Master portrait artist Zimou Tan launches Kickstarter campaign for book celebrating the Gospel in art

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Months after his successful solo exhibition featuring a compelling selection of his religious paintings billed “The Lord was There” in New York earlier this year, Christian master portrait artist Zimou Tan is now on a mission to make his work more accessible to art lovers of faith and he launched a Kickstarter campaign Tuesday to help him reach it.

“I’m thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of my Kickstarter campaign for ‘The Lord Was There,’ an art book dedicated to illustrating moments of faith, hope and the presence of God,” Tan announced earlier this month.

The campaign, which hopes to raise $37,500 to cover production costs for the book, will reward donors with gifts ranging from a signed copy of the book to original artwork from Tan, depending on the level of support.

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“This collection reflects my journey through Scripture, bringing each scene to life with visuals that capture the depth and beauty of God’s story. My hope is that these pieces inspire you to see familiar passages in a new way and feel the impact of God’s presence through art,” Tan said.

Tan, who is an award-winning traditional fine artist specializing in portrait and narrative figurative painting and drawings, shared 10 selections from his religious portfolio during his “The Lord was There” exhibition showing how deeply his work is inspired by his faith and Scripture.

Among them were “Valley of Dry Bones,” inspired by Ezekiel 37:1-10; “The Lion, the Lamb, and the King,” inspired by Revelation 5:5 and Isaiah 53:7; “Forgiveness,” inspired by John 8:3-7; “Temptations,” inspired by Matthew 4:1-11; “Faith,” inspired by Genesis 22:1-19; “40 Days,” inspired by Matthew 4:1; “Blessing,” inspired by Luke 6:20-23; “Seeking Sanctuary,” inspired by Romans 11:33-36; "Carrying the cross together," inspired by Matthew 27:31-32; and “Receiving the Paraclete,” inspired by John 16:13.

In Tan's "Temptations," which depicts Jesus' deep spiritual journey as told in Matthew 4:1–11, he presents a culturally Westernized image of Jesus shrouded in a bit of mystery, which sparked a conversation about a longstanding debate about what Jesus really looked like as a man.

Acknowledging the debate, Tan told CP, “I don't want to put my own opinion into who Jesus really was” as a physical person.

He explains it’s one of the reasons he's never painted a portrait of Jesus. Tan, who thinks God is too big for his canvas, suggested that perhaps Jesus looks different to people based on cultural context.

“It's kind of ironic in the way that I painted Jesus because I never painted Jesus with a straight-on portrait,” he told CP.

“A lot of times, I either put Him under shade, under the shadow or thinking really small. The face is not clear enough. I'm a portrait specialist. Portrait is my specialty, but I do not have that courage. I don't think that I have that right to narrow down how Jesus looked like,” he said.

Tan’s Kickstarter campaign ends on Jan. 11, 2025.