Bio

Starting his fine art career at a very young age, Yan-Zhou Xu quickly became recognized in his native China as an artist whose skills surpassed his years.  His paintings constantly push the creative boundaries of traditional realism and delve into the dimensions of the surreal.  But it is his ability to portray the many facets of ordinary life with vibrant colors and thought-provoking insight that has helped him receive numerous awards and honors in many countries.

When Xu was only 19, his paintings were exhibited in the China National Fine Arts Museum in Beijing and appeared on Chinese Central Television.  At 21 he was the only artist in all China to have two oil paintings selected from among tens of thousands for the prestigious Sixth National Art Exhibition, where he won the Award for Excellence. 

Preface to Writing the Mind

The World as Seen through the Eyes of Xu Yanzhou

Xu Yanzhou has developed his own style of realism, sometimes referred to as “surreal-realism”. His paintings are fresh and insightfully challenging. The viewer’s first impressions are pleasant and inviting. The invitation is to share Xu’s impressions of everyday sights, whether in China or in North America. Once one accepts that invitation and enters the world of his art, there are always important comments and interpretations of our modern existence there for our serious reflection. His subject matter can be seen by all, but Xu takes us beyond our casual observations to inspect interactions of different aspects of the modern world. He presents an optimistic perspective on everyday encounters, leading us into an area of hope and excitement about the future and away from the hardships of life so often seen in the work of other artists representing the