The Purdue University North Central Odyssey Arts and Cultural Events Series is currently featuring "The Zhou Brothers Exhibit," a collection of paintings, sculptures and terragraphs, in the PNC Library-Student-Faculty Building, Room 02 in the building’s lower level. It is free and is open to the public and may be viewed by appointment only. The exhibit will be up through May, 2016.
This collection was recently donated to Purdue North Central by Dr. Eugene D. and Dorothy A. Van Hove, of Carmel, Ind.
The exhibit includes mixed media paintings, two sculptures and terragraphs displayed under glass. The terragraphs have been created using a process that utilizes sands from the Negev Desert to create dramatic textures. The sand is rinsed, neutralized and mixed with resins to permit flexibility and stability. The sand is coated with a translucent layer of ink to allow the sand to retain its natural color. The result is richly colored graphics of high-relief textures that cannot be achieved with screen printing. This group of terragraphs is reminiscent of ancient Chinese cave paintings.
The Zhou Brothers work as a unique collaborative, forming what critics have called “our most accomplished contemporary Chinese-American artists.” After surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution, from 1966 to 1976, they were the first artists to exhibit abstract art in China.
Before leaving China in 1986, the brothers were nationally recognized contemporary artists with shows in the National Museum of Art, Beijing; the Museum of Art, Nanjing; the Shanghai Museum of Art; the Guiling Art Museum; and the Guanxi Art Museum in Nanning.
The brothers have achieved international acclaim with shows in the United States and Europe. Their work is in galleries and private collections around the globe.
The Zhou Brothers live and work in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. In 2004 they purchased an 87,000 square-foot former industrial building and transformed it into what is known today as the Zhou B Art Center. The Center provides studio and exhibition space for more than 50 artist residencies and their work. It hosts at least 10 exhibitions a year and has hosted and curated more than 160 major exhibitions in the past 10 years.
To schedule an appointment to view this exhibit or to obtain further information, contact Judy Jacobi, PNC assistant vice chancellor of Marketing and Campus Relations, at 219-785-5593. Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Jacobi.