ZHONG SHENG
FLOATING CLOUDS
CHINESE LACQUER WALL SCULPTURE
Subtle, silent, and deeply spiritual, Floating Clouds is a wall-mounted sculpture by renowned Chinese artist Zhong Sheng. Crafted using the ancestral technique of Chinese lacquer, this piece merges organic forms with a timeless presence that seems to float effortlessly in space. Its surface is built up through successive layers of natural lacquer and mineral powder, creating a rich texture that shifts with light and perspective.
Dimensions: 1000×750×200mm
Materials: Lacquer, Ramie, Tile ash, Icing sugar, Mother-of-pearl inlay
Year: 2022
Signed and certified by the artist
About the artist
ZHONG SHENG
Zhong Sheng, born in Anshan, China in 1971, is one of the most quietly radical voices in contemporary lacquer art. He graduated from the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts in Beijing, then earned a Master’s degree from Pai Chai University in Korea. Today, he serves as professor and head of the Department of Arts and Crafts at Beijing University of Technology, where he continues to shape the next generation of artists.
Zhong’s work explores the space between tradition and transformation. Drawing from the ancestral techniques of East Asian lacquer, he merges raw materials—such as lacquer, linen, ash, and mother-of-pearl—into sculptural forms that feel both grounded and ethereal.
His process is slow, layered, and meditative. Each piece is shaped through repetitive gestures that demand time, attention, and a deep awareness of the material. The result is not decorative, but contemplative—offering a quiet, immersive experience to the viewer.
In series like Clouds and Mists and Red River, Zhong explores tensions between monumentality and fragility, between permanence and impermanence. His works reflect not just form, but a state of being.
As both artist and educator, Zhong Sheng belongs to a generation redefining lacquer not as ornament, but as language—a vehicle for silence, spirit, and presence in contemporary Chinese art.
