Zhang Xiaogang's resume.
1994 "consanguineous family: extended family" was exhibited at the 22nd Sao Paulo Biennale, which was the first "family photo of China" in the history of world art, and won numerous honors for himself and China contemporary art on the international stage.
Since 2003, contemporary art in China has attracted international attention with rising sky-high works and popular art stars, among which what is the most iconic figure?
In 2006, scenery and interior were added to the creative material to enrich the expressive force of the work, but what remained unchanged was his great nostalgia for memory and history.
After 30 years of changes, his works reflect the artistic pursuit of a generation of intellectuals. He has witnessed China's painting art for 30 years, and is an indispensable role in the artistic memory of contemporary China people. |
This is Zhang Xiaogang. On the afternoon when I met Zhang Xiaogang, it was hot and dry in Beijing. He drove us to the studio alone. He said that on the way, the studio moved to Hegezhuang, and the new place was very quiet. Because too many people know about the studio of the winery art district, it has become a gathering place, and it is impossible to calm down and create. The new studio has huge space, sufficient air conditioning and light, with unfinished new works on easels, rows of paint boxes, sofas and chairs designed by Philip Stark, and long log tables filled with picture books and books. ....
In front of him, Zhang Xiaogang is introverted, calm, gentle and simple, as quiet and exuding strength as his iconic works. He was born in the ancient city of Kunming in the spring of 5 1 year ago. His parents are state cadres. At the age of five, he moved to Chengdu with his family, where he spent his childhood and adolescence. Zhang Xiaogang once described him as "I am not good at words, and I am unhappy among children. My only hobby is painting by myself". As he grew older, Zhang Xiaogang became more and more fond of painting. In the 1970s, Zhang Xiaogang moved back to Yunnan with his parents. By chance, he got to know his first teacher, Lin Ling, a watercolor painter, and began to study sketch, watercolor and read western art history systematically. Speaking of his first teacher, Zhang Xiaogang said that he respected him the most and led him to the point of no return in artistic creation. "At that time, I was 17 years old. I am both his beginner and his favorite pupil. It was not easy to find someone to learn painting at that time. He doesn't want any remuneration, but he is very strict with me. " Two years later, the college entrance examination resumed, and Zhang Xiaogang was admitted to sichuan fine arts institute Oil Painting Department, which was admired by countless people.
Zhang Xiaogang's artistic journey began, but it was not smooth sailing. He has never been well integrated into that school. During his stay in the Academy of Fine Arts, he began to study the realistic art of the former Soviet Union, but he soon became fascinated with modern western art, especially the post-impressionist masters. Influenced by Van Gogh and Miller, he created a series of graduation works, Grassland Group Paintings, with rich colors. He described the Tibetans and natural scenery living on the rolling grassland, but it didn't conform to the prevailing "local realism" interest at that time, and even failed to pass the school's review. "When I first graduated, I was very different from my classmates." Zhang Xiaogang recalled that his college days were spent in loneliness and obscurity.
After graduation, because he could not be assigned to a work unit, Zhang Xiaogang found himself a glass mirror factory as a construction worker, and then assigned to the Kunqu Opera Troupe as an artist. During this period, he never gave up his creation and studied western art theory and philosophy. The "Ghost" series was created in this period. At that time, there was no flattery and applause around Zhang Xiaogang, but his pursuit of art never gave up. From 65438 to 0984, Zhang Xiaogang and his friends held exhibitions in Shanghai and Nanjing at their own expense, which was one of the earliest self-funded exhibitions in the "85" ideological trend. Later, he and his friends founded the "Southwest Art Troupe" in Kunming. Slowly, his works began to attract the attention of curators and art institutions. Two years later, he returned to Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts to teach. During this period, his works participated in important domestic exhibitions such as China Modern Art Exhibition, China Contemporary Literature Exhibition, China Art and Oil Painting Biennale in 1990s, and China New Art Exhibition after 1980s. It was also during this period that Zhang Xiaogang found the first cooperative gallery-Ganghan Jas Pouch Lee. After signing a contract with the gallery, Zhang Xiaogang began to do some portrait painting experiments and occasionally looked at his parents' old photos. Deeply moved, he began to explore new paintings. Zhang Songren, the founder of the gallery, recalled: "At that time, Zhang Xiaogang painted the first painting of the extended family series. When I wanted to take this work to Venice Biennale and Sao Paulo Biennale, I called Zhang Xiaogang and asked him what his name was. Zhang Xiaogang blurted out, "big family. "Since then, Big Family has become a symbol of contemporary art in China, and Zhang Xiaogang has also found his own artistic position." Before the "Big Family" series, I was an artist who was constantly pursuing change, always looking for the possibility of breakthrough.
The direction of artistic pursuit at that time was not particularly clear. After The Big Family, it seems that some things are beginning to become clear. At the same time, I also hope that my art is closely related to my personal temperament, mental structure, education and so on. "As Zhang Xiaogang said, after the big family, he really entered a state of paying attention to history, but the historical concept he said is not the history of sociology, but the development track of his heart.
"After so many years of creation, I found that I am not sensitive to what is happening or what will happen. On the contrary, I will gradually realize the subtlety of the past. " Zhang Xiaogang's art has always kept a distance. Such an artist with an inner monologue, like Kafka in The Writer, is not only concerned about the problem from the perspective of sociology, nor does he belong to the conceptual artist, nor does he belong to the field of formal language (devices, materials, etc.). Zhang Xiaogang said that what he wanted was a narrative after the concept. This kind of narration takes time and inner feelings. Someone commented that Zhang Xiaogang always digs things in his past life, but he said, "I don't really want to restore history or memory, I just use them to express a state of mind, or an understanding of life and a certain experience of a certain kind of people. In this way, I came from a series of works such as Big Family, Frustration and Memory, Inside and Outside, and Green Wall. " Many times, I think I can't read any of Zhang Xiaogang's works. Only The Big Family seems to be a frozen thing, so I can read one. New works are more like diaries, and a series of works will be more impressive. But just looking at a work feels that it has been moving, which may be exactly what the artist wants to make the work flow.
