Born in 1971 in Nanjing, Dou graduated from the Nanjing Art Institute with a B.A. degree. Dou currently teaches fine art in Shanghai while pursuing his art practice. Intricate and moving depictions have always been one of the essential characteristics of paintings. Dou Rong Jun chooses to use the language of paintings to capture the subject's details and the subtle, delicate stories between people that are not always easy to grasp. In each of his works, there is sensitivity with every brushstroke and an apt conveyance of emotion. He has exhibited extensively in China and South Asia.
Viewing 6 works by Dou Rong Jun
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Publications 
Publications
Figures of Speech, 2011
Mimesis - Figurative Art, 2009
Biography
Biography
Dou Rong Jun, born in 1971, is a Nanjing native. He graduated
from the Nanjing Art Institute with a B.A. degree. Dou currently teaches fine art in Shanghai while pursuing his art practice. Intricate and moving depictions have always been essential characteristics of his paintings, and Dou Rong Jun chooses to use the language of paint to capture the subject's details and the subtle, delicate stories between people that are not always easy to grasp. In each of his works, there is sensitivity with every brushstroke and an apt conveyance of emotion. At the same time, he possesses an uncanny ability to control the picture's surface, enabling every single painting's overall appeal to be extremely strong, such that it arrests the attention and stirs up the feelings of viewers.
Widely recognized for his series of monochrome male portraits which convey a deep sense of angst and anguish, the self-professed pessimist aims to underscore the power of the human spirit whose soul seeks to search for something deeper amidst the darkness. The raw emotion of Dou's work is artfully expressed in every sinew of the sculpted male body. His acrylic work takes on the fluidity of dreamy water colours while his work using oil introduces a textural dimension to the human landscape he paints. Through his work, Dou chooses to use the language of painting to capture the subject's details and the subtle, delicate stories between people. A key feature of Dou's work is the portrayal of his subject's hands as being disproportionately large. He explained that he wanted to draw focus to his subject's hands because of the instrumental role hands play in all of man's activities.
Widely recognized for his series of monochrome male portraits which convey a deep sense of angst and anguish, the self-professed pessimist aims to underscore the power of the human spirit whose soul seeks to search for something deeper amidst the darkness. The raw emotion of Dou's work is artfully expressed in every sinew of the sculpted male body. His acrylic work takes on the fluidity of dreamy water colours while his work using oil introduces a textural dimension to the human landscape he paints. Through his work, Dou chooses to use the language of painting to capture the subject's details and the subtle, delicate stories between people. A key feature of Dou's work is the portrayal of his subject's hands as being disproportionately large. He explained that he wanted to draw focus to his subject's hands because of the instrumental role hands play in all of man's activities.
Exhibitions
Exhibitions
Selected Exhibitions
The Other Side of Painting- Recent Wroks by Dong Rongjun and Tang Shu, Aroundspace Gallery, Shanghai, China
2010
Speciman: Dou Rongjun's Works Show, Aroundspace Gallery, Shanghai, China
Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Nanjing, China
Crossover: Seven Chinese Artists Paintings Show, Aroundspace Gallery, Shanghai, China
2009
Community! Community!, Songzhuang Art Festival ,Beijing, China
The first layer of skin: Five Artists Paintings, Nanjing, China
2008
You and I: Solo Exhibition in Singapore, Ode To Art, Singapore
Sleepless in dry: Contemporary Art Exhibition, Nanjing, China
Present: New Works by Shanghai artists, Shanghai, China
Together: Six Artists Exhibition, Shanghai, China
2007
Fractal Image: Contemporary Art Exhibition, Nanjing, China
2006
Cutting-edge development of figurative painting
Singapore Art, Singapore
Shanghai Spring Art Salon, Shanghai, China
Poly Spring Exhibition of Contemporary Art Auction, Hangzhou, China
2005
Dust: Solo Exhibition, Shanghai, China
Art Location: General Painting Exhibition, Shanghai, China
2004
Weightlessness: Contemporary Art Exhibition, Shanghai, China
2003
Oil Painting Exhibition, Jiangsu , Nanjing, China
2002 Jointly Create: Contemporary Art Exhibition, Nanjing, China
Awards
2000
Jiangsu Education Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention, Nanjing, China
1999
Meeting the New Century: Jiangsu Oil Painting Exhibition, Bronze, Nanjing, China
Critique
Critique
Me and You: Regarding Dou Rong Jun's Oil Paintings
At different intervals, everyone's development leaves different memories. Youthful faces become old and fragile, innocent eyes grow numb. Different life experiences, different trails of emotions; every message about life is recorded on each of our individual bodies. Thus, we often can read one or many stories from minute details of the body.
