Zhang Huan

1965 China     Biography

In his early years as a conceptual performance artist, Zhang Huan believed that the meaning of existence was to be found in the way the human body interacted with the physical word, and he searched for a foundation on which to carry his spiritual strength. After spending eight years in the US, Zhang returned to China and not long after discovered incense ash as his unique artistic practice, an exquisite semiotic language infused with his own signature style. For the artist ash art is an article of faith that dovetails with “the wishes of people praying to Buddha.” Given the deep and lasting influence of Buddhism on eastern civilization, incense ash is imbued with the hopes and dreams of people in the past for the future and the unknown. As such, whether it is an image in a painting or a sculptured character, incense ash infuses a piece with “spirituality” and in so doing reawakens in viewers a deep respect for historical memory. In addition, the fact that the inorganic ash itself easily scatters and collapses means that hidden within it is an allusion to time, namely what viewers perceive in the real world has a limited lifespan and becomes a part of history eventually.

 

Past Exhibitions at Gallery100：
The Wondrous All - Leading Edge of Eastern Thoght@TFAM
2015 SINGAPORE ART STAGE
2012 ART TAIPEI
Jin Hui Dui
Beyond The Boundary