Zhuang's work can be viewed as a journey across the world; wherever Zhuang goes, he gains new experiences and images which are reflected in his paintings. His work is ever evolving, growing ever richer and, consequently, is ever surprising. China, the country where Zhuang was born and embarked on his education, Groningen where he pursued his studies and now Rotterdam where he has his studio.
However, Zhuang's work cannot be classified according to nationality, although many newspaper articles describe him as a young Chinese artist living and working in the Netherlands.
I doubt whether it is useful to label artists according to ethnicity; borders have become relative and the new media bring together worlds that were once hardly aware of one another. The reciprocal influence of artists is world wide and produces new signatures that cannot be ordered ethnically.
 
Zhuang Hong Yi is a prime example of an artist who draws his inspiration from the environment he originates from and the environment in which he finds himself. Important events in his life also have a powerful impact on his work: the birth of his daughter Lilly made its mark, literally and figuratively.
In Zhuang's work you can follow the story of his past in China; it testifies to great professional skill, in the way he addresses his materials. His experience in the Netherlands enables him to keep on adding new techniques to his mixed methods based on rice paper.
His subject matter, too, reflects an ever-richer artistry. His period in the Groningen countryside, with its sharply-defined, infinite horizons, is echoed in his work, and the dimensions of his sizeable panels could be described as characterizing Rotterdam. Wherever Zhuang goes, he gains experiences, processing them and approaching them with unquenchable enthusiasm and originality. He seeks to fix the essence of his experiences in the work and, when seen in its totality, the result is a long and fascinating journey, which is never boring and which is constantly acquiring fresh elements on the way.
This makes Zhuang Hong Yi, with his unmistakable personal signature, an important artist. He cannot be labelled, he chooses his own route, knows exactly what he wants ­ as is evident from his career history, from Guanghan and the Sichuan Institute of Fine Arts in Chongqin, China, via Groningen, Finsterwolde, to Rotterdam.
It is exciting to join Zhuang Hong Yi on his travels and to anticipate the next stage in his artistic career. Clearly, his work continues to become more profound and rich, as he willingly unveils for us new perspectives.
 
Kees van Twist
Year 2000