Biography
Luzhen Qiu is a Chinese American artist living in Metro Detroit. She was born in 1971, in Hangzhou, China. She graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit with a MFA degree. Luzhen has taught art classes at Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Paint Creek Center for the Art in Michigan, and The National Academy of Fine Art School in China.
In her works, Luzhen is always searching for ways of dealing with contents and forms by organizing objects from chaotic contents into re-arranged forms. She is a multi-disciplinary artist working with both representational and abstract artworks. Her art media consists of oil, acyclic, color pencil, and mixed media. With her color pencil on layered mylar works, Luzhen makes a dreamscape from her memory by juxtaposing fragments of memories from her childhood, Chinese traditional fabric textiles, and old Chinese legends. Her works are visual poems with narrative content which draw the viewer into an open-ended story. Her works are layered with depth of transparency.
During her graduate studies at Wayne State University, she was the recipient of various Graduate professional scholarships as well as Art and Art history Travel Fellowship. Her graduate project, the video animation titled “Highway” was presented at Teaching, Learning& Technology Roundtable (TLTR) 5th Annual Conference, Detroit, MI .
Luzhen’s artworks have been displayed in various galleries including but not limited to the Form gallery in Cranbrook art museum, MI; Detroit artist market; Detroit Music Hall, Lansing gallery; High Art Gallery in Traverse City; An Arbor Art Center; Eastern Michigan University gallery in Ypsilantiin Michigan; Michigan Museum of New Art; Touch stone gallery in DC; Farmington Museum in New Mexico; art gallery in China Academy of Fine Art School… Her voluminous work has earned her a host of top awards including the first place of “2004 Art Environmental Activism” show (nine states including Ontario art jury show); the first place of the 2005 Canton art show , MI; the second place of the “2016 Silver medal Exhibition” in Scarab club in Detroit MI; the third place of “ 2003 The Annual All Media Exhibition” in Ann Arbor Art Center in MI; third place, “Multiculturalism In Art”, Waterford Cultural Council, MI; the honorable mention at the 7th National Annual All-Media Exhibition in Touch Stone Gallery in Washington, DC She is the recipient of the artist grants for Vermont artist residencies… In the past, Luzhen also had her solo show at Paint Creek Center for the Art in MI , Rochester, MI, Three River, MI, Huntington Woods, MI, the Art of Frame Gallery in Troy, MI.
Luzhen has served as a Juror of 2017 Chinese Zodiac art context at Confucius Institute at Wayne State University. She is the visual artist presented “In Transit Detroit- China Detroit fusion” 2017. She Illustrated the book titled “the dream of stars and moon” which has been published by Zhejiang province children publishing company in China. Her works have been inpublic and private art collections both in the United States and abroad.
Artist Statement
Part one: Color pencil on mylars: These works I present as part of my ongoing pursuit which focuses on my Chinese culture background. I want to make a dreamscape from my memory. By juxtaposing fragments of memories from my childhood, Chinese traditional fabric textiles, old Chinese legends, the fragments from Chinese vase… I want to tell stories. Stories about childhood’s fantasies, Childhood wonderland. My drawings are visual poems drawing the viewer into an open-ended story through images that ignite the imagination and a sense of delight by a collage of the images that I was familiar with and manipulating the formal elements of drawing: line, color, tone, and design patterns. Color pencils on layers of mylar allow me to work on the sense of depth from the transparency.
Part Two: My small abstract drawings are mixed media collage with color pencil, pastel, ink, gouache, paper, birch bark, tread on yupo paper. The sizes of my small work are 7”x7” and 8”x11” I deal with colors, forms, texture, spaces. I build up layers of colors by using brayer printing colors, then mapping the shapes from one to another. The process of my artwork may various for each drawing. Some of them I experience media mixture affect, such as the mixture of ink, water and alcohol. I want to show images with narrative ambiguity by juxtaposition of layers of shapes and the texture of shapes.
