Pu Wei
Biography
The Paintbrush artist Pu Wei, a native of Kunming, Yunnan, China, is well-known as an “innovative color of Surupa painting” artist in China. She was reported in Chinese influential art webs, magazines and newspapers, TVs, CNC world news, participated in international art exhibitions in New York, London, Paris, Strasbourg, Miami, San Diego, Tokyo, Dubai, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland etc., and won many international art awards. Contemporary Chinese painting - Color of Surupa series are full of colors, lights and shadows, artistic conceptions and prospects, using Chinese ink and brushes, water, rice paper and natural pigments.
Pu Wei is the first painter who apply the mind method of Great Perfection (Dzogchen) Dharma in contemporary art, and create a new artistic expression style of Chinese painting – The color of surupa. This is a new type of Chinese painting rooted in Eastern philosophy and Chinese cultural, which pushes the art of Chinese mental imagery to a higher dimension and level.
The traditional Chinese cultural ideology Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism all point to the same goal---staying connected to the nature, achieving a transcended mind without being stimulated by reality environment. Chinese artists through history tend to consider as essential that art works must express “spirit” or “rhythm”. The artist with the capability to express the “inner spirit” of the subjects they are painting is held in high esteem.
Pu Wei’s wide range of brush paintings contain the aesthetic ideals expressed by Oriental art thought and Western abstract arts. Her brush paintings convey the essence of the traditional Chinese art ethics, which emphasizes “likeness in unlikeness”. Pu Wei has merged into her works the Western impressionist and abstract styles called “the imagery style” that reveals the illusions of visible reality or invisible void world.
Pu Wei’s unique contribution in brush painting lies in her choice of aesthetic preference that is deeply grounded in the traditional Chinese major philosophies significantly. The ideal aesthetic art realm promoted is to bring out “inner spirit” or “vitality” of the subject artists are depicting. Pu Wei paints with a strong sense of modern and cutting-edge fashion. Her paintings, thick and heavy in colors, convey the profound life meaning and vitality.
What’s your background?
I am Pu Wei, an artist living in Kunming city, Yunnan Province, China. I am a self-taught painter. My university major is educational technology and I am an educational television editor by profession. I became interested in painting when I was three years old. It took me more than 20 years to complete my self-growth and master the skills of traditional Chinese painting expertly, thus forming a very personal aesthetic concept. Since I was a student, I have read a lot of books on Eastern philosophy and Chinese culture, and learned knowledge about the mind, spirit, and consciousness. In 2013, I used the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) mind method of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism in China to paint, and created a new artistic expression style of Chinese painting - The color of surupa, which comes from the name of Surupakaya Tathagata, means extraordinary fantastic colors. The color of surupa is a new type of Chinese painting rooted in Eastern philosophy and Chinese cultural system, which pushes the art of Chinese mental imagery to a higher dimension and level. In April 2018, I participated in the New York Artexpo for the first time. Since then, I began my international artistic career.
In August 2018, I participated in the Summer Fine Art Exhibition London, UK. My work "Between Heaven and Earth" was selected as the poster for the exhibition, which was exposed in the London art medias, and was reported by China Xinhua News Agency (CNC WORLD) and China Education TV (CETV). In December 2018, I participated in the Paris Salon des beaux arts, France, and my work "Golden Land" was exhibited in the Carrousel of the Louvre Museum. In the following years, I participated in many international art exhibitions in Strasbourg, New York, San Diego, Miami, Tokyo, Dubai, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland etc., and won many important international art awards. Many people liked my works, they regard my works as their spiritual totems and soul placement and collect them.
What does it mean to you to win the Collectors Art Prize?
It is a great honor for me to receive the Collectors Art Prize, which is an art selection project jointly launched by the top international online magazine Contemporary Art Curator Magazine in collaboration with the Contemporary Art Collectors platform and their Private Collectors Club. The Prize is juried by an international panel of art collectors and art world experts who preferred to remain anonymous to preserve their independence. This means that the Collector Art Prize is professional, impartial and credible, and it is a high recognition of my artistic talent, innovation and influence, as well as a full affirmation and commendation of the social significance and cultural value of my works. Here, I am very grateful to the Contemporary Art Curator magazine for interviewing me, letting a wider audience to know the color of surupa from China, and give me the opportunity to have cultural exchanges and mutual understanding with international art community, thus attracting the attention of more art lovers, curators, writers and collectors. Gained recognition, honor, credibility and international visibility for me.
What do you think is the role of art in the world today?
