23/9/2024
ZhaoJuan Sun’s artistic experience is a testament to determination, adaptability, and a passion for creative expression. From her academic beginnings to her achievements in fine art, Sun’s story reflects a commitment to bridging disciplines and cultures. Her education began in Stratford-upon-Avon, where she completed a foundation year at Warwick University. She then moved to Scotland to study at the University of Aberdeen, where she earned her undergraduate degree. In 2015, after completing her master’s degree in France at IESEG School of Management, Sun decided to pursue her lifelong love of painting.
Encouraged by her family, Sun applied to art schools in the United States. In 2016, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) accepted her with a scholarship. Despite starting anew as an undergraduate, she embraced the opportunity, viewing it as a rare recognition of her creative potential.
Over three years at SAIC, Sun refined her artistic voice, blending influences from her international experiences. Before graduating, she was accepted into the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) MFA programme—a milestone that marked her transition to a professional art career. During her time at MICA, she deepened her practice, culminating in her Master of Fine Arts degree in 2021. The pandemic led her to spend a year working in Washington, D.C., before returning to Beijing in 2022.
Sun is the recipient of the Emerging Artist Excellence Award at the 22nd London Design Festival, captivating audiences with her dynamic brushwork and spontaneous creativity. This distinction, reserved for artists who have recently emerged while demonstrating remarkable talent and potential, celebrates her innovation, courage, and unique artistic voice. Through her featured works—Interior IV, IVY, and Orchard—Sun demonstrates her mastery in exploring the intersection of architecture, culture, and nature.
In Interior IV, Sun embarks on a sophisticated dialogue between Baroque opulence and modern design principles. The French-inspired interior she captures is both luxurious and intimate, with each brushstroke revealing an acute sensitivity to light, texture, and spatial dynamics. The work transcends a mere depiction of a physical space; it becomes a meditation on the relationship between architecture and cultural identity, showcasing how interior spaces act as living reflections of historical and social narratives. By blending the intricate grandeur of Baroque style with contemporary minimalism, Sun creates a space that is both timeless and timely—a vivid reminder of how past aesthetics continue to resonate within modern sensibilities.
In IVY, Sun shifts her focus from architectural grandeur to the raw, untamed vitality of nature. The canvas is dominated by thick, expressive layers of paint, with ivy vines weaving through the composition like a powerful force of nature reclaiming its territory. The vibrant green palette not only symbolizes vitality and resilience but also embodies a deeper philosophical reflection on the cycles of life and the endurance of the natural world. This piece stands as both a literal and metaphorical exploration of growth, persistence, and regeneration. Sun’s improvisational style further intensifies the sense of immediacy, transforming a seemingly simple subject into a profound meditation on the beauty and force of life’s most basic yet powerful forces.
Orchard offers a poetic counterpoint to the frenetic energy of IVY, presenting a calm and reflective celebration of nature’s cycles. Drawing upon the traditions of classical French landscape painting, Sun imbues the scene with a quiet warmth, evoking nostalgia and harmony through the careful blending of earthy tones and fluid composition. But beyond its serene exterior, Orchard offers a deeper commentary on the passage of time—on the act of harvesting, renewal, and the cyclical nature of life. It is a visual essay on growth, decay, and rebirth, capturing the rhythms of the natural world through a romantic yet contemporary lens.
Together, these works encapsulate Sun’s ability to weave together disparate elements—past and present, natural and architectural, traditional and modern—into a seamless narrative. Through her distinctive artistic language, Sun challenges the viewer to reconsider the relationship between human-made environments and the natural world, and to explore how cultural and historical influences continue to shape our understanding of space, nature, and identity. Her art is a profound commentary on the timelessness of human experience, inviting viewers to reflect on the intersections between the personal, the cultural, and the universal.
ZhaoJuan Sun’s work is more than just a visual experience—it is an intellectual and emotional journey that redefines traditional themes, inviting us to rediscover the beauty of the past while embracing the innovations of the present. With a rare ability to balance spontaneity and precision, Sun has emerged as an artist whose works resonate on both a personal and universal level, marking her as a significant voice in contemporary art.
ZhaoJuan SUN (b.1990, Mount Tai, China) moved to United Kingdom in 2008. She spent the first year in Stratford-upon- Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown, England, and four years in Scotland, where she earned her BA in Finance from University of Aberdeen (2013). Later she moved to France and obtained her MSc in International Business from IÉSEG School of Management (2015). In 2016, she got accepted by School of the Art Institute of Chicago BFA program, and have studied there for three years. In 2019, she got accepted by Maryland Institute College of Art and graduated with her MFA in Art (2021).