Quanzhou (Jack) Zhao is an ink and multimedia artist living in Boston area, Massachusetts. His artworks encircle many mediums including brushwork on rice paper, acrylic painting, pencil, ink on canvas, and 3D designs on screen and for print. Be sure to visit his blog spot http://zhaosart.blogspot.com/
Zhao’s artworks have a noticeably Chinese literati painting approach encompassing a fresh and contemporary look using elements often consisting of calligraphy, landscapes, birds and flowers. His unique brushstrokes offer the viewers a distinctive fluid visual experience to explore the aesthetics and artistry value of the artist. Zhao views his artworks as a free extension and expression of himself, and often times the techniques he uses derive from deep-rooted origins of the Chinese brushwork and calligraphy in which he has been studying and practicing on rice paper since he was a young child. While the subject matter is generally represented in metaphoric fashions and quasi-abstract forms, many of his works capture critical views of the worldwide social issues we are facing today including war, peace and human right and Freedom, etc.
Zhao graduated from the acclaimed painting program at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels in 2001 and he proudly won the Prize of the Royal Association of Professional Artists of Belgium. Later that year he relocated to the United States to further his art studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York, in which he earned his MFA degree with a major in 3D and multimedia arts. Zhao’s artworks have been on exhibit as part of an emerging artists group showing at the Walloon Fine Art Museum in Liege, Belgium, the Culture Center of Monterrey, Mexico and an independent showing at the Puffin Room gallery Soho, New York City.
More exhibitions and live calligraphy/ink art performances include:
2016, “State of the Union” Winfisky Gallery, Salem State University
2017, “Space of Freedom” Winchester Public Library
2018, “Hear Sutra – The Creative & Healing Power of Chinese Calligraphy” William James College
2018, “Drinking Alone Under the Moon” Boston Sculptors Gallery
2019, “No-nonsense, Give Me Freedom” Fuller Craft Museum