Art is very closely related to our lives. Art can expand our thinking space, enrich our imagination, stimulate creativity, and improve people's ability to understand and
transform nature. Art can help us realize the good interaction and communication between people, nature and society, and build a harmonious and beautiful human civilized society. Art is a kind of spiritual culture and a phenomenon of human culture. Human beings become more civilized and progressive because of their culture, and their spiritual realm becomes more perfect and noble because of their love of art. Art enhances human civilization quality and cultural accomplishment, thus effectively promoting the progress of social culture and the development of civilized customs sublimation; Art records and reproduces the occurrence and development process of human culture and thought. By connecting art with culture, society, economy, politics, science, nature, life and other fields, people can understand the achievements of multiculturalism and human civilization, and improve the spiritual quality and moral level of human beings will ultimately promote social change and social progress.
What would it be if you could change one thing about the art world?
I think the ultimate goal of art is to obtain the freedom of the soul. No matter how noisy and prosperous the art world is today, art will eventually move towards a lofty spiritual world.
Many contemporary artists pay great attention to the reflection and depiction of the material world and social reality. In all aspects of history, culture, society, life, politics, economy, nature, humanities, etc., they play the roles of recorder, observer, researcher, explorer, and critic……, the currents and eddies of the art world confuses many artists and dazzle the public. In such an art world full of chaos and disorder, I have done one thing, that is, to directly return to the essence of art, pursue spiritual liberation, and obtain the freedom of the soul. My art has been far away from the material world and social reality, I found a new path from Eastern philosophy and wisdom: meditation. By using the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) mind method to create art, I directly enter the “empty essence" of my inner awareness, and arrive at an ideal kingdom that transcends social reality, which is void realm. There, I feel the “love” energies from the universe, nature and life. Such as: Light, Peace, Harmony, Warmth, Calm, Joy, Relaxation, Happiness, Purity, Freedom, etc. These feelings are frequencies and vibrations; There, I obtained spiritual sublimation and soul freedom. It was a paradise for my soul purification and a ladder to my soul salvation. Meditation helps me open the door to connect with the universe and nature. I feel the higher frequency lights and colors and the profound natural states. I believe that in addition to the sights of the physical world that our eyes can see, there is also the natural state of higher dimensions of invisible space that is perceived with the soul. The mental imagery let me understand that there is still a boundless art field waiting for artists to develop and explore. Connect with the universe and nature through meditation, I got rid of the shackles of the real material world and gained true freedom of the soul. This is a very perfect kind of life experience, and I feel extremely joyful and happy. I would love to convey these universe love energies to the audience through my paintings.
What are your most significant professional achievements?
I am the first painter to apply the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) mind method to contemporary art. I use the highest mind training method to create paintings. This is a leading and cutting-edge artistic innovation practice. As an artist, I have developed a new creative method and path by using the unique oriental traditional ink medium, such as: ink, water, rice paper, and natural pigments, which has fundamentally brought about profound changes in techniques and forms, and created the new expression style of painting - The color of surupa，this is a new type of Chinese painting born out of oriental art thought and Chinese cultural. My works are pure spiritual artistic expressions, belonging to the metaphysical category of spiritual supremacy, and are an artistic medium and channel to help people improve their spiritual level and realize noble soul. My mental imagery is the image of a higher dimensional void realm with extraordinary information and energy. Here, let me describe what is the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) Dharma. The Great Perfection is a very advanced system of meditation on the deepest, subtlest, foundational levels of mind. “Mind” refers to the unbroken mental activity of cognitively engaging with objects, described from another point of view as the mental activity of giving rise to appearances (mental holograms). Regarding the Great Perfection mind method, it is difficult to explain accurately in words. It is a very subtle method of projection and manifestation of mental images. I have built a theoretical model to describe this mind method, which is not its essence, just a superficial metaphor: This is a holographic, three-dimensional circular space representing an infinite, borderless universe. The center of the circle is my heart. When I empty my heart, my whole being merges with the universe, and my heart resonates with the universe at the same frequency. At this time, this circular space becomes my consciousness space. The place near the center of the circle belongs to the visible area, and the farthest place is the invisible infinite space. The concentric circles that expand step by step represent the consciousness dimension from "like image" to "unlike image". There is a line extending from the visible area to the invisible space like a radar line. The longer the radius of this line, the larger the space covered, the more information and energy it contains. "Unlike image" has a much higher level of consciousness than "like image", contains more complex information, and carries more energy, so we cannot use a certain information to name an "unlike image". For example, abstract paintings are difficult to name. If the consciousness dimension is further escalated, we can continue to enter the invisible void space, where "without shape" has appeared. This is the highest aesthetic state revealed by Chinese Taoism - the great form is without shape. This circular space is filled with rainbow light, which is the top-level energy light of the Great Perfection of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, and is invisible light. When I use the Great Perfection mind method, I am in the energy field of the rainbow light. As my consciousness increases, from the visible area to the invisible space, my empty heart, like a mirror, reflects the void image of a higher dimension, this is the projection of mental imagery. According to this model, the dimension of consciousness must be upgraded so that we can perceive areas from the visible to the invisible. When my conscious dimension reaches the invisible space, techniques are no longer a problem at this level, nor are they important, I can use all possible techniques and express all possible images. So, my technique is capricious. I keep changing all the time. Because only in the process of change I can obtain the joy of creation, and this process of change has stimulated my great curiosity and interest in exploration. It made me experience the freedom and liberation of soul in impermanence.
