Artist Profiles

Zhang Xiaogang

Zhang Xiaogang (born 1958) is a contemporary Chinese symbolist/surrealist painter, well known for his "Bloodline" series of paintings, which are haunting, often monochromatic, slightly stylized portraits of Chinese people, usually with large, dark-pupiled eyes, posed in a stiff manner deliberately reminiscent of family portraits from the 1950s and 60s. Critics have praised these paintings as "portraits of the modern Chinese soul". In late March 2006, Zhang's work "Bloodline Series: Comrade No 120" sold for US $979,200 at a New York auction, almost certainly an all-time record for a piece by a modern Chinese artist. Referring to the "Bloodline" paintings, Zhang notes that old photographs "are a particular visual language" and says: "I am seeking to create an effect of 'false photographs' - to re-embellish already 'embellished' histories and lives." He adds: "On the surface the faces in these portraits appear as calm as still water, but underneath there is great emotional ! turbulence. Within this state of conflict the propagation of obscure and ambiguous destinies is carried on from generation to generation." Regarding the influences of China's political upheavals on his paintings, Zhang has said, "For me, the Cultural Revolution is a psychological state, not a historical fact. It has a very strict connection with my childhood, and I think there are many things linking the psychology of the Chinese people today with the psychology of the Chinese people back then.

Other Works By This Artist [ click to view larger images ]
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