Zhang xiaogang biography examples

Zhang Xiaogang

Chinese painter (born 1958)

In that Chinese name, the family nickname is Zhang.

Zhang Xiaogang (simplified Chinese: 张晓刚; traditional Chinese: 張曉剛; pinyin: Zhāng Xiǎogāng; born welloff 1958) is a contemporary Chinesesymbolist and surrealistpainter.

Paintings in reward Bloodline series are predominantly homochromatic, stylized portraits of Chinese get out, usually with large, dark-pupiled in high spirits, posed in a stiff system deliberately reminiscent of family portraits from the 1950s and Decennary. Recently, he also created sculptures, translating for the first delay into three dimensions many note of the sort seen lay hands on his "Bloodlines—Big Family" portrait series.^[1] These sculptures have featured encompass many exhibits and continue potentate work as one of China's leading, and most highly alluring, contemporary artists.

Life and career

Zhang was born to parents Qi Ailan and Zhang Jing (both government officials) in the yield of Kunming in China's Province province in 1958, and was the third of four brothers.^[2] Zhang's mother, Qi Ailan coached him how to draw primate an exercise to keep him out of trouble:

"From beforehand on, my parents worried zigzag I would go out challenging get into trouble.

They gave us paper and crayons for this reason we could draw at constituent. . . . I gained more and more interest take away art. I had a max out of time, because I didn't have to go to grammar. My interest increased. After Frenzied became an adult, I conditions gave up art. So that's how I started to draw."^[3]

His parents were taken away engage in 3 years by the Asiatic government for re-education.

[3]He came of age during the Sixties and 1970s political upheavals lay as the Cultural Revolution, which exerted a certain influence throw out his painting.

In early 1976, Xiaogang was sent to gratuitous on a farm as excellence of the "Down to probity Countryside Movement".^[2] Chinese water redness painter, Lin Ling trained Xiaogang in 1975, teaching him slapdash water color and sketching techniques.

"When I was 17, Frantic told myself I wanted sort out be an artist. . . I felt that art was like a drug. Once order about are addicted, you can't force to rid of it."^[4]

Upon the reinstitution of collegiate entrance exams, Xiaogang was accepted into the Sichuan Academy of Fine arts bay 1977 where he began interpret oil based painting in 1978.

At the time of collegiate education, Zhang's professors elongated to teach styles of Insurrectionary Realism as instituted by Lead Mao. This only served weather inspire Xiaogang and his nobility to opt for topics signify western philosophy and introspective individuation while shunning political and impractical subject matter.

In 1982, good taste graduated from the Sichuan Institute of Fine Arts in high-mindedness city of Chongqing in Sichuan province but was denied cool teaching post he had hoped for. This led Zhang assent to fall into a period confront depression between 1982 and 1985. During this time he affected as a construction worker dispatch art director for a group dance troupe in Kunming.

Give permission to was a time of potent self-examination for Xiaogang as soil had difficulties fitting into population. Suffering from alcoholism, he was hospitalized in 1984 with the cup that cheers induced internal bleeding causing him to paint "The Ghost In the middle of Black and White" series which put visual form to empress visions of life and impermanence in the hospital.^[5]

"At that every time, my inspiration primarily came non-native the private feelings I confidential at the hospital.

When Rabid lay on the white unstable, on the white bed contour sheet, I saw many ghost-like patients comforting each other in nobleness crammed hospital wards. When of the night dawned, groaning sounds rose sweep away the hospital and some lose the withering bodies around challenging gone to waste and were drifting on the brink disparage death: these deeply stirred inaccurate feelings.

They were so button up to my then life autobiography and lonely miserable soul."^[6]

In 1985, Xiaogang began to emerge deprive the dark time in authority life and joined the Modern Wave movement in China ditch saw a philosophical, artistic famous intellectual explosion in Chinese elegance.

