Stone Chun Shi is a visionary artist based in New York who has redefined the traditional medium of oil painting through his innovative "Stone Oil Cube" technique. Each of his paintings is a stunning composition of over ten thousand three-dimensional colored cubes, meticulously crafted from premixed oil paint.
Stone's work encompasses a diverse range of subject matter, from pop culture icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Miles Davis, and Taylor Swift, to the currency from China and the US and even a contemporary take on the timeless Mona Lisa. The combination of his sculpted brushstrokes and exuberant color palettes creates a unique visual experience, appearing as abstract art from close up and photo-realistic from a distance.
Stone's artworks are characterized by a sense of complexity, reflecting his interest in balancing pop art with fine art. While most of his work reflects today's pop culture, he has also updated traditional Chinese painting with a contemporary twist. In 2021, Stone created a stunning oil cube interpretation of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," a famous Chinese silk painting from the Qing dynasty, for the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
Along the River During the Qingming Festival, oil on canvas, 55”x86”, 2021
Stone Shi, also known as Chun Shi and Schutze, was born in Nanjing, China, in 1963. As a child, he was passionate about painting and drawing and would often travel to other cities to receive professional instruction from art teachers and professors at art academies. In 1987, Stone moved to the United States, where he honed his skills and expanded his artistic horizons through a scholarship at the Art Studio Club. He participated in his first group show at the Harrison Public Library in Westchester County and exhibited at Sabrina Fung Gallery in Manhattan in 1988.
Immersing himself in the East Village art scene and heavy metal music during his time on Bleecker Street, Stone developed mixed-medium oil paintings that reflected social phenomena such as the rise of AIDS and homosexuality. From 1988 to 1992, Stone took part in numerous group shows at avant-garde galleries in Manhattan, including Kenkeleba Gallery, The Clocktower, Alternative Museum, and White Columns. Since 1993, Stone's artworks have been exhibited internationally in Germany, Scotland, Taiwan, and China.
In 1994, Stone held two solo shows in Taipei, Taiwan, where he gained widespread recognition through a series of award-winning beverage commercials that portrayed him as a trendsetter in art and heavy metal music. He became the host of MTV Asia's 24-hour Mandarin Channel in 1995.
Over the next 16 years, Stone transitioned into entrepreneurship, developing online media platforms for companies such as China Mobile and China Telecom. During this time, he witnessed the political and social changes brought on by China's economic development. He channeled these experiences into his new paintings, eventually developing a unique artistic language and style: oil cubes reminiscent of mosaics.
With this new approach, Stone embarked on an eight-year-long "Currency War" project, painting Chinese and US currency. Following the success of this series, he further refined his style, creating paintings of iconic symbols and figures, including the Cross, Buddha, Marilyn Monroe, Miles Davis, and Taylor Swift. Stone also offered his own interpretations of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night and Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, showcasing his mastery of color and time-consuming techniques.
Since 2010, Stone has devoted himself to the "oil cube" painting style he pioneered. He spends most of his time in his studio, meticulously painting each individual cube in his artworks, which often comprise tens of thousands of color variations. Stone believes that a true artist must discover their own unique style that sets them apart in the world of fine art. Infusing his appreciation of life and love into every painting, Stone's painstaking cube painting process results in stunning artworks that stand out in galleries, showrooms, and private collectors' homes alike.