In 2009, the annual survey report of the auction market released by Yachang Art Network announced the ranking of living artists in China with the highest total turnover of works in the public auction market in 2008. Zhang Xiaogang, 5 1 year-old, replaced Wu Guanzhong, who ranked first in 2008, with a total turnover of 30 1 10,000 yuan, ranking first. Faced with these achievements, Zhang Xiaogang was indifferent and puzzled. "I won't keep this price just because I have such a high price, but I will draw something that can match this price. This is not my original intention to create art. By the time the auction was on fire, I had actually gone a long way. Big family is a work of 10 years ago. There are many misunderstandings in the media. Others say that I paint money, and art brings me more happiness than money. "
Zhang Xiaogang is busy with his solo exhibition. His new works use different media and are created on a stainless steel plane. He said that the change in materials originated from an exhibition. In 2005, curator Huang Zhuan invited Zhang Xiaogang to participate in the exhibition he planned, but there was a requirement that nothing was allowed to be painted. "This is more difficult for me, because I am a painter. Later, if I can't draw, I can write. Because writing is also an important part of my life. " That creation was inspired by television. Since 1990s, more and more people began to watch TV, but many people may be in another place when watching TV. Zhang Xiaogang found this kind of life very interesting. Many values are exported on TV every day. When people accept these values, there will actually be a contradiction in their hearts. Zhang Xiaogang wants the camera to accompany him to watch TV, shoot TV programs, keep a diary with photos, or like books. These two completely different descriptions combine to form a strange contrast. Zhang Xiaogang began to create this series of works in 2005. He once considered using a mirror as a plane, but the mirror was too fragile, so he changed the material into stainless steel. Zhang Xiaogang, who is creating works, wants to combine more manuscripts, enlarge them into stainless steel by screen printing in the factory, and then continue to create on them, including diaries and hand-painting. Zhang Xiaogang has always wanted to combine writing with painting. Readable painting is the goal of his future creation. Zhang Xiaogang's works may be consistent with the socialist China imagined by some westerners. But it was a misunderstanding. Not today's China people, but today's China people have changed the traditional history of at least 50 years too much, which is almost a destructive erasure of memories. But in Zhang Xiaogang's works, we can feel that the memory line is still there, which can awaken many memories of the past. "I can be accepted by the west because of the national background, and China is a special country. The West will naturally pay great attention to artists in China. If I hadn't been in China then, no one might know me now. It was because I appeared as an artist in China that others began to pay attention to me. "
When asked about the artist's sense of social responsibility, Zhang Xiaogang said frankly, "When I first embarked on the art road, I encountered many difficulties, but I didn't complain. Today, it seems to be my wealth. But it is obviously hypocritical for artists to talk about responsibility. My starting point is not to pursue a responsibility, but to truly express myself through artistic means. " It is with such passion that Zhang Xiaogang can create those touching works. "Art is first and foremost personal. When it is presented, it is accepted by people and becomes a public thing. In turn, people will demand artists with public standards. At this time, if they really regard themselves as representatives of the public, then art will wither. " As Mao Mu said, in the final analysis, it is his works that set up a monument for the painter.
Zhang Xiaogang said that as an artist, it is his artistic dream to participate in the national art exhibition. Today, he has become a famous art star in the global contemporary art world, and his works have been collected by many well-known art galleries and institutions at home and abroad. Kinship: Big Family No.3 was created in 1995 and was taken home by wealthy businessmen at Sotheby's in Hong Kong at a high price of HK$ 42.63 million. In these thunderous cheers and world-famous moments, many people can't think of it. All this has nothing to do with the obscure but persistent pursuit of artistic ideals more than a decade ago. If not an artist, Zhang Xiaogang might be an excellent writer or poet. Every album of his is interspersed with his diary, and a few words express his feelings about the world. On August 1 2007, Sunny began to write a new set of photos today. This is specially designed for the exhibition held by the Austrian Art Museum. In this group, I will start reading Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil again. I remember in the 1980s, there was a lot of passion and frustration, and Baudelaire became my best friend like some others. Interestingly, when I began to reread its melancholy in Paris, my daughter happened to be in Paris for the first time in her life. When I first went to Paris 1992, I remembered that Baudelaire was Apollinaire. Today, my daughter entered the Louvre with her imagination of the Da Vinci Code. This is the contrast of this era. )
In life, Zhang Xiaogang's very important contents are movies, music and books. He likes to live alone at home, with a cup of coffee and a piece of dark chocolate, and watch German movies or an interesting book with him all day. He is reading a book about the history of China. "I found that people in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were so wise. Now we are just enjoying a few thoughts of the ancients. "
Prosperity is often dull, and a little taste is good for both body and mind. A person can ask very little in life, or he can ask as much as the king of Saudi Arabia. Artists can make efforts to attract attention to their works in the market, or they can create and live quietly every day. With different wishes, God sees people in different ways. Some people stand on tiptoe and try their best to reach it, while others can get it by gently raising their hands. The former adapts to the existing rules, while the latter can make its own rules. Zhang Xiaogang's rule is freedom. As he said, besides creating, how can I meet the world and fight against time?