A West Virginia University art professor whose current exhibition of paintings reflects his childhood during the Chinese Cultural Revolution will give a lecture Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Creative Arts Center .

Naijun Zhang , assistant professor of art and coordinator of the painting program at WVU , will speak at 5 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall. The talk coincides with Zhangs exhibition,The Demonstrator,which remains on display in the Paul Mesaros Gallery through Oct. 9. A reception will follow the lecture at 6 p.m. at the galleries.

My experience growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution is visually expressed in these paintings,said Zhang, a Chinese native who joined the painting faculty in WVU s College of Creative Arts in 1999.They not only produce a multifaceted portrait of China with contradictions but also show a respect for this mythical world of my formative years.

Zhang obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in oil painting from Nanjing (China) Arts Institute in 1988 and a Master of Fine Arts in painting from WVU in 2000.

He has had solo shows at OK Harris Works of Art in New York and Michael Berger Gallery in Pittsburgh. He has also been included in numerous group exhibitions both in the United States and China.

Since joining the painting faculty at WVU , he has established faculty-led study abroad courses in China and offered painting study and travel programs in China.

All Mesaros Galleries eventsincluding art lectures, exhibitions and receptionsare free and open to the public. Gallery hours are noon-9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The galleries are closed Sundays and University holidays.

For more information, contact Robert Bridges, curator, at 304-293-4841 ext. 3210.