The Zhou Brothers’ story is key to understanding both their art and the fractious times we live in. On the one hand, it represents the paradigmatic American Dream: two Chinese brothers who come to Chicago with virtually no money and eventually become internationally famous and successful artists. This was at a time when the Cultural Revolution had already taken its toll and China had begun the process of opening to the West. In a larger sense, their art embodies these times as it is emblematic of the admixture of cultures in a unique and engaging manner.

This exhibition at both the Chicago Cultural Center and the Elmhurst Art Museum demonstrates the course of their journey as collaborators over a thirty year span and shows that the Zhous’ art is deeply rooted in Chinese traditions, from Chinese neolithic rock paintings, to calligraphic traditions, to classical Sung Dynasty landscape painting. Over the years the Zhous have gradually incorporated more of Western modernism, from Abstract Expressionism to more contemporary notions. The irony of this supposed dichotomy of cultural difference is that the two poles are surprisingly related, and based in the same process. Looking at the Zhous’ early landscapes from the mid 1970s makes evident the striking relationship between Chinese landscape painting and abstraction; and the pure beauty of Asian calligraphic expression rivals modernist masters such as Matisse and Pollock in its fusion of looseness and precision.

The Zhous’ work raises many questions about the nature of their inspiration.. The largest mystery is the very nature of their collaboration. At the beginning of their career the art world was quite taken
with the novelty of collaboration, as evident in the notable parallel of the Starn Twins’ photographic works and in other ways by Gilbert and George. Nowadays artistic collaboration is much more common and takes many forms, from the collective work of The Royal Art Lodge to the politically-charged work of such collectives as Group Material and Critical Art Ensemble. The Zhous’ methods indicate a rare closeness and a form of near telepathic conversation through art, what they term, “a dream dialogue.” Perhaps the closest analogy is to an improvisatory jazz duet. Collaboration is yet another layer to the resolution of dualities represented in their work.

The Zhous’ outright facility for making beautiful objects is startling and even disconcerting to some. Their work from the last several years also shows an amazing sensitivity to materials, combining such disparate mediums as lead and silk. This work in particular is a culmination of their ability to seamlessly embody their deeply embedded Asian sensibility with contemporary global ideas about art and materials. And again, in their work materials embody spiritual properties as well, thus introducing yet another dialectic.

In a manner that is not easy to summarize, the Zhous combine figuration and narrative content with a sense of spirituality that encompasses our human relationship to nature, temporality, and being in the moment. This all makes for a unique resolution of the many dichotomies they exemplify: two brothers working as one; East and West, sensitivity to materials as well as spirit, control and precision embodied in their improvisation, and so many others. The Zhous’ work speaks to the present moment in its resolution of Western and Asian sensibilities, and points to a future in which such distinctions and many of the above dualities are simply a part of history.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Firstly I would like to acknowledge the generous and always gracious support of Da Huang Zhou and Shan Zuo Zhou in making this exhibition possible. They along with Oskar Friedl, director of the Zhou Brothers Foundation, extended themselves in every way possible to make this massive endeavor a reality. It has also been a pleasure collaborating with Neil Bremer director of the Elmhurst Art Museum, who actually initiated this project, which will hopefully continue even further in a planned tour of a related exhibition to Hamburg, Beijing and Shanghai. Of course, our deepest gratitude is extended to all the lenders to this exhibition; their generosity has allowed us to share the Zhou Brothers’ vision with a larger public, and to better make Chicagoans aware of a local treasure.

It is also important to acknowledge the continuing support and guidance of the Department of Cultural Affairs Exhibition Advisory Committee and to thank DCA Commissioner Lois Weisberg and other DCA colleagues, especially in the Visual Arts Division – Gregory G. Knight, Director of Visual Arts, Greg Lunceford, Exhibition Designer/Installation Coordinator and Sofia Zutautas, Exhibition Coordinator/Assistant Curator.

Lanny Silverman
Curator of Exhibitions
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs

Zhou Brothers: 30 Years of Collaboration