Artist Zheng Chongbin sits in his San Rafael, Calif. studio in front of some of his ink on paper work on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. (IJ photo/Alan Dep) Alan Dep

Visiting Zheng Chongbin's San Rafael studio is like stepping into a space that has been drained of color. Everything is black and white and shades of gray, including the artist.

One recent afternoon, the 49-year-old native of China, his black hair in a collar-length shag, had on a white western shirt, faded black jeans and black and white athletic shoes.

His studio's high, white walls were hung with some of the 15 large-scale abstract ink paintings he's created for his new show, "White Ink," opening May 19 and running through July 30 at the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco.

Born in Shanghai, Zheng came to this country in 1988 to study at the San Francisco Art Institute on its first international fellowship.

"I had an interest in contemporary art, which is why I came here, to see for myself," he said in lightly accented English. "There was some culture shock, but in China I already had a strong belief in breaking from tradition."

In the '80s, the Art Institute was the place to be for an artist breaking from tradition. It was in the forefront of installation art, video, music and social activism, a creative atmosphere that allowed Zheng to detour from ink painting for a few years to experiment with installations, performance and conceptual art.

In his Shanghai boyhood, he had been captivated by the retirees in his neighborhood who practiced traditional Chinese ink painting as a hobby.

Artist Zheng Chongbin stands in front of some of his ink on paper work, which will be in an upcoming exhibit at the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco, at his studio in San Rafael Calif. on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. (IJ photo/Alan Dep) Alan Dep

"I was always watching them," he recalled. "They weren't serious artists, but I was fascinated by how they could take one brush and out comes beautiful flowers and leaves."

When Zheng returned to painting, he honored the tradition he had admired as a child while at the same time breaking boundaries, stretching the medium, making it accessible to a mainstream audience.

Although he's a slight man, he's known for his physicality, painting on the floor using pots of ink and a large brush, creating pieces that are often 8 feet tall. He works on heavy sandalwood paper that he covers with an initial coat of white acrylic paint, a major innovation that is the inspiration for the title of the Chinese Culture Center show, "White Ink."

Combining Chinese ink painting with Western abstract art, he has invented a style that has been hailed as "unprecedented." Chinese art scholar Britta Erickson says "he has opened a door whose existence was hitherto unsuspected." And curator Abby Chen says he communicates "what it means to be a Chinese artist in America."

Chinese contemporary art is hot right now, and Zheng is riding that wave, preparing for the San Francisco exhibit as well as upcoming shows in Shanghai in July and Germany in October.

A resident of Marin for a dozen years, he lives in Kentfield with his wife and 10-year-old daughter.

"I can be focused here," he said, bathed in the glow of a skylight in his studio. "Marin has the most beautiful light on earth. It's my sanctuary. It's where I like to be."