Meanwhile, because of interaction with other people and the influence of the resulting relationships, those same stories may not be hard to read from the body. To compound the issue, every relationship has its own distances and perspectives and can be seen from different angles, leaving impressions on both bodies of the parties involved. As humans, much of our existence and sense of being is inextricably tied to the various relationships we have in society. The principles and standards for various relationships adapt to the changing times. However, the most basic things about interpersonal relationships remain the same. In the artist's works, many moments are condensed, making relationships between people more transparent and clear.
Intricate and moving depictions have always been one of the essential characteristics of paintings.
Dou Rong Jun chooses to use the language of paintings to capture the subject's details and the subtle, delicate stories between people that are not always easy to grasp. In each of his works, there is sensitivity with every brushstroke in a highly appropriate conveyance of emotion. At the same time, he possesses an uncanny ability to control the picture's surface, enabling every single painting's overall appeal to be extremely strong, such that it arrests the attention and stirs up the feelings of viewers. On the spatial plane of the canvas, the contrasts and positions of the subjects' forms express the tension and melodious harmony between the subjects. All of this has been so well condensed into the artist's language of art that it does not reveal traces in his artworks.
For the viewer, every single work by Dou Rong Jun impacts them with an unadulterated, cultural and sociological experience. Dou has transported his personal, inner thoughts onto his works, using similar youths as subjects to represent emotions, to express life.
I, as the artist himself and you, it can be anyone of you; any person with relations. It is this understanding of you and me that co-exists in the artists' inner world.
All this while, Dou Rong Jun's works have continued to portray youthful males, poised in different positions and expressions. Hiding in the background of cold grey or in the warm grey, they stare with blank gazes at the transitions of Man's emotions.
At different intervals, everyone's development leaves different memories. Youthful faces become old and fragile, innocent eyes grow numb. Different life experiences, different trails of emotions; every message about life is recorded on each of our individual bodies. Thus, we often can read one or many stories from minute details of the body.
Meanwhile, because of interaction with other people and the influence of the resulting relationships, those same stories may not be hard to read from the body. To compound the issue, every relationship has its own distances and perspectives and can be seen from different angles, leaving impressions on both bodies of the parties involved. As humans, much of our existence and sense of being is inextricably tied to the various relationships we have in society. The principles and standards for various relationships adapt to the changing times. However, the most basic things about interpersonal relationships remain the same. In the artist's works, many moments are condensed, making relationships between people more transparent and clear.
Intricate and moving depictions have always been one of the essential characteristics of paintings.
Dou Rong Jun chooses to use the language of paintings to capture the subject's details and the subtle, delicate stories between people that are not always easy to grasp. In each of his works, there is sensitivity with every brushstroke in a highly appropriate conveyance of emotion. At the same time, he possesses an uncanny ability to control the picture's surface, enabling every single painting's overall appeal to be extremely strong, such that it arrests the attention and stirs up the feelings of viewers. On the spatial plane of the canvas, the contrasts and positions of the subjects' forms express the tension and melodious harmony between the subjects. All of this has been so well condensed into the artist's language of art that it does not reveal traces in his artworks.
For the viewer, every single work by Dou Rong Jun impacts them with an unadulterated, cultural and sociological experience. Dou has transported his personal, inner thoughts onto his works, using similar youths as subjects to represent emotions, to express life.
I, as the artist himself and you, it can be anyone of you; any person with relations. It is this understanding of you and me that co-exists in the artists' inner world.
All this while, Dou Rong Jun's works have continued to portray youthful males, poised in different positions and expressions. Hiding in the background of cold grey or in the warm grey, they stare with blank gazes at the transitions of Man's emotions.
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