Local art, global vision

Though Cui Ruzhuo has achieved more than most, the renowned painter has even bigger ambitions to realize, Zhuan Ti reports.

For an artist, Cui Ruzhuo may have accomplished everything he could have possibly imagined - global renown as well as a personal gallery. But Cui has a much bigger dream to realize.

"I hope that through my work in the art field, Chinese art can radiate to the West, and the artwork can work as a medium to allow the world know more about Chinese culture," Cui said.

Born in Beijing in 1944, Cui fell in love with watercolor painting and Chinese calligraphy at a young age. He settled in the United States in 1981. In 1996, he returned to China and taught at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Currently, he is a professor at the China National Academy of Art.

Cui recently moved one step further toward his dream. On Sept 7, an opening ceremony was held in Beijing for the Cui Ruzhuo Art Gallery in Japan, which also marked the start of the Japan tour of Cui's artwork.

At the ceremony, Cui elaborated on what he hopes to accomplish with the tour.

He said that China and Japan have already built close economic ties, but people usually neglect the need to form deep cultural bonds.

"Painting and calligraphy are both treasures of Chinese culture and can also be a bridge of cultural exchange," he said.

For thousands of years, the cultures of China and Japan have influenced one another. Cultural exchanges will continue to form an important bond between the two countries in the future, he added.