Taos Art Auction

Tonight, collectors of oil paintings by Zhiwei Tu will have an opportunity to buy one of his more recent oil paintings, shown above, at the "3rd Annual Gala Auction" in Taos, N.M. Possibly for a song (pardon the pun). Certainly for a good cause.

Click here for a preview of all the art works and crafts up for auction. Apparently, telephone bids may be accepted:

If you are interested in placing a bid or would like more information on an item, please call 505.758.2690 x 5.

The auction will benefit the Taos Art Museum and Fechin House, located in the former home of Russian emigré artist Nicolai Fechin. (1881-1955). Fechin is said to have designed and hand-carved many of the features of the house, which was finished in 1933.

Zhiwei Tu's China Live Webcast

Look what just popped up on the Internet: a one hour on-line video of a live webcast with Zhiwei Tu, produced by Tom.com this past June.

One hour!!

The event was held in connection with Mr. Tu's one-man show at the National Art Museum of China. Tom.com is a "mobile internet company" specializing in web-casting (as opposed to more traditional "broadcasting") to a wide audience throughout China.

The program, naturally, is in Chinese. Just as happens with regular TV, a studio host interviewed Mr. Tu about the NAMOC show, his early years in a remote farming village when he was discovered to be a prodigy at painting, and his move to the U.S.A. to further his art education. What's so different with this "webcast" is that there was ample time to explore additional subjects and take live questions from viewers, apparently sent in by email or text-messaging.

Among the many subjects covered are the differences between art education in China and the U.S., the practicalities of how newly arrived Chinese artists can get by in the West, the inspiration Mr. Tu drew from his artistic mentor in the U.S., etc. etc. Several viewers apparently wanted to know more about the Oil Painters of America, a relatively new but very effective organization of artists (with affiliates in Canada and Mexico) that has helped to introduce the art work of many domestic and newly-arrived foreign artists to a Western audience.

Shorter excerpts of the interview can be viewed on the Tu Zhiwei Art Gallery web site here. For non-Chinese speakers, English summaries are provided.

Of the excerpts available, our favorite is "The Artistic Passion of Tu Zhiwei: Ten Epic Murals in Ten Years." It runs a little over six minutes. In this segment, Mr. Tu discloses that the five giant murals he's completed are just half of the ten he plans to do before "I rest in peace." One of them, he explains, is about Confucious.

Take a look at the first five murals and you can see why so many people are excited at what is yet to come from this extraordinary artistic genius.

Santa Fe Exhibition Opens

Today is the opening for Zhiwei Tu's exhibition at the Andreeva Gallery in Santa Fe, N.M.

The gallery's on-line display includes thirteen portraits from his Ballerina and Tibet portrait series. One of them is pictured above: "Dancer Reading."

The latest Art of the West issue includes a full page ad for Zhiwei Tu's upcoming one-man show at Andreeva Gallery i n Taos, N.M. The show begins August 16-Sept. 20, 2007.

More info coming soon.

Zhiwei Tu's Native American Portraits

"Ghost Dancer"

There's a new section up on the Tu Zhiwei Art Gallery web site. It's called "Native American Portraits."

These particular paintings, we understand, currently are being shown at the Nichols Gallery in Taos. They're part of a larger, ongoing series Mr. Tu has been doing, inspired by his first encounter with Sioux Indians when he vacationed in South Dakota shortly after emigrating to the United States and his later investigations of other tribes in the Western states.

All of the portraits are stunning, especially when viewed in person. Our personal favorite, though, is shown above -- "Ghost Dancer." It captures perfectly the slightly crazed, obsessed, and yet euphoric sentiment one can easily imagine in the hearts of many desperate Native Americans who joined this religious revival movement in the late 19th century as the white man overwhelmed their way of life.

New Landscape for Baiyun Center

Baiyun International Convention Center

Radio Guangdong, the first English-language radio station in that south China province, reported early last month that a large landscape by Tu Zhiwei is scheduled to be hung in Shaoguan Hall inside the new Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention and Exhibition Center. The center, which for the moment is believed to be the second-largest convention center in the world, consists of five buildings built in phases over several years.

The latest reports are that the entire complex is nearing completion, although the main hall has been in use for several months, now. Dan from the Philippines has posted a few photos of the center on his "Reverse Entropy" blog.

Mr. Tu's mural, titled "Light on Dan Xia Mountain," measures nearly 9 x 15 feet. To the left is a button of the mural, but such a small image can't do it justice.

A larger, far more dramatic digital photograph of the painting can be seen on the Tu Art Gallery web site, here. Formal unveiling of the painting is expected some time later this year.

Dan Xia Mountain is located in the world-famous redstone park near Tu Zhiwei's home village in Liu-Li Township. The area also is a popular honeymoon get-away, no doubt inspired by the giggles-inducing nearby site of "Yangyuan Stone" (aka "Father Rock") and "Yinyuan Hole."