A Sunny Man with No Life - Interview with  Zhao Liang
Interviewed by Hi Art

Hi Art = Hi
Zhao Liang = Zhao

Zhao Lang’s first solo exhibition titled “Growing” will be staged at Beijing 9 Art Space on Mar.22, 2008. Viewers will be impressed by his works which are characterized by purity. Zhao Liang looks very much like a famous TV host Dou Wentao and Zhao is a man with no life. Zhao sticks to his belief and devotes his time to pursuing his dream in art. I think Zhao Liang is a talented and promising artist. His exhibition will make viewers feel fresh and maybe one day he will become famous.
 
Intention of creating painting is simple and pure
Hi: Do you like using soft colors in your works?
Zhao: It is my partiality and I like incarnadine, purple and jade-green with white. In my paintings, color contrast is not strong and now it becomes more and more weak. I think the viewer and artist are on the equal level. They are in a position of communication. I don’t like using the shining colors to attract people’s attention. I’d like to depict the subject by using soft paints.

Hi: What kind of feeling do you want the people to get by viewing your works?
Zhao: Soft colors I use in my painting doesn’t express weakness, it is not like the delicate style created by girl. I hope people will feel fresh, just like breathing fresh air when breeze blows. I don’t want to make the painting creation a very complicated thing, my intention is pure. I always think the purer my intention is and stronger the feeling can be expressed. The visual effect I want to convey to viewers is a whole new visual experience. Even people can only feel a little bite about it.
Hi: Viewing your works, I feel you are extreme in some sense.
Zhao: I always think that religion is the highest form of human wisdom and it is absolutely a spiritual belief. It doesn’t mean that I like religion belief and want to impose it on everyone. It is purely personal. It will be tired for me to create some painting with educational function and viewers must feel bored after seeing this kind of works. I think artist should communicate with viewers in an equal position.
Hi: I think that your works are lovely
Zhao: I don’t think my works are lovely and don’t want people feel that way. I can’t control viewers mind and don’t care about what they think of my paintings. I only focus on my creation.

Purely growing
Hi: What’s your definition of a good solo exhibition?
Zhao: I hope that viewers can see my whole exhibition including the exhibition space and have an overall impression of it not just on the paintings. It is entirety including space, light and so on. I hope viewers can feel something when they are in the whole atmosphere and environment.
Hi: What’s the name of your first solo exhibition?
Zhao: It is entitled “Growing” and the solo exhibition will be held on Mar.22 at Beijing 9 Art Space in 798 Art District.
Hi: What kind of relationship do you want the viewers have with the artist?
Zhao: Viewer is the expresser of the works and artist is the performer. Viewer stands before the stage and as a performer artist is behind the scenes. They conduct simple communication through works.
Hi: Which one is your favorite?
Zhao: “Man-made Flower” (also titled “Artificial Flower”). It depicts a free, holy and pure feeling
Hi:  What’s your inspiration when creating “Man-made Gem”? From where do you get inspiration?
Zhao: I was impressed by the sentence “material reveals spirit”; it is an ad of a land agent. I don’t remember where I see it. I think gem is a valuable thing. Actually gem itself is a pure stone and it is endowed with different values by man. Compared to the natural property of gem, the artificial factors become affectedly unconventional and weak. So I paint the fragile gem to express fragility of artificiality
Hi: What kind of feeling do you want to express ultimately in your painting?
Zhao: Don’t limit the definition of painting creation. I think it is better to have a simple and pure intention when creating works. I am longing for a fresh, holy and pure feeling. In fact I think man has something in common with animal. It is half angel and half beast. I don’t intend to criticize something and I just want to express a feeling of sanctity.
Hi: it seems that there are few subject matters about man, is that right?
Zhao: There are some plants in my works. Even if there are men appearing in the paintings, I don’t want to paint their faces clearly. It is no problem for me to do it in a photo-realistic way and I just don’t want to do it.
Hi: Do you only do it in another way?
Zhao: Yes I hope that it can be hidden. My visual experience is introverted.  Extroversion is not my character.

Artistic attitude should be focused
Hi: Do you have an idol?
Zhao: No, I don’t.
Hi: Do you want to become an idol of other people?
Zhao: Actually I want to be an independent individual.
Hi: What kind of character do you think you have?
Zhao: A little extreme.
Hi: Why do you think so?
Zhao: Sometimes I think about things in an extreme way when creating paintings. For example I only make friends with the one I like most. It is a little bit extreme.
Hi: Viewing your paintings, it is difficult to find happiness and sadness. It can only be sensed by insight.
Zhao: That’s what I hope. I don’t want to show my little sadness and moan in my works. It is powerless and artificial. I’d like to look for a pure feeling when creating paintings. The feeling is not disturbed by other little emotional changes. Nowadays I begin to create paintings everyday in the morning. I enjoy listening to anthem and it makes me feel better like ataractic.
Hi: Who influence you most in your artistic pursuit?
Zhao: It is hard to say who or what influence me most. My artistic attitude is formed gradually. There are three most important points in artistic creation. First of all it is the artist’s insight. Secondly it is the intelligence quotient of artist. Third it is the artist’s attitude towards art. Insight determines level, intelligence quotient determines whether you can make it or not. Attitude determines whether you can do it well or not. I think most important thing is to have an attitude of entire devotion. Only in that way, you can make it.
Hi: Do you think that works by young artist can express profound meanings?
Zhao: Of course I hope my works can be like that. But it is not being feigned to become that. It is unnecessary to make the viewers feel heavy when life is already hard for us. I want it to be simple and pure. I want to take the viewers to a strange but very comfortable world.