Chinese sportswear brand Erke signs young artists on new program

The pair sold out fast and only the sample pieces used in the store was left, Zhao got a discount and bought the shoes at about 100 yuan. Talking about his painting on the shoes, he says since the shoes were black, he used golden color to paint it. The pattern he draws on the shoes came from his research on the similarity between the lines on the palm of a human hand and the lines on leaves.

"These kinds of squiggly lines appear in many of my works, including my graduation works," says Zhao, adding that he usually dips his hands into ink and prints his hands on xuanzhi, the canvas that traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy are done on.

"I am very excited to become the company's first signed artist and from our discussions, I can tell that the company is a brand whose roots are firmly planted in our own culture," Zhao says.

Though he didn't unveil detailed information about his collaboration with the company, he says Erke Youth Co-Creation Program aims at offering opportunities for young Chinese artists to put their artistic ideas into the company's products' design.

On Aug 12, 24-year-old artist Xiao Honghu, a student of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, was announced as its second signed artist by Erke Youth Co-Creation Program on its social media platform. Xiao's design is based on the masterpiece, Along the River During the Qingming Festival (I), by 12th century painter Zhang Zeduan, which is one of the best-known ancient Chinese paintings.