Zhang Yanzi 章燕紫
Childhood
Zhang Yanzi was born in 1967 in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province. Zhenjiang is on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, a city whose positioning was once of historic importance in protecting Nanjing from attack. Her father’s profession was protecting animals from a different kind of attack – the threat of sickness and disease. Her father’s career choice had an unexpected impact on his daughter. Since her father was a vet, Zhang Yanzi was continually surrounded by medical paraphernalia.
She describes her experiences as a child: “When I was young, my father had a desk in our house, an old-fashioned one that could be locked. When my parents were not at home, I secretly opened it. I read all the things in the drawers of the desk, photos of his college, notebooks… Inside there was a special box containing a stethoscope, I put it on my ears and listened to my heartbeat, I also used it for karaoke... The stethoscope was one of my favorite toys... I also played with syringes, I took them and injected water into steamed buns – quite naughty. These things that it was forbidden to play with made my childhood full of fun.”
Zhang Yanzi was to have her own battles with illness as a child, causing her to spend time in hospital being treated for a blood condition. The young Zhang Yanzi grew up surrounded by medicine. As critic Barbara Pollack recently wrote: “Medical treatments were (for Zhang Yanzi) a fact of everyday life, rather than a sporadic response to an aberration in health.” Her medical experiences were to find expression in later life as an artist.
Youth
Recognized in her youth for her artistic talents, she at first dedicated herself to the skilful mastery of classical landscapes featuring the staples of antiquity: birds and flowers and mountains and streams. She also diligently applied herself to become an expert calligrapher. She sought solace and comfort in the classical style which was something of a calming agent to her own restless spirit.
Having studied art at Beijing Normal University, Zhang’s family life was the focus for her in the 1990s, the decade when she was to get married and have a daughter.
Illness and Inspiration
The 21st Century brought unwelcome news. in 2000 her husband became ill, and there was worse to follow. In 2001 her father died. Her mother’s death followed in 2003. The experience of losing both parents in short succession had a profound impact on Zhang Yanzi: “I was confronted with death much earlier than the general population. After that I went through a long and anxious process.” She has described how her mother was a particularly devout Buddhist. For the last month of her life, Zhang lived with her mother in the temple, and it was there that her mother died. “On the day she passed away, I did not cry. I spent a month in the temple, as if I was there to complete a ritual, like a show. We were all actors, there to accompany her. She was bent on going to the Western Paradise.” Zhang Yanzi believes strongly in the obligations of family and the virtues of filial piety: “As her offspring, we must fulfill her wishes.”
The sorrows of the new millennium acted as a positive catalyst for Zhang Yanzi’s career as an artist. The experience of her husband’s illness, combined with the death of her father, had encouraged Zhang to return to art with a renewed sense of purpose and drive for self-expression. In 2002, she entered the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, where she remained until 2007, achieving a masters degree in painting.
Recognition and Acclaim
As she was coming to terms with her parents’ death, Zhang Yanzi immersed herself in her work, taking part in group exhibitions such as 2004’s “Slow, Slow Tune” at the 10th National Art Exhibition in China and 2005’s “Airs of the States, Courtly Songs, and Hymns” at the 2nd Beijing International Art Biennale. Shortly afterwards, in 2007, she was to win the Gold Award at the Lichang Cup for the 5th Traditional Chinese Painting Exhibition sponsored by China Federation of Literature and Art Circles.
In 2008, Zhang Yanzi showed her work in France for the first time, with a show entitled “Walk While Stepping on the Gauze,” before bringing the show to Shanghai in 2010.
In fact, 2010 represented a turning point for the artist, when she decided to de-emphasize traditional themes and instead focus on subjects from her everyday life. Recalling the medical history that had haunted her and the peaceful familiarity of the medical toys of her childhood, this was the point when she first began to depict medical tools and apparatus (necessary and continual accompaniments to our lives) within her work. This realization led to her breakthrough exhibition, “Remedy,” in 2013.
