Featured Artist - Jian "James" Wu
Wu is a graduate of Qing Hua University in Beijing, China where admission for its highly selective College of Art is limited to one in 100,000 applicants. He worked for the Art Institute in Beijing producing commissioned pieces for public buildings before being promoted to Art Director of Mural Paintings and Sculpture. He also participated in China’s National Art Exhibitions.
The artist relocated to the United States to pursue a study of western art. He received a Masters of Fine Art degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where his primary emphasis was to learn the more open, western approach to painting and gain concept training.
Wu explores the effects of color, light, and movement in his landscapes, cityscapes, and seascapes. He is fascinated with active scenes from everyday life which depict traffic, buildings, signs, pedestrians along sidewalks, and boats in harbor. His scenes reveal interesting perspectives, sometimes cutting off the tops of buildings or trees.
Wu has been granted many solo and group exhibitions and his work is collected throughout the world. His book titled Pastel Technique was published by the Youth Publishing House of China in 2005.
Recent Awards:
Pastel Journal's 9th Annual Pastel 100 Competition (2007), First Place, Portrait and Figure
National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society, Best of America 2005 for Light and Color
Pastel Society of America 33rd Annual Exhibition, West Coast Award
Salon International 2005, Jury’s Top 50 Award for Oil Painting
Pastels USA, Second Place
Pastel Society of the West Coast, Pastels USA 2005, Clark Mitchell Award
Pastel Journal’s 7th Annual Pastel 100 Competition (2005), Second Place, Portrait Category
Pastel Journal, January 2006, cover and feature article
Alameda County Arts Program Competition Contract for paintings and murals
