Ji Zhou
Born in 1970 in Beijing, China, Ji Zhou graduated from the printmaking department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing in 1994, and later received a MFA from the University Paris 1 Panteon-Sorbonne, Paris in 2005. Ji Zhou's quiet observation of contemporary society is reflected in his object-based works, often rendered in photography or sculpture.
Ji Zhou's oeuvre explores fragmented and whole images, comprised of images of objects and installations that are not what they always appear to be. His series "Dust," which was exhibited extensively across Asian fairs and in New York's The Armory Show (2013), explores the perceived image of hand-assembled objects, rendered in monotonous grey as a mean to focus on the shape and form of these sculptures. In Ji's current series "Civilized Landscape," he explores illusory landscapes created by mankind: using maps and books, he sculpts mountains and skyscrapers in carefully placed installations before photographing the compositions. Through this illustration of the world, Ji Zhou constructs an understanding of the world around us.
Ji Zhou's solo exhibitions include: Ji Zhou: Symbiosis, Eli Klein Gallery, New York (2022); Ji Zhou: Stars Scattered by the Greens, SPURS Gallery, Beijing (2024); Ji Zhou: Symbiosis, Central Park Arsenal Gallery, New York (2023); Ji Zhou: Metempsychosis, SPURS Gallery, Beijing (2021); Ji Zhou: Poussière d'étoiles, A2Z Gallery, Paris (2019); Ji Zhou: Fiction, Boers-Li Gallery, Beijing (2019); Ji Zhou: Spectacle, Gallery SU, Seoul (2019); Ji Zhou: Dust, Street Museum, Seoul (2017); Ji Zhou: Real Illusion, Klein Sun Gallery, New York (2017); Ji Zhou: Form, Space KAAN, Gallery SU:, Seoul (2017); Ji Zhou: Dust, Christian Louboutin, Hong Kong (2016); Ji Zhou: Dust, Beijing SKP, Beijing (2016); Ji Zhou: Civilized Landscape, Klein Sun Gallery, New York (2015); Ji Zhou: Ji Zhou, HdM Gallery, Hangzhou, China (2014); Ji Zhou: Objectified Spectacle, Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing (2013); Ji Zhou: Realite Illusoire, A2Z Art Gallery, Paris (2012); Ji Zhou: Ashes of Time, Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing (2011); Ji Zhou: The Imagination of Reality & The Reality of Imagination, 5 Art Space, Guangzhou, China (2011); Ji Zhou: In Situ, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2008).
Ji Zhou’s work has been featured in renowned institutions worldwide including Keep Records by Tying Knots, YI Art institute, Hefei, China (2024); Art Lanzhou: The 5th Lanzhou International Image Biennale, Yanerwan Contemporary Art Museum, Lanzhou, China (2023); JINGPHOTO: Beijing Photography Art Fair Invitation Exhibition, Enjoy Art Museum, Beijing (2023); Wonders in the Fading Light, Xie Zilong Photography Museum, Changsha, China (2023); Letter from Overseas: Zooming into the De Molina’s Collection, Coral Gables Museum, Coral Gables, Florida (2022); Wish in Beijing: WishinART Grand Opening, WishinART, Beijing (2022); The Photography Is Not What’s Important: Photography at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Three Shadows Xiamen Photography Art Centre, Xiamen, China (2021); The Macallan Experience, MoCA Shanghai, Shanghai (2021); When Speed Become Form - Live in Your Screen, Wind H Art Center, Beijing (2020); A Chance For the Unpredictable - The 15th Lianzhou Foto Festival, Lianzhou Museum of Photography, Lianzhou, China (2019); Architectural Representation in Chinese Art, Eli Klein Gallery offsite, One Thousand Museum, Miami, Florida (2019); Troubled Intentions Ahead: Confusing Public and Private - The 3rd Beijing Photo Biennial, Art Museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (2018); Respace, Whitebox Art Center, Beijing (2018); Simultaneous Eidos, Guangzhou Image Triennial 2017, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China (2017); Imaginary Frontiers, Boghossian Foundation, Brussels, Belgium (2017); Photography and Film Constructs, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida (2016); WALK! Passages: Walking in Contemporary Art, Perlman Teaching Museum, Northfield, Minnesota (2016); Children of Hangzhou: Connecting with China, Young At Art Museum, Davie, Florida (2016); Another Landscape, Yang Art Museum, Beijing (2016); All Rivers Run to the Sea, One Thousand Cliffs Stand Tall: The Songzhuang Artistic Spirit as a Community of Values, Songzhuang East Art Center, Beijing (2016); The 2nd Three Shadows Experimental Image Open Exhibition, Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing (2015); The Persistence of Images, Redtory Museum of Contemporary Art, Guangzhou, China (2015); Jimel X Arles: Encounters Between East and West - International Photo Festival, Xiamen Yuanbo Garden, Tan Kan Kee Art Center, and Three Shadows Art Center, Xiamen, China (2015); Real/Unreal - The First Edition of Changjiang International Photography & Video Biennale, Chongqing Changjiang Museum of Contemporary Art, Chongqing, China (2015); The 9th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai, China (2013); Retrospection & Deviation, Times Art Museum, Beijing (2011); Rendez-vous 09, Institut d'Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne, France (2009); 55 Days in Valencia - Chinese Art Meeting, Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain (2008), among other museums and institutions around the world.
Ji Zhou currently lives and works in Beijing, China.