Sound Gallery, my work “bridges East and West,” translating the language of sound into the language of paint. He described my approach as a search for “a painting that shows us how music sounds,” where “bold color and strong, deliberate brushwork” transform visual form into rhythm and vibration.
“I love to paint music,” I often say. “I invite the viewer to listen to my paintings rather than simply see them.” Emotion flows through line, color, and form; music informs my brush more than the act of painting itself.
My art is a channel through which I invite people to see the world differently—to feel sensations and emotions they may not have dared to before. I describe my artistic vision as Lyrical Impression and Idealistic Expression, now evolving into a synthesis of Voyeurism and Exhibitionism, infused with cultural symbolism.
From early exhibitions in Sonoma Valley to current shows throughout the Pacific Northwest, my work has steadily gained recognition among collectors and audiences across the United States. My paintings have been featured in prominent galleries in Seattle, Kirkland, Portland, St. Augustine, and Everett, as well as the Seattle Asian Art Museum (group show). I was honored to demonstrate traditional Sumi techniques at the museum’s Five Thoughts of Asian Art program.
Selected Publications and Recognition
- Five Thoughts of Asian Art – painting demonstration, Seattle Asian Art Museum & Channel 9 Public TV
- Interpretation of Four Gentlemen – DVD, Paragon International Arts
- Top 50 Emerging Artists – Art Business News magazine
- Simply Sumi-E: Capturing Nature with Sumi-E Master Yuming Zhu – Art Business magazine
- Artist & Cultural Consultant, Amazon Series The Man in the High Castle (Emmy-nominated)
鱼鸣 （朱瑜明）简历
“落笔，石破水溅。我不画美，只在意生命的本身.”
原籍上海，自小跟随导师学书习画。出黑板报，画漫画，宣传画。画山水，还加上个祖国山水多娇的标题。艰难时期，立誓也要“弃医从文”，用笔拯救灵魂。八十年代初，参加大学诗社，杜文撰诗一时。1991，在美国获得临床心理咨询硕士学位。多年来，双重人格般地从事心理辅导和艺术创作。
鱼鸣将西洋艺术的光，影与东方艺术线条，留白连与一体，注重气韵和动感，自圆其说地创造了“蜕变主义”画风。田园诗意的印象，完美主义的表现，是他努力尝试，用来表达天人合一情绪的语言。“有时我不知是在作画，还是作诗”。“有人问我，你画什么的，我说：画音乐， 画心理，画生命。”
1989 在所诺玛大学举办首次个展。
1990 受邀于加州奥克兰亚洲文化中心，举办个展。
1993 为西雅图艺术馆制作的“亚洲艺术五艺”，担任画艺的示范与讲解。
1994 聚众，一起创立华州中华美术家协会。1996， 任会长。
1997 受华州州长之邀，服务于付州长艺术理事会，并在州大厅举行展览。
2010 艺术商业杂志选为50位新星艺术家，并受访。
2015 以艺术家身份，参加影集“高塔里的男人”制作。该影集被提名，“艾美”最佳制作奖。
2016 至今 受凡香岛艺术中心之邀，表演2 米巨笔。作品被中心收藏。
诗歌入选首届法拉盛诗歌节
受邀于全美水墨艺术协会，作为2019年协会年展评审。
二十多年来，每年个展，及和其他知名艺术家群展。作品被个人，组织，企业，艺博馆，影视机构等收藏。
Yuming Fine Art Studio is open to collectors and public.
Appointment Only. 425-749-8703, 425-497-9915
Yuming Zhu-Show ends 4/29
This is Sound Gallery, a review of the visual arts in the KSER broadcast area with Mike Mallory. The current art show at the Solovei Art Gallery, entitled “Vision Passion” is devoted to the paintings of Yuming Zhu.
Zhu, originally from Shanghai, China, is accomplished in the style and technique of traditional Sumi Painting on silk and rice paper with ink or Chinese watercolor. He has taught many classes and workshops around the Puget Sound area on thee topics. Zhu is also adept at calligraphy and he often adds Chinese characters to paintings in this style.
This show contains a few of Zhu’s paintings in this Eastern style. “Go-Green” depicts radishes and calligraphy. “Singing Silently” depicts a floral scene with bold and expressive color: red blossoms surrounded by leaves in a turquoise blue.
Most of the paintings on display are oil paintings. Zhu sometimes refers to his art as Lyrical Impressionism. This label gets at the Zhu’s underlying aesthetic struggle. The predominate subject matter in this show is the musician in the act of performance. Most commonly he shows us women with cellos. Zhu also refers to his work cryptically as “Tans-ism”. His work bridges East and East, and with these images he is also attempting to translate music, an auditory experience into two-dimensional artwork, a visual experience.
Zhu works with bold color and strong, often-indistinct shapes as he searches for a painting that shows us how music sounds. Borrowing from his Sumi paintings, the brushwork in his oil paintings is deliberate and intentional. I want Zhu to succeed. As I stand in the center of the gallery space I attempt to listen to rather than look upon the paintings. What I “hear” is something akin to an orchestra warming up, rather than a melody, individual, rather than congruent. Perhaps this is because his women with their cellos are usually depicted alone. Perhaps the song is something deeper than the music; the deeper voice of the figure and the cello is just Zhu’s way of reminding us how beautiful that voice can be.
The painting, which had the greatest impact on me, was an oil painting he calls “Red Passionato”. This oil painting is one of the series of women playing cellos. The figure of the woman, composed in reds and blacks merges with the shape of the cello, which is arranged in golds and oranges. The woman and the cello are hopelessly commingled. The woman’s black hair flies of to the side as if carried on the notes of music. Yet in the center of the image the hand of the woman on the cello’s fingerboard, that part of her which rightfully should be filled with momentum and activity is gracefully poised and still.
While I cannot say that I have come away from this show with an understanding of the relationship between two-dimensional art and sound. I can say that this show allowed me to listen to paintings in a new and rewarding way.
“Vision Passion-Paintins by Yuming Zhu” is located at the Solovei Art Gallery at 2804 Grand Ave. in Everett Washington. The gallery is open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. This exhibition ends on April 29th, 2009, if you want to catch this show you will have to act quickly.
This has been Sound Gallery with Mike Mallory on KSER radio 90.7 FM.
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