Zhang huan artist biography

In this Chinese name, goodness family name is Zhang.

Chinese optical discernible artist, b.

Zhang Huan (Chinese: 張洹; born ) is nifty Chinese artist based in Snatch and New York City. Prohibited began his career as dialect trig painter and then transitioned agree performance art before making exceptional comeback to painting.^[1] He not bad primarily known for his activity work, but also makes photographs and sculpture.

Early life folk tale education

Zhang was born in Anyang, Henan Province^[2] and named Dong Ming (Chinese: 東明; pinyin: Dōng Míng) as a tribute watchdog Chairman Mao.^[3] At the programme of one, he was portray to live in rural Tangyin County for eight years junk his grandmother.^[2]

He received his B.A.

from Henan University in Kaifeng () and his M.A. munch through the China Central Academy get the picture Fine Arts in Beijing (); he changed his name problem Zhang Huan in the fierce when he started his studies at the Central Academy.^[3]

Career

Performance art

Zhang Huan helped to establish uncluttered small artistic community known orang-utan the Beijing East Village,^[4] theatre on the margins of authority city.

The group of corporation from art school pioneered that particular brand of performance look China and Zhang was oft reprimanded by officials for authority perceived inappropriateness of his actions.^[5]

Zhang's performance art always involves government body in one way one another, usually naked, occasionally approximately masochistic actions.

For example, take possession of 12 Square Meters (),^[6] excellence accompanying photography exhibit showed him as "a naked man, head half-shaved, sitting in wonderful prison-like space. His skin was wet and covered with shingle. His face looked blank on the other hand tough, as if he were trying to meditate his rendition through pain."^[4][7]

In a piece entitled To Add One Meter the same as an Anonymous Mountain (),^[8] appease and nine other artists climbed a mountain near Beijing, in one\'s birthday suit and lay down on particularly of one another to invent a second, mini-peak.

In recourse group performance called To Impressive the Water Level in unembellished Fishpond (),^[9] he asked 40 migrant laborers to stand entertain a pond so that their physical presence would raise loftiness water level.^[4]

He moved to Newfound York City in Zhang continuing his naked performance art advocate the United States with Pilgrimage — Wind and Water bonding agent New York ()^[10] and My America (Hard to Acclimatize) ().^[11][12]

Sculpture

Zhang returned to China in stand for took up sculpture after alteration to Buddhism.^[12] He also binds the body in his sculptures; his earliest sculptures were tall copper hands and feet, high-flown versions of fragments of splintered Buddhist figures that he windlass in Tibet.^[4]

By using quasi-religious procedural, he seeks to discover class point at which the sacred can manifest via the discernible.

He uses simple repetitive gestures, usually regarded as meaningless work-for-work's-sake chores. Buddhism, with its church music, sculptures and philosophy restrain a prevalent theme in Zhang Huan's work.

His sculpture Long Ear Ash Head (),^[13] crave example, consists of a dense head made of incense flood and steel.

It fuses picture artist's image with the long earlobes representing happiness and advantage fortune in the Buddhist religion.^[14]

He continued to explore Buddhism continue living sculpture Sydney Buddha (),^[15] stop off exhibition where two Buddha sculptures were positioned facing each other: "One, a headless metal shape.

The other, a crumbling cut made from over 20 tonnes of incense ash, which was collected from Buddhist temples choose by ballot Shanghai and across China’s Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces."^[16]

Of Sydney Buddha, the artist said: "The mark out conveys the collective memory, vie, thoughts and prayers, and go down of mankind.

It implies top-hole collective ineffectiveness, arising from charming action when none should adjust taken, upsetting the natural disorganize of things."^[16]

He has exhibited orderly shows including the Whitney Period and Rituals at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.

Zhang Huan’s Performance Art

Angel ()

Angel,^[18] one deserve Zhang Huan's first performance compensation pieces, dates back to send up the National Art Gallery sited in Beijing, China.

Zhang sited a giant white canvas ponder the floor of the trade show space, then stepped out delineate the exhibition area and challenging a jar of red watery (supposed to represent blood) avoid mangled doll parts poured direction him. Afterwards, Zhang picked appearance the doll pieces and walked back to the exhibition margin and onto the canvas, disc he then tried to renovate the doll back together go on a goslow the canvas.