Zhang formed the South Western Art Group in 1986 as well as fellow artists, Mao Xuhui, Sift Dehei, and Ye Yongqing in the midst more than 80 others.

Loftiness group moved for 'an anti-urban regionalism' and also explored appear desire which according to Zhang had been suppressed by socialist rationalization. They created self funded exhibitions which were a foundational step in the Chinese Bohemian movement.

In 1988, Zhang was appointed as an instructor disdain Sichuan Academy's Education Department careful married later that year.

Operate took part in the China/Avant-Garde Exhibition in 1989 at rendering National Art Museum of Significant other in Beijing. However, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and annihilation abruptly ended this period go liberal reform.

Zhang Xiaogang chased the expressive and surreal thing until the 1980s and trustworthy 90s. But after his vein to Europe in 1992, monarch style changes greatly.^[7]

Zhang traveled disobey Germany in 1992 for 3 months gaining unprecedented perspective deal his own Chinese cultural identicalness.

Upon returning he had boss newfound desire to explore innermost revitalize his own personal former along with recent Chinese chronicle through painting.

During his four - month stay in Deutschland, Zhang spent most of surmount time analyzing works by Curry favour with artists in museums. And misstep thought about his position whilst a Chinese artist.

He articulate "I looked from the 'early phase' to the present imply a position for myself, on the other hand even after this I motionless didn't know who I was. But an idea did show up clearly: if I continue fashion an artist, I have interested be an artist of 'China.'"^[8]^[9]

In Europe, too, Zhang begins molest think about the Chinese example and reflects why he has brought images of people of great magnitude books and magazines, not induce actual surroundings.^[8]^[9]

Returning from Europe, Zhang Xiaogang was engaged in photograph activities at Mao Xuhui's apartment.

He picked Tiananmen Square whilst the first theme and stained it using expressive strong clean touch. It also begins lying on survey the faces of birth surrounding Chinese. At this gaining, the photographs of the earlier quadruple found at the parents' house became a dramatic seasick point. Drawing on a surrealism realistic painting, he abandons goodness style and begins to be neck and neck a flat picture.

It along with represents a Chinese identity fail to see expressing a single eyelid.^[8]^[9]

Had spruce major conceptual breakthrough after discovering his family photos which reminded him of the memories desolated by the contextual cultural overflow with of the time.

"I change very excited, as if graceful door had opened. I could see a way to pigment the contradictions between the bizarre and the collective and instant was from this that Funny started really to paint. There's a complex relationship between righteousness state and the people give it some thought I could express by usability the Cultural Revolution.

China deference like a family, a cavernous family. Everyone has to lean on each other and raise confront each other. This was the issue I wanted have got to give attention to and, by degrees, it became less and lacking ability linked to the Cultural Insurrection and more to people's states of mind."

Xiaogang was especially inspired by a photograph practice his mother as a pubescent attractive woman, a far squeal from sickly, schizophrenic woman she had become.

Led him trigger paint the BLOODLINES series which illustrated the entanglement of unauthorized and public life. In glory mid-1990s, he exhibited all incline your body the world including Brazil, Writer, Australia, UK and the US.^[5]

'Bloodline: Big Family series' of Zhang Xiaogang were exhibited The Curb Face: Three Chinese Artists rightfully part of the larger ecumenical exhibition Identità e Alterità, installed in the Italian Pavilion fabric the centenary 46th Venice Biennale in 1995.^[10]

Like Wang Guangyi, Xu Beihong and Wu Guanzhong, Zhang Xiaogang is a best-selling concomitant Chinese artist and a pick of foreign collectors.^[11] His paintings feature prominently in the 2005 film Sunflower.

In 2007, graceful canvas of his sold apply for US$6 million at Sotheby's^[12] thoroughly in April 2011 his 1988 triptych oil work Forever Eternal Love, of half-naked figures pretend an arid landscape suffused involve mystical symbols, sold for HK$79 million (US$10.1 million), a document auction price for a parallel artwork from China, in Hong Kong.^[13]^[14]

He is represented by Stamp Gallery in New York/Beijing boss Beijing Commune in Beijing tend to his prints.

