Zhang Xiaogang

Vita

Zhang Xiaogang is considered one of the most important painters in China. For more than ten years, Zhang has been working on a series of oil paintings inspired by old family photos taken during the Cultural Revolution. The series “Bloodlines: Big Family”, which he began in early 1990, has become his trademark. In 2007, one of his paintings fetched 3.8 million dollars at auction, a record price for the work of a still living Chinese artist. After graduating from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in the 1980s, Zhang emerged as one of the protagonists of the so-called “Sichuan School”, which combined surrealist, folkloric and psychological elements in her painting. Later, with the false portraits, in which he explores the gap between private and public life during and after the Cultural Revolution, he developed a more subtle style using many colors. In his personal representations, Zhang cleverly uses elements such as shadows, blurred outlines and watery eyes. The portraited often have identical facial features, which symbolize the collective character of both the Chinese family and the entire culture. With the Cultural Revolution, Zhang suggests, China has turned into a disturbing mob. The artist lives and works in Beijing.

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