In painting, photography, installation, and video performances, Zhang Jianjun reflects on the rapid transformation of Chinese urban landscapes and cultures. For one installation, Zhang planted a giant ink stone within a pool of water—mimicking Chinese grotto stones—around which a black lake of ink formed. In others, Zhang added handmade forms to existing buildings in Shanghai in order to humanize them. For Vestiges of a Process: Shikumen Project (2008), the artist painted a water-based image in the site of a half-torn-down building complex in Shanghai; the image, which depicted the building’s former appearance, was designed to fade, mirroring the structure’s transience. Best known for his large-scale installations, Zhang also produces abstract ink-on-paper paintings that express influences from both the Chinese tradition of ink and landscape painting and Western abstraction.