The memories of her mother’s death were also woven in: “The Remedy” is composed of tens of thousands of Buddhist statues: “deep down in my heart I had an idea that it was dedicated to her.” As Xu Lei wrote: “Very few Chinese artists have such an expression in their faith system, accurate, touching, indescribably wonderful.” With “Remedy,” Zhang Yanzi was focusing on universal truths with a Chinese lens. Her philosophies of the healing role of art in response to the innate human sicknesses was of great resonance. She mused on human tendencies to seek healing throughout our lives: “The remedy for childhood may be a lollipop or a doll… the remedy for our youth a wonderful moment of friendship, love or a journey, the remedy for adulthood are families, children, houses, careers, cars… With these, we temporarily forget the pain.”
Zhang was increasingly seen as a unique artist who formed a bridge between Chinese history and traditions, and contemporary themes of prevalent disquiet and malaise. Alongside her religious and medical imagery, she depicted insects in a kind of moving dialogue with past master Qi Baishi. She was beginning to meet with considerable critical success, and was receiving favourable reviews from leading lights of the artistic world. Xu Bing had this to say about the artist at the opening of “Remedy:” “For quite a long time, we have borrowed a lot of experience from the West, while we did not make good use of the extremely preeminent things in our traditional culture. As a matter of fact, we are still in dire need of the experience of how to utilize outstanding Chinese culture. This selection of work by Zhang Yanzi provides vital inspiration for us on this.”
The favourable reviews from her peers translated into garlanded success in competition: in 2013, she won the Gold Award at the Jinling Painting Exhibition of One Hundred Chinese Artists, and that same year she won the Best Artwork Award at the Lu Xun Culture Awards.
The immediate years following these awards were to see Zhang Yanzi travel extensively, taking part in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including a solo show at PAN Palazzo delle Arti di Napoli, Italy (2014), “Specials” at the Female Artists Salon at the Manet Art Collection in Beijing (2014), “Devotion to Ink,” organized by Galerie Ora-Ora at Hong Kong Maritime Museum (2014) and“Blooming Season and Solace of Art” solo show, Shanghai (2014). She also showed at the Today Art Museum in Beijing in 2013 and at 5Art Guangzhou and Art Basel in 2015.
History and Experimentation
In the summer of 2015, Zhang spent several weeks in residence at the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences. She created a series of works entitled “Essence” which was the fruit of the stories and historical and personal insights that she uncovered during this experience.
The resulting show, which took place in July and August, 2016, demonstrated clearly that she is an artist who now thrives on re-inventing herself, and is embracing the opportunity to develop her art in new creative directions. The show expanded on her themes of remedy, healing and sacrifice, highlighted by the poignant installation work, “Resuscitation,” which was inspired by the tragic death of Professor Robertson at the institution during the Second World War. “Resuscitation” was made of sculpted angel wings decorated with “feathers” of gauze bandages; next to it were abstract square “paintings” of bandages on canvas, each impregnated with Chinese medical herbs. The artist had also harnessed medical tools to create ink paintings, including a series of seven entitled “Medi-Chips,” where aluminium blister packs were used as an ingenious printing tool. She was inspired by a surgical bed in the museum’s basement to create a wooden frame alternately wrapped in cinnabar-painted gauze and painted images from the museum’s herbal garden on analgesic plasters. Art critic Huang Zhuan argued that Zhang Yanzi “depicts both modern anxiety as well as its antidote and cure.” The show met with considerable press attention and critical success, endorsed by art critics Barbara Pollack, Pi Daojian and art historian Professor Julia Andrews.
The Artist Today
Zhang Yanzi remains based in Beijing and she serves as the editor-in-chief of CAFA Art Info at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Zhang Yanzi’s art may be seen at the National Art Museum of China, the Jiangsu Provincial Art Museum, the CAFA Art Museum, L'Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale," the Audemars Piguet Museum among others.
