Zen Buddhism on Stone

 

Born in Yangjiang Guangdong 1980, Du Zhongjian graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 2005. He now works and lives in Guangzhou. His work is a philosophical reflection of the world. In the natural environment of "1-art valley", some of the resident artists have painted the colorful undersea world; some have gone into great details of insects; some even the exotic winter on the other end of the world; whereas what Du presents is a Zen Buddhist prospective.

On the aspect of medim, traditionally painting is done on a two-dimensional canvas. A stone is three-dimensional; so is a buddha sculpture. A three-dimensional buddha is presented on a three-dimensional stone through painting, which breaks the traditional 2D way of thinking and highlights the 3D feature of the stone. The artist looks into the relationship between the experience and boundaries of witnessing. Secondly, the buddha is a powerful icon, whereas the stone is a natural object, which is also full of power. So the whole work is much more fun than a 2D painting.

On the aspect of content, the two buddhism-themed stones are application and contemplation of Zen Buddhism in today’s life. How shall Zen Buddhism inspire life under a rash social context nowadays? Try a bit of meditation for 15 minutes, and when you look up to the sky tonight, you might find it more beautiful than before. 

"The Bodhi tree is not a tree,

The mirror does not reflect.

Void it has been or is to be,

No dust, oh nothing to collect."

The masterstrokes of Du's 3D stone as a medium are the propitious clouds that surround and rise from the bottom of the stone; not only does it speak to the theme "Zen Buddhism", it also makes the 3D effects stand out. The artist has presented his understanding of the stones well on the aspect of both medium and content. It is also a great honor of "kiwisual" to have found such understanding in a young artist.

 

Video: Zen Buddhism on Stone