Xu "Joseph" Zhou is a Beverly Hills-based contemporary painter whose four-decade career encompasses formally commissioned historical painting, international exhibitions, art education, film, philanthropy, and major auction results. His visual language unites the discipline of Chinese brushwork with the scale, color, and psychological force of contemporary painting.
Zhou earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Xi'an College of Arts and began his career as both artist and educator. In 1992, he was appointed chair of the Fine Arts Department and associate professor at Xianlin University's College of Art. His paintings combine assured calligraphic line, expansive composition, layered color, and an enduring interest in qi - the vital energy moving through the human figure, nature, and history.
A defining achievement of Zhou's career is his selection for large-scale historical projects formally initiated by Chinese central government, Party-history, and state publishing bodies. Zhou is the only artist in China known to have received a sustained series of official "red-header documents" (hongtou wenjian) for such projects. A red-header document is a formal Party or government instrument bearing the issuing authority's name in red; unlike a private invitation or portrait request, it records institutional authorization for the project. The resulting body of work as spanning three generations of Chinese national leadership and their family histories, as well as senior political and military officials. Zhou's subjects include Chen Yun, former Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China and an influential national economic policymaker; Jiang Shangqing, a revolutionary martyr whose family later adopted Jiang Zemin, former President of the People's Republic of China and former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, as his heir; Xi Zhongxun, former Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China and father of Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China; and Marshal Xu Xiangqian, one of the People's Republic of China's Ten Marshals and former Minister of National Defense.
These commissions include The Life of Chen Yun, the former Chinese Vice Premier; Martyr Jiang Shangqing, the revolutionary martyr connected to the family history of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin; and Footsteps That Never Fade: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, the former Chinese Vice Premier and father of Chinese President Xi Jinping. They stand alongside extensive cycles devoted to Zhong Kui, the traditional guardian figure, and the approximately 120-meter scroll One Hundred Images of the Spirit of Chinese Martial Arts. The martial-arts scroll set a record of Longest Martial Arts Painting and was selected by the Chinese government for an official visual portfolio supporting Martial Arts' application for inclusion in the Olympic program. Zhou does not treat official history as simple illustration. Through gesture, costume, landscape, rhythm, and symbolism, he turns biography into theatrical collective memory. His monumental oil painting Marshal Xu Xiangqian in Plain Clothes, portraying one of China's Ten Marshals and a former Minister of National Defense, received a national Excellent Work Award in 2002.
Beyond historical painting, Zhou returns to the dignity and resilience of women, the emotional force of motherhood, portraiture, landscape, and the spiritual bond between humanity and animals. In his California work, women embody self-possession and renewal; the cheetah signifies power and vigilance, while the crane evokes peace and transcendence. Mineral pigments, acrylic, ink-derived gesture, and layered color allow him to move between delicacy and monumentality.
Zhou's present Beverly Hills practice brings together Chinese historical consciousness, diasporic experience, cinematic scale, calligraphic movement, and a contemporary vision of feminine strength. His paintings do more than combine East and West: they present tradition as a living force capable of carrying memory forward while remaining open to reinvention. Philanthropy remains integral to this practice through projects supporting children, underserved communities, and artists with disabilities.
Selected Career Highlights
1991 Served on the executive committee of the Second World Taoism Conference; his paper was included in the conference proceedings and its exhibition of one hundred noted calligraphers and painters.
1992 Appointed chair of the Fine Arts Department and associate professor at Xianlin University’s College of Art.
1993–1995 Received recognition from an international consortium of arts organizations; exhibited with Japan’s Royal Calligraphy Association; and was invited by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh to present his work.
1997–2001 Attracted collector attention at the International Hanwei Auction; published monographs on his work and Zhong Kui series; and established the Zhou Xu International Art Museum in Macao. General Zhang Aiping - former Chinese Vice Premier and Defense Minister - inscribed the museum’s name and attended its opening in support of Zhou.
2002 Began historical cycles on former Chinese Vice Premier Chen Yun and revolutionary martyr Jiang Shangqing, whose family later adopted former Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin as his heir. Marshal Xu Xiangqian in Plain Clothes, portraying one of China’s Ten Marshals and a former Defense Minister, received a national Excellent Work Award.
2003–2004 Invited to lecture and hold a visiting appointment at the Ontario University of Art & Design; featured by CCTV’s News Probe; and led the approximately 120-meter scroll One Hundred Images of the Spirit of Chinese Martial Arts. The work set a record and was selected by the Chinese government for an official visual portfolio supporting Martial Arts' application for inclusion in the Olympic program.
2006–2007 Selected for the Toronto International Art Expo, where he was listed among a group of 300 international artists.
2008–2009 Received the title Chinese Charitable Artist from the China Charity Federation; publication of Twenty Masters of Chinese Painting: Xu Zhou.
2010–2011 Five Chinese historical, cultural, and social organizations jointly organized a national touring exhibition. His autobiography, From the City Wall to the Red Wall, was published in Macao; CCTV News covered his cycle on revolutionary martyr Jiang Shangqing, whose family later adopted former Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin as his heir.
2012 Served as principal organizer of a UNICEF-related charitable art auction event; held advisory roles with Sheridan College and Seneca College; and presented the Hundred Lakes, Sacred Realm series in Canada.
2013 Led Footsteps That Never Fade: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, on the former Chinese Vice Premier and father of Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, in association with the Central Literature Publishing House.
2014-2015 The Zhou family received a national scholarly-family honor from China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. Zhou received a Peace Medal recognizing cultural work related to the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia.
2016 Relocated to the United States after qualifying under the EB-1 extraordinary-ability classification; his work also received notable attention at the David International Auction.
2017 Received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daya International Literature and Culture Prize.
2018 Served as art director and producer on the award-winning independent feature Indigo Valley, created by a team that included AFI Conservatory filmmakers.
2019 Established a gallery project near Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada. Building on decades of international auction appearances, several 36 x 48-inch paintings sold for approximately US$500,000 each across multiple auctions in Asia, establishing Zhou’s personal auction record and a benchmark of up to half a million dollars per work from 2019 onward.
2020-2021 Phoenix Television featured his pandemic-era artistic practice; the manuscript Fifty Seconds and Fifty Years, a biographical study of the artist, was completed.
2022–2025 Works were presented in dedicated displays during the spring and fall editions of the Beverly Hills Art Show’s 50th-anniversary period.
2024 Created a portrait series of Academy Award-winning actor Nicole Kidman in connection with the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award honoring her in Hollywood.
