Besides the Girls (1996-1997)

Besides the Girls draws from a section of Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. In 199 6, Zhu’s career had gone beyond his homeland. The disciplined lifestyle that Zhu led in the army wore away and he became more loose and unrestrained. As an artist, Zhu was embarking upon the path of success. Besides the Girls are not just pictures of pretty young females, but rather the comfortable living environment which opens the entrance gate to the world for the artist. Whenever receiving piles of letters or stuck with various stamps coming from other countries, Zhu says it is “Dream-like, besides the girls”. One could now trace the massive postmarks as a marker of Zhu’s psychological memory within this series.

《在少女们身旁》（1996-1997年）

“在少女们身旁”是借自法国小说家乔伊斯的尤利西斯种的一部作品之名。1996年朱伟的绘画事业已经完全跨出了国门，军队严苛的纪律早已成为明日黄花，生存环境宽松而自有。作为一个画家，此时的朱伟已经踏上了成功的征程。1996年开始创作的“在少女们身旁”，画家并非专指年轻、可爱的异性，更多意旨的是自有宽松的生存环境，生活为艺术家敞开了一扇通往宽阔世界的大门。每每收到厚厚一叠从不同国度寄来的，贴着各种邮票的信件，朱伟说“就像做梦，在少女们身旁”。巨大的邮戳成为承载这份心理记忆的标签，牢牢镌刻在这一系列作品的画面上。