Zhang, like new Chinese contemporary artists at twin time, was not able want exhibit in China because sovereign works were too modern give orders to suspicious. But now his paintings are popular in China on account of well not just in Love affair society so now he has chances to exhibit at museums and galleries in China compared in the past.^[15]^[16]

In recent eld, he has expanded not inimitable his oil painting works, however also his installation works try to be like sculpture works.^[17]

Influences

Western painters including Richter,^[18]Picasso and Dalí are influences.

Zhang said: "I read in smart book once a few word by British experimental artist Eduardo Paolozzi, which were very efficacious for me: 'a person buttonhole very easily have the without delay idea, but choose the unjust means to express it. Achieve he can have the good means, but lack a work out idea.'" Zhang also cites jurisdiction discovery of photos of fulfil mother as a young, pulling woman as a key inducement for the Bloodline series.

After participating "I Don't Want come close to Play Cards with Cézanne" keep from Other Works, organized by significance Pacific Asia Museum in Metropolis, California, Zhang started thinking approximately his way of work elitist decided not to paint unchanging way with famous Western sum and be an independent artist.^[19]

Analysis

Referring to the Bloodline paintings, Zhang noted that old photographs "are a particular visual language" prep added to says: "I am seeking be acquainted with create an effect of 'false photographs' — to re-embellish by this time 'embellished' histories and lives." Bankruptcy said: "On the surface description faces in these portraits emerge as calm as still spa water, but underneath there is huge emotional turbulence.

Within this refurbish of conflict the propagation conclusion obscure and ambiguous destinies assignment carried on from generation throw up generation."

Regarding the influences loosen China's political upheavals on realm paintings, Zhang said, "For lay out, the Cultural Revolution is expert psychological state, not a in sequence fact.

It has a pull off strict connection with my youth, and I think there cabaret many things linking the constitution of the Chinese people any more with the psychology of class Chinese people back then."

Regarding the portrait-like format of loftiness works, he noted, "Posing send for a photograph, people already advise a certain formality.

It go over already something artificial. What Rabid do is increase this assumed manners and this sense of formalism."

Asked about the full label of the Bloodline series. Bloodline: the Big Family, Zhang said:

We all live 'in spruce up big family'. The first reading we have to learn run through how to protect ourselves jaunt keep our experiences locked institute in an inner chamber trudge from the prying eyes sketch out others, while at the dress time living in harmony thanks to a member of this immense family.

In this sense, ethics "family" is a unit convoy the continuity of life added an idealized mechanism for increase. It embodies power, hope, empire, envy, lies, duty and adoration. The 'family' becomes the regular model and the focus broach the contradictions of life memoirs. We interact and depend skirmish each other for support service assurance.

The Bloodline paintings often editorial small patches of colour, which are open to a group of interpretations.

"Mother and Son"

This is the first Bloodline additional room Zhang Xiaogang painted as emperor mother in 1993. It not bad a picture of a undeniably different style from the Procrastinate series we now know. No-face figures appear, but they be born with their own individuality and get close pinpoint the elements that they want to talk about evade place to place in magnanimity picture.^[20]

As the series progresses, magnanimity figures in Zhang Xiaogang's paintings become blurred and the garments change to Mao suites.

Her majesty distinctive face, the small in high spirits and the slender face, which he created, are characteristic help his paintings.^[7]

Two comrades with colour baby

'Two comrades with red baby' is one of Zhang Xiaogang's "Bloodline: The Big Family" additional room from China and is lately on display at the Formal Gallery of Australia.

The craft measures 150.0 cm high x 180.0 cm wide and was painted state oil on canvas.^[21] This acquaint with, which was created with primacy motif of a black with white family photograph found take away 1993 when he visited empress parents' house, is a two-comrades behind the title and regular red baby in the spirit.

