The Exhibition Featuring Works Donated by Zhou Lingzhao Unveiled at CAFAM

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DATE： 2026.2.9

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On January 27, "Painted in the Depths of Time: The Exhibition of Works Donated by Zhou Lingzhao" was unveiled at CAFA Art Museum. The exhibition showcases 221 works donated by Prof. Zhou Lingzhao to the CAFA Art Museum, covering a wide range of mediums including watercolor, gouache, sketches, comic strips, murals, propaganda posters, and design, spanning from 1938 to 2008, reflecting his artistic practice throughout 70 years.

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Being an important material sequence for studying the history of modern Chinese art and design, this collection does not only provide crucial insights into Mr. Zhou Lingzhao's creative trajectory and working methods, but it also allows visitors to return to the site of his creation, appreciating his artistic spirit through the details and structure of his works. The exhibition further interprets Zhou's distinctive visual language and expressive system by a newly curated narrative.

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Zhou Lingzhao, Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a renowned Chinese artist, art educator, and master of art design, one of the pioneers of the Chinese mural movement, named the "Role Model" of the People's Republic of China in 2019, recipient of the 10th Achievement Award in Fine Arts from the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and a member of the Communist Party of China.

Portrait of Zhou Lingzhao（1919-2023）

Zhou Lingzhao was born in Pingjiang County, Hunan Province in 1919. He once studied at Changsha Central China Art College and Wuchang Art College and he was guided by Wang Zhongqiong, Chen Guozhao, Tang Yihe, Shen Shizhuang and so on. In 1936, the 17-year-old Zhou Lingzhao was an apprentice at the Eastern China Photographic Printing Company in Shanghai, and the famous expert of the printing plate Liu Puqing was his master. After the outbreak of Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (the War of Resistance) in 1937, Zhou Lingzhao began to actively participate in the propaganda work of the War of Resistance. In 1938, the 19-year-old Zhou Lingzhao entered the Office of Fine Arts, Department of Art, the Third Provincial Department of Politics in Wuhan led by the Communist Party of China.

After the end of the War of Resistance, invited by Prof. Xu Beihong, Zhou Lingzhao came to the National Peking Art College (one of the predecessors of the Central Academy of Fine Arts) and taught art patterns, and he has been working at the Central Academy of Fine Arts ever since. Before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Prof. Zhou Lingzhao actively participated in lots of image designs for the Republic.

In June 2011, Prof. Zhou Lingzhao created the acrylic mural Changsha for the Hunan Building in Beijing.

As an outstanding representative among his peers, Prof. Zhou Lingzhao participated in the great history of China when he was young, and his works bear witness to the great epoch. As a tutor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Prof. Zhou has also seen the developments of this prestigious and highest art institution in China. As one of the main founders of the new disciplines of Design and Mural Painting, he has cultivated a lot of outstanding professionals for the country. During his teaching in the Department of Patterns and Applied Arts, Prof. Zhou has instructed many design courses while undertaking lots of national design tasks. Renowned craft artists and designers including Chang Shana, Han Meilin, Chen Hanmin and so on, who were deeply affected by his work. After the "Cultural Revolution", he participated in preparations for the first Department of Mural Painting among the system of Chinese higher art education at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and he served as the first Director of the Ethnic Painting Studio in the Department of Mural Painting. In education, he especially emphasized the inheritance and development of the Chinese folk art tradition, which reflects his vision and cultural confidence as an important master of art, so that he has made important contributions to the establishment and improvement of the Mural Painting System at the Central Academy of Fine Arts with his artistic thoughts and creative practices.

In his teaching, Zhou emphasized the inheritance and innovation of national and folk traditions, reflecting deep cultural confidence and a broad academic vision. He influenced generations of students with his magnanimous heart and open-minded approach to life, and supported the growth of talent with the lofty intellectual realm and caring heart of a "great teacher," earning deep respect from his peers in the art world. Throughout his life, Zhou used art to establish the nation's image and inspire the people's spirit, dedicating creativity to the era, becoming an important contributor to the visual culture and aesthetic education of the People's Republic of China.

Courtesy of CAFA Art Museum, edited (EN) by CAFA ART INFO.

About the Exhibition