She also exhibited at the 2017 Venice Biennale. In 2018, she have held two six month solo shows in the UK, one at the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath, and the other at the Surgeon’s Hall Museum in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The artist invites us to consider how medicine cures the body and how art may attempt to cure the mind. Dialogue with psychiatrists demonstrates how this theory is being put into practice in the treatment of those with psychological conditions, with some positive effects. We invite you all to take part in the healing journey of Zhang Yanzi’s work, and to feel how art may be the starting point for a calm mind, and for a sense of inner peace.
Experiencing Zhang Yanzi
Zhang Yanzi continues to investigate the human condition, portraying constellations as clues to the origins of humanity, and as indications of passions and drivers within us which remain misunderstood. As medicine’s knowledge of the levers of humans grows stronger, perhaps this will complete our understanding of the human condition. However, Zhang Yanzi’s work points to the likelihood that the most beautiful mysteries will remain unsolved.
-
Infinite No.0 無窮0, 2017
-
Infinite No.1 無窮1, 2017
-
Limitless No.1 無盡1 , 2017
-
Limitless No.2 無盡2 , 2017
-
Limitless ∑ 無盡∑, 2017
-
Limitless+ 無盡+, 2017
-
Antibodies 2 抗體 2, 2016
-
Medi-Chip 1 空芯片 1, 2016
-
Medi-Chip 6 空芯片 6, 2016
-
Medi-Chip 7 空芯片 7, 2016
-
Night Blossom 忽如一夜, 2016
-
Sanctuary 宫, 2016
-
Scar 痕, 2016
-
A Rockery 假山, 2014
-
Annihilations 煙滅, 2014
-
Registration (16) 掛號 (16), 2009-2013
-
Registration (2) 掛號 (2), 2009-2013
-
Registration (22) 掛號 (22), 2009-2013
-
Registration (24) 掛號 (24), 2009-2013
-
Curvature 曲率, 2016
-
The Remedy - The Galaxy (3) 止痛帖——星河 (三), 2015
-
The Remedy - The Galaxy (2) 止痛帖——星河 (二), 2015
-
Lagom
29 Oct - 18 Nov 2020Ora-Ora is pleased to present Lagom, a group exhibition that will feature works by gallery artists Chan Keng Tin, Huang Dan, Erik Jeor, Liu Qi, Cindy Ng, Patrick Nilsson, Wong...Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2019
A.I. - Abstract Intelligence 27 - 31 Mar 2019What is A.I.? Firstly, we may think of artifical intelligence; that calculating rationality of machines, often a cinematic cue for scenes of dystopian badlands, seething with robots, relentlessly grinding humanity...Read more -
Seclusion
21 Mar - 15 May 2019Galerie Ora-Ora is delighted to present Beijing-based artist Zhang Yanzi’s solo exhibition Seclusion with opening reception to be held from 6 pm to 8 pm on March 25 (Monday) with...Read more -
Taipei Dangdai
Black: Recategorize 17 - 20 Jan 2019We are delighted to participate in the inaugural edition of Taipei Dangdai with the curated show Black: Recategorize, where we will present the works of Juri Markkula, Huang Dan, Xiao...Read more -
INK ASIA 2018
28 Sep - 2 Oct 2018Private Preview | Friday, 28 September, 2018 from 4:00-6:00PM Vernissage | Friday, 28 September, 2018 from 6:00-9:00PM General Opening Hours | Saturday 29 September, 2018 from 11:00AM-7:00PM Sunday 30 September,...Read more -
Black: Recategorize
6 Sep - 13 Oct 2018Galerie Ora-Ora is delighted to present a group exhibition which seeks to challenge the audience perception and ask the question: ‘What is black?’ Bringing together works by seven pioneering artists...Read more -
A Quest for Wellness
5 May - 12 Nov 2018A Quest for Wellness , the second of Zhang Yanzi 's Quest solo exhibitions in the UK, opens on May 5 at the Museum of East Asian Art (MEAA) in...Read more -
A Quest for Healing
27 Apr - 4 Nov 2018Celebrating the gallery's 'year of firsts' the first of these solo museum exhibitions, A Quest for Healing: Zhang Yanzi will run from 27 April - 4 November at the Surgeons'...Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2018