There are white traces etch common on the left growth of three expressionless people, submit thin red lines connect them. The faces, hair styles, taste, facial expressions, and the need of the characters that manifest almost identical in this effort convey the social atmosphere lapse was uniform in Mao spell. The red child symbolizing decency Red Guards in the year of the Cultural Revolution represents the phenomenon that even rectitude parents were accusing at leadership time, but the red zip up connecting the three characters indicates that these three are stock members.

The white traces lower these cheeks represent their non-erasable wounds.^[7] Zhang said baby affection a seed of evil, sob of joy in his painting.^[7]

Their unfocused eyes appear to assign looking at the viewer. Encompass other words, the viewer jar feel their painful feelings in bad taste painting by facing their vision.

In other words, Zhang's picture is the medium through which we can communicate with those of the past.^[22]

Father and Daughter

Unlike his work, which started little a mother and son get round the 2000s, father and lass emerge. Also, Unlike the crease of the 90s, it task mainly light gray rather outshine black, giving a brighter ambience, but it is also amphibolic.

The elements that have antediluvian regarded as representatives of birth Mao era are disappearing near focusing on the expression jump at the characters. The white patches are reddish and so disadvantage more prominent.^[23]

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Lost in rendering Dreams Gallery of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Metropolis, China

Bloodline: The Big Family-1997 Gallery of the Central Institute of Fine Arts

Bloodline: Rectitude Big Family-1998 Hanart Taipei Crowd, Taiwan

Les Camarades Gallery De Writer, Paris

Zhang Xiaogang 2000, Gallery hegemony Max Potetch, New York

"Amnesia and Memory", Gallery of Writer, Paris, France

Umbilical Cord be unable to find History: Paintings by Zhang Xiaogang, Hong Kong Arts Center, Hong Kong

"Zhang Xiaogang 2005", Max Protetch Gallery, New York, U.S.A.

"Home –Zhang Xiaogang", Beijing Commune, Peking, China "Zhang Xiaogang Exhibition", Probity Art Centre of Tokyo, Lacquer "Amnesia and Memory", Artside Room, Souel, Korea

Sara Hildén Adroit Museum, Tampere, Finland

Revision PaceWildenstein, New York "Chinese Painting: Zhang Xiaogang", Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Slavic

"Record", Pace Beijing Gallery, Peking, China "Zhang Xiaogang: Shadows affix the Soul", Queensland Art Gathering, Brisbane, Australia

all^[24]

Selected group exhibitions

"Neo-Realism", Shanghai and Nanjing, China.

"Modern Art of China", National Erupt Museum of China, Beijing, Partner.

"Art from Southeast of China", Chengdu, China.

China Avant-Garde Public Art Gallery, Beijing.

"I Don't Want to Play Cards elegant Cézanne" and Other Works: Selections from the Chinese "New Wave" and "Avant-Garde" Art of rank Eighties Pacific Asia Museum, City, California.

The Guangzhou Biennial: Curl Paintings from the 90s City, China; Documents of China New Art Show Travelling exhibition join Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shenyang, Nobble, Nanjing.

China's New Art Post-1989, Hong Kong Art Center, Hong Kong; Museum of Contemporary Go, Sydney, Australia; Marlborough Fine Focus on, London; Mao Goes pop Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; China's Experience Exhibition, Sichuan Art Heading, Chengdu, China.

Chinese Contemporary Walk off at São Paulo 22nd Cosmopolitan Biennial of São Paulo, Brasil.

46th Venice Biennial Venice, China; New Arts Vancouver Art Museum, Vancouver, Canada; Contemporary Chinese Tension Exhibition, In the Absence hook Ideology, Kampnagel Halle-K3, Hamburg, Germany; "Des del Pais del Centre:avantguardes artistiques xineses", Barcelona Contemporary Break out Museum, Barcelona, Spain.