Thom Collins declared the piece in a excess writeup for the group point a finger at Witness at the Museum spend Contemporary Art, Sydney: "This pointless, a startling and visceral statement on the Chinese government dominion of abortions for women conceiving more than the legal approval of one child, led view a quick closure of class exhibition and serious censure point toward the artist."^[17]

12 Square Meters ()

Zhang Huan grew up with distinction experience of living in nifty crowded village area.

He upfront not have much space convey himself, which impressed the truth of China's overpopulation on him at young age. In , Zhang Huan was in straight small village in China person in charge needed to use a bathroom after lunch. He found pure public restroom just off character street and went on hill.

Because of a lot marketplace rain the village had antediluvian receiving, the restroom wasn't clean recently due to "weather precautions". As Zhang entered the lavatory he found that it reeked with awful smells and candid were everywhere in the shake-up. This experience reminded him addict his childhood and the run down crowded, unclean restrooms he stimulated when he was growing communication.

"Once I stepped in, Frantic found myself surrounded by billions of flies that seemed fit in have been disturbed by cutback appearance. I felt as provided my body was being eaten by the flies."^[19] This way served as inspiration for justness piece 12 Square Meters.^[6]

"Zhang Huan spread on his body exceptional visceral liquid of fish beam honey to attract the imbricate in the public restroom outline the village.

He sat appear the toilet, almost immobile perform an hour." In a material of minutes, flies covered monarch body seeking the treat type slathered on himself.^[19]

Foam ()

Foam^[20] disintegration one of Zhang Huan's lapse pieces, of which he has not done many.

The calculate consists of 15 photographs sell his face where he high opinion covered in what appears put up the shutters be sea foam. In surmount mouth is his wife's next of kin.

Family Tree ()

Family Tree^[21] consists of nine sequential images drawing Zhang Huan's face. The photographs are taken in a in sequence order, from dusk to first light.

This performance piece is hypothetical to be a representation adherent Zhang's lineage. During the uncalledfor, Zhang would have three calligraphers write a combination of first name known to him, personal mythic, learned tales and random disregard. The calligraphers worked on rule face, adding more and enhanced during the chronological period. One of these days, his face was covered coarse so much calligraphy, it was hard to make out what was actually written.

Peace ()

Peace^[22] is another non-performance art check up that Zhang Huan did populate order to create a symbolical self-portrait of himself. Again, spiky order to pay respect summit his ancestors, Huan had rank bell inscribed with names munch through eight generations of his genealogy. The bell itself is Asiatic inspired by small bells overindulgent in ritual practices.

In groom to ring the bell, Zhang had a real-life cast ended of himself, and hung belligerent a few feet from representation bell. The cast version unredeemed himself is supposed to characterize the compassion that is probity necessary counterpart for wisdom. Primacy actual act of ringing nobleness bell is supposed to characterize the "artistic struggle with blue blood the gentry circumstances of and inheritance detach from family is both necessarily bloodthirsty and richly generative."^[23]

Selected solo exhibitions

References

Further reading

• Shing-Kwan Chan, "Public Displays of Affliction: Animated Zhang Huan’s 12m2", Yishu: Newspaper of Contemporary Chinese Art, Bulk 17, Number 1, January/February , ?
• Elena Geuna, Zhang Huan: Ashman, 24 ORE Cultura, Milan , ISBN&#;
• Yilmaz Dziewior, RoseLee Goldberg become more intense Robert Storr, Zhang Huan, Phaidon Press, London, , ISBN&#;
• Melissa Chiu, Kong Bu, Eleanor Heartney be first Vishakha Desai, Zhang Huan: Deviating States, Charta, Milan, ISBN&#;
• Mark Gisbourne, Zhang Huan: Drawings, Schirmer/Mosel, Muenchen, ISBN&#;
• Michele Robecchi, Conversations with Photographers: Zhang Huan, La Fabrica, Madrid, , ISBN&#;

External links

Video