Yue Zi's works evoke a sense of astonishment when exploring the hidden clues within: from the bas-reliefs of ancient Assyria to the tombstone murals of the Han and Tang dynasties, from the brushwork of religious icons to the texture of ancient silk textiles, from Eastern traditional landscape paintings to Western modernism. Despite their vast and delightful differences in time, space, and aesthetics, he has forged a path that allows these heterogeneous elements to converge and enabled his paintings to embody a contemporary essence with the internalization of classical influences.

In the Face series (2023), the central subject is a cactus repeatedly depicted as continuously advancing. The juxtaposed compositions demonstrate its progression towards flatness and geometricity, resembling Le Corbusier's geometric sensibility, bestowing these everyday objects a sense of "monumentality." Yue Zi's commitment to a sense of order and meticulous exploration of static forms continues the tradition of Cubism in Eastern painting, revealing himself as an idealist in artistic creation.

To him, depicting figurative objects is a gateway for consciousness to transcend spacetime and the physical realm. This principle also applies to attaining the abstract aesthetics found in traditional landscape paintings. Thus, Giotto's perspective, Poussin's landscapes, Malevich's suprematism, Le Corbusier's geometric structure, and the spiritual pursuit in Eastern painting traditions are inherently interconnected. The cultural collision and blending facilitated by the Silk Road have provided Yue Zi with a concrete foundation to integrate these different elements in painting.

In Floating Seeds (2022) and Through a Glass Darkly (2022), his visual response to Corbusier becomes more evident, encompassing the pursuit of form, order, and depth generated within the flatness. The organic forms employed by Corbusier were rediscovered by Yue Zi through observations of plants and integrated into explorations of flatness, depth, color, and space. The appropriation of Cubism in his works resonates within the context of Eastern paintings, resulting in a harmonious convergence of artistic influences from both traditions.

Yue Zi's paintings embody artistic homages, creating a "hybrid" state juxtaposing diverse elements. This approach generates a Brechtian "distancing effect" that evokes a sense of "distant familiarity" for the viewer. It resonates with Dong Qichang's approach to landscape forms in his works, where they "may appear dissimilar when observed up close but reveal their splendor when viewed from a distance."

By challenging conventional viewing habits, he introduces heterogeneous elements that repeatedly reactivate tradition indirectly, bringing the viewers back to a classical aesthetic context. Classicism's aesthetic values imbue his paintings with understated elegance, and the works craft a modest yet steadfast realm within space. Upon close examination, one would be astonished by his judicious employment and restrained expression of formal elements.

Yue Zi's deep understanding of art history imparts a profound sense of temporality in his works. Beyond their meticulous and intricate rendering, they represent a journey from tradition to contemporaneity. This process encompasses the artist's reflective contemplation of painting traditions, discerning evaluation, and skillful utilization of various visual elements. It requires a spirit of exploration and aesthetic composure, enabling him to navigate the vast traditions without losing oneself in the realm of imagery. Through this deliberate approach, tradition seamlessly integrates with the contemporary.

"Norm in Novelty," an ancient idiom from Chinese literature critique, could be used to describe Yue Zi's artistic creation. In his case, "Norm" represents the commitment to aesthetic taste, the paintings' elegance, and a rustic style, while "Novelty" encompasses the incorporation of diverse contemporary painting styles and imagery. The essence of "Norm in Novelty" lies in the extensive assimilation of various influences within a traditional context, embracing contemporaneity while remaining rooted in the revitalization of tradition. This conscious approach is a defining element of Yue Zi's work, as it recognizes art as the ultimate embodiment of novelty with order.