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.
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.
