Jenz Shifu is a contemporary Chinese-Canadian artist who pioneered a distinctive non-representational art form coined as “Iconography”. He uses ancient Chinese calligraphy elements and combines them with Western contemporary painting styles. He is also known for his mastery of micro engraving through which he is able to engrave 5000 words of calligraphy onto human hair. He has practiced traditional calligraphy for over 40 years where he inherited the painting techniques of ancient pottery artist Majiayao, which hold 5000 years of history.
 

Shifu is recognized for his marriage of tradition and innovation of the East and the West where his artworks use black and white tones from Chinese ink and the 3 primary colors as a sensational element. His artistic language is influenced by Chinese philosophies such as Daoism and the ancient Majiayao coloured-pottery motifs, as well as totem designs and stained-glass works. With a limited palette, his “iconography” disrupts Chinese calligraphy's conventional forms and composition. Icons are the fundamental elements for constructing meaning in his microcosmic world of making. Shifu’s “iconography” is an abstract art influenced by modern painters such as Paul Gauguin, Wassily Kandinsky, and Piet Mondrian, and fuses the abstraction of Franz Kline and the freestyle of Jackson Pollock. Shifu's artistic creations combine aesthetics, philosophy, and theology. Shifu’s artworks have been showcased and collected internationally in prestigious art galleries, museums, and academic institutions throughout Europe, China, Japan, Korea, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Canada. His art has been privately collected, including by the former US President Ronald Reagan and auctioned in the Ritchies Auctioneers and Four Seasons Auctioneers. Shifu also had his book, The Word in Art, published in 2010 and is catalogued by the East Asian Library of the University of Toronto and Mississauga Central Library.
 

Shifu is the president and curator of the Jenzi Art Gallery based in Toronto, Canada as well as the former President of the Canada Contemporary Art Alliance. He regularly presents as a guest speaker where he has given speeches at the University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, Living Arts Centre of Mississauga, and the Museum of Markham, Ontario, Canada. Shifu has curated numerous art shows and has presented exhibitions in metropolitan cities such as Beijing, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Florence, Milano, New York, Tokyo, Gwangju, and more.