We recently had the chance to connect with Luzhen Qiu and have shared our conversation below.
Luzhen , so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
I believe “Art is a passion for life” “and “Art is a necessity in life”. I want to inspire the viewer with my passion of seeking and creating the beauty through creating my visual stories. I want to transform my personal experiences into artistic language, and achieve an emotional resonance with the viewer. I want to break through self-limitations, finding new artistic possibilities, and challenging traditional concepts and artistic norms.
If i stopped, I might lose enthusiasm to produce interesting works.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a painter, artist. Born in1971, I grew up in Hangzhou, China, a beautiful place with rich culture and history. I did my undergraduate study at the China Academy of Art. I went to metro Detroit in 1998. I made my residency in metro Detroit since then. I graduated with Master of Fine Art degree at Wayne State University majoring in painting in 2004. After graduate from Wayne, I had taught in many art centers and institutions. I’v had lectures and taught workshops in art schools in China. My work has been shown and won awards in many galleries both in China and US.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
I am very fortunate having many wonderful artists friends and teachers in my life. They’ve taught me, guided me, inspired me becoming an artist. Two artists, Tom Parish and Peter Williams are among all whom taught me the most about the work. They were faculties at Wayne State University in Detroit when I was a graduate student there. Both of them are wonderful painters and they are sophisticated and innovational in building profound pictorial language. Both of them have ambitions to make their unique mark in art history. They had been deeply devoted themself to work tirelessly to fulfill their goals.
Professor Tom Parish as my advisor and mentor, had become lifelong friends. His illusionistic symphonic oil paintings capture visual poetry of Venice. In his class , he was an amazing problem solver while creating a painting. He always had solution whenever students come up with questions while creating work. He had his unique way of influencing his students in his class. I remember one time he started to read a poem when he saw the afternoon sun light created a beautiful shadow of the still life on the table .… it was so inspiring for the students. …
I also had a fortune to listen to Peter Williams’ many lectures, knowing how he had learnt from masters and how he used the pictorial forms to narrate his personal stories… and step by step he’d grown and become an influential figure in American Contemporary Art . In three years of my graduate school, I had many conversations with Peter, I had listened, learnt, argued, confused, argued, configured, learnt…. Each of the conversation is immersive inspirational.
Studying from Tom and Peter had built a good foundation for me to become an artist. I will always treasure those times we’ve grown together.
When you were sad or scared as a child, what helped?
I was rising by my grandpa when I was a child. Grandpa was a great architecture designer with lots knowledge and wisdom in life. I had a wonderful childhood living with him. After he pasted away , I moved to a different city living with my parents. Things were a little awkward for a teenager; living in a stranger city with no friend at the beginning. I missed my grandpa terribly, had difficult time to get along with my parents at the moment.
Luckily I meet my best friend in my middle school who had a similar life experience, I used to watch her making drawings, paintings, copy her while she was painting still life with gouache. We collected many post cards with impressionist paintings, discussed how impressionists used color to show the light …. I remember I even got a trouble by making sketches inside all over my English text book after my teacher found out during the class. Studying art opened a door for my imagination, I could express my self though making drawing and painting. I feel happier and calm when I make art. Later on, I applied an art school, my best friend eventually became an excellent elementary school teacher, and our friendship has remained life long!
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
There are many people I admire. People with honest, genuine kindness, People who care about other ones. I have wonderful friends in my life who care about others, they work hard, have empathy to others, offering help when friends need them. I also admire people with strong strength , keep fighting to overcome their life difficulties.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I guess it is very hard for people still give their best when no one appreciates or be praised for what they’ve done, especially living in materialized society. However, the driving force of many artists’ creations from the heart is not the recognition of the outside world, but the love for art itself. So, I will still try to make art and give my best.
Some artists have a calling or have a mission to share their discovery in their artwork; they want to express their inner emotions and unique perception of the world through art making. For them, art is a spiritual sustenance not a goal of pursuing utilitarianism.
For me, the process of art making is the process of artist’s self-expression and growth. Even without the affirmation of the outside world, I can get a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from my creation. I enjoy the creative process.
Creation itself may be full of fun and challenges. In the process of conceiving, experimenting and completing works, I can experience the collision of thinking and the improvement of skills. The pleasure in this process is enough to support my continuous investment, even if no one applauds.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.luzhenqiu.art
Image Credits
image credits by Luzhen Qiu
photos of Luzhen Qiu’s portrait is credit by Jeff Cancelosi