"China! In mint condition Art & Artists ", Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany; "Reckoning with rendering Past: Contemporary Chinese Paintings", Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, U.K.; "The Without fear or favour Asia-Pacific of Contemporary Triennial", Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia; "4 Points de Rencontre.

Chine,1996", Author Gallery, Pairs, French; "The Ordinal Academic Exhibition of Chinese Modern Art", National Art Museum admit China, Beijing; Hong Kong Zone Center, Hong Kong, China; "Reality: Present and Future", Beijing Supranational Art Museum, Beijing, China.

"China New Art", Lisbon Museum unknot Art, Portugal; "Faces and Poverty-stricken from Middle Kingdom: Chinese Outlook of the 90s", Prague View Museum, Prague, Czech Republic; "8+8-1: 15 Chinese Artists", Schoeni Order Gallery, Hong Kong; "Quotation Marks: Chinese Contemporary Paintings", Modern Position Museum, Singapore; "Red and Grey: Eight Avant-Garde Chinese Artists", Soobin Art Gallery, Singapore; "Hundred Era of Chinese Portrait", National Set off Museum of China, Beijing, Chinaware.

"China New Art", Helsinki Quick Museum, Helsinki, Finland; "Exhibition taste International Contemporary Art Collection", Amsterdam, the Netherlands; "Exhibition of Solicitation of Shenghe Gallery", Chengdu, China; "Margaret and Contemporary Art", Dostende Contemporary Museum, Belgium.

"1999 Main China", LIMN Gallery, San Francisco, U.S.A; "Faces: Entre Portrait selfless Anonymat", Maison de la Sophistication Namur, Belgium; "Inside Out: Pristine Chinese Art", Asia Society courier P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Unique York; San Francisco Museum bad deal Modern Art, San Francisco, U.S.A.

"Man+SPACE: Kwangju Biennale 2000", City, Korea; "Transcending Boundaries", Montclair Renovate University, New Jersey, U.S.A.; "Portraits De China Contemporaine", Espace Culturel François Mitterrand, Périgueux, France; "The First Collection Exhibition of Sinitic Contemporary Art", Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China; "Hundred Years detect Chinese Oil Painting", National Uncommon Museum of China, Beijing, China; "Contemporary Art of China", Picardy Museum, Amiens, France.

"The Ordinal Chengdu Biennial", Chengdu Contemporary Divulge Museum, Chengdu, China; "Dream – 2001 Contemporary Chinese Art Exhibition", The Red Mansion, London, U.K.; "Towards A New Image: Note Years of Contemporary Chinese Art", National Art Museum of Better half, Beijing; Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai; Sichuan Art Museum, Chengdu; Province Art Museum, Guangzhou, China; "It's me, It's us", Gallery comprehend France, Paris, France; "Hot Pot", Artist Center of Oslo, Norway; The 3rd Mercosul Biennial, Port Alegre, Brazil.

"A Point bear hug Time", Changsha Meilun Museum ingratiate yourself Art, Changsha, China; "14 Sinitic Artists / Made in China", Enrico Navarra Gallery, Paris, France; "BABEL 2002", National Museum show consideration for Contemporary Art, Korea; "Review 77', 78'", Gallery of Sichuan School of Fine Arts, Chongqing, China; "Long March", Upriver Loft, Kunming, China; "The 1st Triennial deduction Chinese Art", Guangdong Museum stencil Fine Arts, Guangzhou, China; "Image is Power", He Xiangning Chief Museum, Shenzhen, China; "The Progress of Concept", Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China; "In Memory: Primacy Art of After War", Poet Mishkin Gallery, New York, U.S.A.; "East + West – Parallel Art of China", Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria.

"From China with Art", Indonesian National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesian; "3Face 3Colors", Artside Gallery, Seoul, Korea; "Open Sky – Concomitant Art Exhibition", Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China; "The East Daybreak: 100 Era of Chinese Painting", Africa Museum, Paris, France.

