Zheng Haozhong is a painter, forging connections across these different disciplines. His paintings often depict friends, acquaintances, and himself within the studio, capturing their expressions and psyches. Animated by rhythmic compositions and expressive brushwork, his paintings echo the improvisational qualities of music while maintaining a carefully constructed structure. His characteristic use of negative space conjures the imagery of “liubai” (leaving blank) in Chinese ink paintings, creating a linearity that articulates the contours and features of his subjects. Beyond studio portraiture, Zheng also depicts still lifes and integrates the environments within and beyond his studio into his works, dissolving the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces, figurative and abstraction.
Zheng has exhibited at Guangdong Times Museum (Guangzhou, 2026), Aranya Art Center North (Beidaihe, 2024, solo exhibition), Blindspot Gallery (Hong Kong, 2023, solo exhibition), RockbundArt Museum (Shanghai, 2024), White Rabbit Gallery (Sydney, 2022), KWM Art Center (Beijing, 2018, solo exhibition) and esea contemporary (Manchester, 2016, solo exhibition). He was previously artist-in-residence at esea contemporary (2016) and Gwangju Museum of Art (2015). In 2014, Zheng’s painting QIUCHEN was awarded the First Prize for the John Moores Painting Prize China and toured the National Museums Liverpool (Liverpool, 2014) and Minsheng Art Museum (Shanghai, 2016).
Zheng is identified by his pseudonym “Li Cha” in his online publications. He is also part of the band Dolphy Kick Bebop, bAdBLUEbirdz, and Free Music Collective of Shanghai.
Zheng currently lives and works in Shanghai, China.