Selected Exhibitions
Buddha Lotus, Beijing Poly Fall Auction 2018 Show, China Agriculture Exhibition Center (中国农展馆), Beijing ChinaDec. 2018
(un）SCENE Art Show” NYCApril 2015
Total Talent International” Show at BELSKIE Museum of ArtFeb. 2014
The First Contemporary Art Weibo Exhibition” Songzhuang Art Center (宋庄美术馆), Beijing ChinaDec. 2013
Art China 2012”, China Agriculture Exhibition Center (中国农展馆), Beijing China Nov. 2012
Art Is Capital”, East Asia Bank Beijing Center (东亚银行北京分行), Beijing China Sep. 2012
Shi Cun Solo Show, IT Park Gallery, Taipei,Taiwan, 1994
Shi Cun Solo Show, Up Gallery, Kaoshuing, Taiwan, 1994
Group show, Maclaurin Art Gallery, Ayr, Scotland, 1993
Group show, Gottingen City Hall, Gottingen, Germany, 1993
Group show, Grimm-Museum, Kassel, Germany, 1993
Group show, Schwedt Gallery, Oder, Germany, 1992
Group Show, Rosenthal Theater, Selb, Germany, 1992
Gallerie IX Atelier, Berlin, Germany, 1992
Open Window”, New York City, 1991
"Positive Actions: Aids Timeline”, The Clocktower, NYC, 1990
"Dia De Los Muertos", Alternative Museum, Manhattan, 1990
Wellspring Group Show, Kenkeleba Gallery, NYC, 1989
Art Studio Group Show, Phoenix Gallery, NYC, 1989
Sabrina Fung Gallery, New York, NY, 1988
ONE BUCK - Washington | OIL ON CANVAS | 52" X 120"
ONE BUCK _Illuminati | OIL ON CANVAS | 52" X 120"
Publications, Reviews & Interviews
The Art of Money, Sinovision "New York Lounge" Aug. 2019
He Created A Unique Language For Art, the Chinese Wall Street News AgencyOct. 2019
Stone’s Mona Lisa, published by New York New Century Press & Long Publishing CorpOct. 2019
2018 Auction Collection of Asian Contemporary Artworks, “Buddha Lotus” 2018, Beijing ChinaDec. 2018
Meniscus Magazine “Artist Stone’s “One Buck” sculpture a larger-than-life spectacle” May 2018
Sohu.com “He’s the Wildest Artist”, Beijing ChinaDec. 2017
China Press “Shi Cun’s Painting Being Auctioned by Poly”, Dec. 2017
Poly Auction Modern and Contemporary Arts Magazine, “Buddha Lotus”, Dec. 2017, Beijing China
2018 Auction Collection of Asian Contemporary Artworks, “Buddha Lotus” 2018, Beijing China, Dec. 2018
Ya Chuang Artron.net “The Art of Shi Cun Kuai”, Nov. 6, 2017, Beijing China
China Press, “Creating Legend - Shi Chun and His Oil Mosaic Artwork”, April 2017, New York, April 2017
Sinovision “Hello New Yorker - Shi Cun”, March 24, 2017, New York
China Central Television Networks (CCTV) Channel 4 News, “The Surprising “One Buck” Trailer Shows Up On the Streets of New York”, Jan. 2016
PDC Design, 31 Artists and Designers From 18 Cities Around the World, 2015, p190-p198
China Press, "Gong Xi Fa Cai” Solo Art Exhibition Opens in Chelsea, Feb. 2013
Sinovision TV news, American Chinese Artist Shi Chun’s “Gong Xi Fa Cai” Art exhibition opens on Chinese New Year, 2013, New York, Feb. 2013
TV Documentary "Ren Min Bi”, Episode 1, 2013, Shanghai Television Station, 2013
LA Times, Company Town: MTV Hopes Chinese Will Be Staring - Television: A funky, cross-cultural host leads music channel into battle for the Mandarin-speaking market, 1994, US1994
People Magazine, Legendary People, center page, 1994, Taiwan 1994
Zhi Ying Magazine, Cover, Sep. 1994, Taiwan1994
DC Art Magazine, Shi Cun - The Restless Soul, Aug.1994, Taiwan1994
Diana Magazine, Shi Chun’s Home – Indulging His Imagination, 1993, Taiwan
China Times, The Storm of Shi Chun Raids Taiwan, 1993
Liberty Times, Aug. 5, 1993, Taiwan
Union Daily, 1993, Taiwan
Collections
Wu Yuan, One Buck (Both Sides), The Gift, Private collection, Scarsdale, NY 2021
“Miles Davis#2”, “Taylor Swift”, Private collection, Scarsdale, NY 2021
“Mona Lisa”, “Peace Pendant”, Private collection, Guangzhou, China 2019
“Buddha”, Private collection, Guangzhou, China, 2017
“Miles Davis #1”, Private collection, Manhattan, NY 2018
“Marylyn Monroe#11”, Private collection, Tarry town, NY 2017
“Marylyn Monroe#10”, Private collection, Queens, NY 2017
“Marylyn Monroe#1-3”, “Buddha Rose”, Private collection, Beijing, China 2016
“Red Fortune”, “Marylyn Monroe#9”, “Buddha Jade”, Private Collection, New Cannon, Ct. 2015
“RMB#1”, Private collection, Long Island, NY 2014
“RMB#2-3, Private collection, Shanghai, China, 2013
“An Old Love Story”, Mix Media, the 1990s, collected by Grimm-Museum, Kassel, Germany1994