Preface

As a student of Su Tianci, a master of oil painting of 20th century China, professor Zhao Siyou has been practicing oil painting for more than 30 years. Meticulous in his artistic studies, he is modest, industrious, and always ready to learn. Though 55 years of age, Professor Zhao still bears a beginner's eagerness and innocence for artistic pursuit, which is quite rare among his contemporaries. That explains why he insists that the wide gap between his paintings and his artistic ideals is yet to be closed with further efforts.

I saw him obsessed with the philosophical writings of Laozi and Zhuangzi, ancient theoretical works on Chinese painting and the key expositions on art by 20th century masters of painting. While reading, he was completely preoccupied, romantically roaming in the world of imagery and seeking for the light that leads to genuine art. Living in a mundane world, professor Zhao, as one of those summoned by a dream, adores the artistic superstars glistening in the sky. The artistic thoughts of those forerunners like Lin Fengmian, Pang Xunqin, Su Tianci and Wu Guanzhong inflame and ignite his artistic creativity. There lies his fuzzy dream----imagist oil paintings. Following these predecessors' footprints and practicing painstakingly, he has had his own epiphany, cognition, perception, introspection and questions. In the end, the endless river of his inner world pours out the answers to all his artistic inquiries.

Born and educated in Northwest China, Professor Zhao Siyou is now teaching in the Southeast. He has been engaged in teaching the art of color in Suzhou Vocational University and Wuxi Institute of Commerce successively. Most of his paintings are nothing but artistic explorations into the inner world sparkled by observations of the outer world. They extend far beyond the restrictions of shape and color of the realistic world. Consequently, they are not only filled with the wilderness and boldness native to man from the Northwest but also the elegance and implicity unique to the river and lake regions of Jiangnan, jointly revealing his special love of and attachment to the art of oriental painting. He experiences the similarities and differences between the spiritual traits of Chinese and Western aesthetics through his research into the expressive modes of imagist oil painting. Neither the orientation nor the method is commonplace. His achievements in research are significant among his contemporaries.

Artistically speaking, everything in the world is in a constant state of ever-flowing deformation and indiscriminating vanity, projecting itself onto the artists' mind. This projection evokes Professor Zhao's fuzzy dreams. He is heading for the chaotic kingdom of artistic creation with an innocent mind. He will surpass himself perpetually. This I firmly believe in.

Liu Jude

Heqing Garden, Tsinghua University July 3, 2012

（Note: Professor Liu Jude is a Member of the Council of China Artists Association. He is PhD supervisor and former dean of Academy of Arts & Design as well as the Director of Wu Guanzhong's Art Research Center of Tsinghua University.）