CV
EDUCATION:
MFA (Master of Fine Art ). Painting , Wayne State University, Michigan, USA
BFA, Painting, China National Fine Art Academy, China
Workshop :
“Collaboration with Pam DeLaura” teaching workshop “Cyanotype intergrading with printmaking” at China Academy of Art Printmaking department November 2019
Teaching Workshop “mapping images” at College of Science and Technology ,Ningbo University illustration department, March, 2019
AWARDS, FELLOWSHIP, GRANTS AND CONFERENCES:
Second place , Silver metal Exhibition, Scarab club , Detroit , MI, 2016
Artist ‘s Grant , Vermont artist residency, Johnson, VT, 2012
Artist ‘s Grant , Vermont artist residency, Johnson, VT, 2008
First place, Canton art show, MI, 2005
First place, Art Environmental Activism (nine states including Ontario art jury show), MI,2004.
Third place, “Multiculturalism In Art”, Waterford Cultural Council, MI, 2005
Third place, the Annual: All Media Exhibition, MI, 2003 Ann Arbor Art Center, MI
Honorable mention, 7th National Annual All-Media Exhibition, Touch Stone Gallery, Washington, DC, 2005
The Bronze prize, Zhejiang Province educational art exhibition, China
SOLO, TWO -FOUR PEOPLE ART EXHIBITIONS:
“Life is but A Dream” Luzhen Qiu, Mary Fortuna, Scott Northrup, Sarah Rose Sharp, Gallery Camille, Detroit, MI 2021
Dreamscape -Luzhen Qiu and Cathy Jacobs, Lansing Art Gallery, Lansing, MI, June 2021
“Two Women Artist Show”, Hatch Gallery, Ferndale, MI , November,2020
“Dreamscape” two women artist show, Lansing Art Gallery, MI, July, 2020
“Three people show” Oliver Art Center, Frankfort, MI 2019
“Forms and Content” – three contemporary Chinese artist show Janice Charach gallery, West Bloomfield, upcoming 2019
“Luzhen Qiu, Ongoing” the Art of Custom framing, Troy MI 2017
“Two women show” Woods Gallery, Huntington Woods, MI 2016
“One woman installation show”, Paint creek center of art (Main gallery), downtown Rochester, MI, March, 2007
Designhaus Art Gallery, Rochester, MI, September, 2005
“Bridging the culture” Journey Art Gallery, Three River, MI, May, 2005
MFA Thesis show, Community Art Gallery, Wayne State University, MI 2005
SELECTED JURIED EXHIBITONS:
“Drawing” Exhibition Kayrod Gallery, Hannan Center, Detroit, MI 2022
“Women Strong” Ellen Kayrod Gallery, Hannan Center, Detroit, MI 2018
Kresge Foundation Art In the Office 2017, Kresge building , Troy, 2018-2020
Magnificent China show, Ford Community Performance Art Center, Dearborn, MI. 2017
In Transit Detroit- China Detroit fusion, Garden theater, Detroit,2017, MI
“Secret Handshake” Wayne State University Collective, Downriver Council for the Arts
Wyandotte, MI 2017
Higher Art Gallery, Traverse city, MI July 2017
Faire Tales Re-imagined, Nave Gallery Annex, 53 Chester St, Somerville,MA. 2016
2016 Annual Art for The Holidays, Detroit Artist Market, Detroit, MI 2016
Detroit Biennale, Museum of New Art(MONA), Armada, MI. 2016
Traverse Higher Art Exhibition, Traverse city, MI July 2016
Places names the place, Eastern Michigan University gallery, Ypsilanti, MI 2014
Group of four, Paint Creek Center of Art, MI, March 2010
Works by four artists, Music Hall, represented by G.R.N’Namdi Gallery, downtown Detroit, MI 2007
“Multiculturalism In Art”, Waterford Cultural Council, MI 2005
National Juried Art show, Farmington Museum, NM, 2005
7th National Annual All-Media Exhibition, Touch Stone Gallery, Washington, DC, 2005
Michigan Fine Arts Competition, Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, MI, 2005
Art Environmental Activism, St. Claim College, MI, 2004
Michigan Annual Art show, Midland Art Center, MI, 2003
The Annual: All Media Exhibition, Ann Arbor Art Center, MI, 2003
Illustrator of the book : “the dream of stars and moon” published by Zhejiang Children Public Co. China.