Zheng Lu was born in 1978 in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. He has a bachelor’s degree from Sculpture Department of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts and a master ‘s degree from Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 2005 he won the L.V.M.H. Prize and was sent to study at The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts, ENSBA, Paris.
In recent years Zheng has gradually formed his own art vocabulary through persistent practice. “Water In Dripping”， “Bow without Arrow”，and his other early works are based on Chinese scripts to reveal the interaction and conflict between sculpture and words, which theme is highlighted in a series of exhibitions, like “Interpreting Non-existence” at New Age Gallery (Beijing, 2009) , “Bow without Arrow” at MOT/ART (Taipei, 2011), “Passage of Time at Schoeni Art Gallery (Hong Kong, 2011), “Water from Water” at Shanghai Gallery of Art (Shanghai, 2013), etc. In this series, Chinese characters are given metal forms to be relieved of the sense of volume that is typical of traditional sculptures, in order to achieve the logical paradox of “formless form”. Therefore, the “signification” of the Chinese scripts are closely connected with its “physical” property, in other words, the scripts are both the carrier of meaning and the figurative material. The experiment in combining script with sculpture has led to a new form of transliteration, both in form and content. When a text becomes scripts, the scripts become something concrete covering the form, and when the form turns the scripts into light and shadow, transliteration continues. This treatment also involves interpreting and invigorating the Chinese tradition.
“Resurface”at Gajah (Singapore, 2014) reinterprets “image reproduction” in experimental one-dimensional art works. This series is bases on his reflections about the fundamental issues in our network era and human life reality. Zheng chooses common machines and digital tools to produce and destroy images in a standardized and industrialized way ( the sculptures are polished to remove the trace of manual work). What come out in the end are uncontrollable multiple images that allow for new ways to interpret the original meaning.
During his art practice, Zheng explores deeper into material and media. His solos, like “H-O-H” at Between Art Lab (Beijing, 2015) , “SHIOSAI” at Museum of Contemporary Art (Taipei, 2015), “Transition” at Parkview Green Exhibition Hall (Beijing, 2016), etc., take water as the physical basis, also clue to his art practice. Multimedia, technology and physical experiments all join to interpret the physical transformation in water, as well as its manifold changes in different spaces, so as to highlight the multiplicity of form and possibility of individual growth and development, provoking reflection on the shaping force of social context on individuals and the essence of human evolution, namely, our pursuit of nature and self.
In recent years Zheng has gradually formed and improved his own aesthetic logic and vocabulary. Through incorporating into art material, scripts, water, time, space, and other relevant concepts, he developed his unique style in art.