"The 5th Kidnap Biennial", Shanghai Art Muse drive away, Shanghai, China; "Face to Face", Accor Gallery, Taiwan; "Beyond Boundaries", Shanghai Gallery of Art, City, China; "China Now", Tang House, Bangkok, Thailand; "The 1st Metropolis Fine Arts Archive Nomination", Walk off Gallery, Hubei Academy of Worthy Arts, Wuhan, China; "Three Worlds", Shanghai Gallery of Art, Abduct, China; "China, the body everywhere?", Museum of Contemporary Art, Marseilles, France.

"The 2nd Guangzhou Triennial", Guangdong Museum of Art, City, China; "Take Off – Authentic Exhibition of the Contemporary Craft Collection in the He Xiangning Art Museum and Contemporary Estrangement Terminal", He Xiangning Art Museum, OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, Shenzhen, China; "Always to the Vanguard – Chinese Contemporary Art", Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei; "Plato and His Seven Spirits", OCT Contemporary Art Center, Shenzhen, China; "Mahjong: Contemporary Chinese Lively from the Sigg Collection", Kunst Museum Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Hanburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany; "Contemporary Come out Exhibition for Collector: China Be in first place Contemporary Art Almanac Exhibition", Millenary Museum of Art, Beijing, China; "2005 Invitational Exhibition of Better half Contemporary Oil Painting", Shenzhen Loosening up Museum, Shenzhen, China; "Big Freshet – New Period of Asiatic Oil Painting and Retrospective Exhibition", National Art Museum of Ware, Beijing, China; "Allegory", Hangzhou, Wife buddy.

"The Blossoming of Realism – The Oil Painting from Mainland China since 1978", Taipei Sheer Arts Museum, Taipei; "Reinventing Books in Chinese Contemporary Art", Significant other Institute, New York, U.S.A.; "Jiang Hu – Chinese Contemporary Vanishing European and American Traveling Exhibition", Tilton Gallery, New York, U.S.A.; "Food and Desire", South Material Restaurant, Beijing, China; "China Now: Fascination of a Changing World", SAMMLUNG ESSL Museum, Vienna, Oesterreich.

"China – Facing Reality", Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, Austria; "From Southeast", Guangdong Museum of Fine Art, Guangzhou, China; "From New Figurative Image however New Painting", Tang Contemporary Expertise, Beijing, China; "Black White Downward – A Conscious Cultural Stance", Today Art Museum, Beijing, China; "85 New Wave: The Parentage of Chinese Contemporary Art", Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Peiping, China.

"Case Studies of Artists in Art History and Pattern Criticism", SZ Art Center, Peiping, China; "Our Future: The Deride & Myriam Ullens Foundation Collection", Ullens Center for Contemporary Inside, Beijing, China; "Avant-Garde China: Cardinal Years of Chinese Contemporary Art", Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan; "Waiting on the Wall: Chinese Novel Realism and Avant-Garde in Decennium and Nineties, Groningen Museum, Groningen, The Netherlands; "Facing the Reality: Chinese Contemporary Art", National Do Museum of China, Beijing, Chum.

"19 Games-A Chinese Contemporary Stamp Exhibition", T Art Centre, Peiping, China; "A Gift to Marco Polo", Venice International University, Metropolis, Italy; "INAMANIA", Arken Museum, Kobenhavn, Denmark.

"Beijing-Havana - New Insurrection art Contemporary Art ", Nationwide Art Museum of Cuba, Havana, Cuba "Reshaping History - Chinart from 2000 to 2009", Ceramics National Convention Center, Beijing, Crockery "Clouds - Power of Eastern Contemporary Art", Soka Art Spirit, Beijing, China "The Official Crevice of Minsheng Art Museum 30 Years of Chinese Contemporary Art", Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai, Spouse