What do you wish to tell viewers about your work that might not come out explicitly? What do you hope to inspire with your artwork?
My mental imagery is a random, occasional, momentary emergence, non-repeatable unique image. When I started drawing, I couldn't figure out what it was. My painting is a process of exploring the unknown, and I won't see the result until the end. The painting medium I use is very thin, absorbent and permeable Chinese painting rice paper. The fluidity of water makes the rendering of ink and color in an uncontrollable state. The image on the paper is constantly changing, and it will automatically appear natural wonderful shape. After the painting is finished, I will correspond to the natural scenery according to the presented image, and give it an easy-to-understand proposition. In addition, I will also add some humanistic connotations to clarify the theme. Actually, my works have the characteristics of holography, naming is very difficult for me, I often rotate the direction to observe my paintings, different directions have different feelings, so I am very reluctant to name the works, because once it is named, the consciousness dimension of the painting will immediately drop, naming is not necessary. I usually use the date of completion of the work to name it. I want to give the freedom of naming to the audience, and let the audience define their own feelings. The audience can often see more connotations than me. When they read my paintings, they usually go beyond my original intentions. Many different conclusions and interpretations they would draw from seeing a painting. I think that if a painting can carry more people's cognitive information, it means that the painting has stronger energy and higher dimension. So that I judge the quality of my work based on the capacity of the information, a work with dozens of interpretations is definitely better than a work with only one answer. This is a very important aesthetic ideal of mine, which is to let me create in a natural state and let the audience think in a natural state. That is to say, while I gain spiritual freedom in the process of painting, I also let the audience gain freedom of thought when watching. By expressing nature, Let’s blend into nature, become one with nature, resonate with the universe frequencies, so that everyone can enter the free realm of art and freely obtain the energy of "love" they perceive.
What advice would you give to the upcoming generation of artists?
The contemporary art world is like a boundless ocean. Not everyone with artistic ideals is lucky enough to find their own direction and position in the ocean. If you don't have a clear direction and destination before jumping into the ocean, you won't last long, and you will soon be overwhelmed by the waves. I have an art step pyramid to give to the upcoming generation of artists, this pyramid is divided into four levels. Starting from the bottom and going up, the first level represents painters who have mastered artistic skills, which is the majority group; The second level represents the artists who have formed an iconic or unique language, and the number of this group is smaller than that of the first level; The third level represents celebrity artists who have established their own artistic thought system and methodology, which is a minority group of artist elites; On the top level represents grandmasters who have had a significant impact on art history, which belong to a very small number of art geniuses. My advice to the upcoming generation of artists is as follows: 1) Before you decide to devote yourself to art, you need to set your goal position in this pyramid. From skills to uniqueness to art thought system to significant impact and great significance, this process is very long and arduous, but as long as you have firm belief and work hard, you can finally achieve the level that matches yourself talents. 2) Don't lose yourself in the vortex of art trends and the vanity of the art market, stick to your own independent artistic thought, and establish a continuous system of works. 3) Only by exploring the field of art with perceptual and divergent thinking as much as possible can we inspire own inner spirituality and burst out extraordinary creativity. 4) Watching other people's works is not to learn how to get close to it, but to think about how to distance from it, so as to help you establish a unique and original artistic style.
In what direction would you like to see your career go in the next five years?
I am an original and purely natural art creator. My artistic ideas and methods come from the most primitive consciousness and inspiration from dreams. I obtained the knowledge of the Great Perfection Dharma through dreams. Dharma transmission in dreams is one of the inheritance ways of the Great Perfection Dharma of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. This is a very orthodox and unquestionable way, which shows a clear origin and clean roots. It is precisely because I have gone through such an extraordinary process that I founded "The color of surupa". From my experience along the way, I feel that “The color of surupa” has its mission, and its Birth, growth, and development have their natural routes, where it will go in the future, what will happen, and who it will meet, I cannot subjectively set it, nor can it be foreseeable. I will follow it with my heart, and let everything return to its natural nature. This is my " The Great Perfection " artistic journey. Now, in addition to painting, I usually spend a lot of time learning about the knowledge of consciousness, spirit, and mind, and studying the theories of Buddhism and Taoism in traditional Chinese culture, use Eastern philosophy to think about the meaning of life. In the future, I will continue to participate in international art events and exhibitions, publish my works, and summarize my artistic thoughts and methods. I hope that more people will know my new painting style, feel the energy of love from the universe and nature, gain the power of spiritual freedom and soul sublimation.
Country China
Website www.puweiart.com