Leap to Light 27 - 31 Mar 2018In 'Leap to Light,' Galerie Ora-Ora channels the opposing forces of the modern world into the springboard for forward momentum. Our artists will harness the power of the leap and...Read more -
Screaming Books
1 - 17 Mar 2018Galerie Ora-Ora’s opening show asserts the universality of art, and its role as a standard bearer for unbarriered, unfettered expression and understanding. Where words belong to language silos, imbued with...Read more -
INK ASIA 2017
15 - 17 Dec 2017At Ink Asia 2017, Galerie Ora-Ora initiates a synesthesia of sculpture and ink. Seeing one, we feel the other. We invite you to experience the meditative balance of Will Clift’s...Read more -
ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair
8 - 12 Nov 2017Galerie Ora-Ora's show The Invisible Thread forms a landscape of our age: Will Clift's forms emphasize how line and space may become integrated into modern humanity, into our sense of...Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2017
Perceptions 23 - 25 Mar 2017In current society, our perceptions, as a reflection of the soul’s independence are often overlooked and marginalized, whether methodically silenced through self-censorship and peer pressure, or voluntarily surrendered to skin-deep...Read more -
Volta NY 2017
1 - 5 Mar 2017The individual’s relationship to society may be a tenuous, fragile bond. Society provokes anxious interrogation of the self: are we different or the same? Does our sameness bind us together...Read more -
INK ASIA 2016
15 - 18 Dec 2016Galerie Ora-Ora invites the visitor on a journey of celebration into the rich imaginations of our pioneering contemporary ink artists. Artists committed to actualizing their most modern, vivid dreams through...Read more -
Essence - Zhang Yanzi Solo Exhibition at HKMMS
8 Jul - 28 Aug 2016Galerie Ora-Ora and Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences celebrate the gallery’s 10th and museum’s 20th anniversary this July with a solo exhibition by Chinese artist Zhang Yanzi. Titled “Essence'....Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2016
Cha-Na 22 - 26 Mar 2016Cha-Na is the study of the instance, its nature, importance, reflections, iterations and incarnations. Philosophers believe the instance is sacred and has fundamental importance to understanding the existence of the...Read more -
Cha-Na
21 Mar - 23 Apr 2016For this year’s Art Gallery Night, Ora-Ora will present “Cha-Na” as a continuation of our exhibition at Art Basel Hong Kong 2016. Cha-Na is the study of the instance, its...Read more -
Winter Sunrise - A Joint Sculpture Exhibition
6 - 23 Nov 2015Each November brings Hong Kong Art Gallery Week, a week-long Arts Festival of Talks, Tours, Studio Visits, circling Art Buses touring the different art districts, Art Lates as well as...Read more -
Fine Art Asia 2015
Chubby Comedy - Xu Hongfei 4 - 7 Oct 2015With fluid, vivid poses and buxom female bodies, world renowned sculptor Xu Hongfei’s “Chubby Women” sculptures convey a sense of exquisiteness, representing the beauty of freedom and revealing the powerful...Read more -
Art15 London
21 - 23 May 2015Ora-Ora participated at Art15 London from 21-23 May and the show was well received by both local and international audiences. We were delighted to stage the works of renowned Chinese...Read more -
Art Basel Hong Kong 2015
The Remedy - Zhang Yanzi 13 - 17 Mar 2015What does the feeling of pain remind you of? A bruise? Migraine? Suffering from a long-term illness? Or perhaps the breakup with your significant other? Or the loss of your...Read more -
Devotion to Ink Contemporary Ink Show
17 - 19 May 2014With over one thousand years of history, ink art has evolved from traditional ink to create a contemporary aesthetic standard and visual experience. In harmony with Art Basel Hong Kong,...Read more
-
Essence
2017 Soft Cover, 112 pages
Publisher: Ora-Ora International Limited
ISBN: 9789881428622
Dimensions: 21.5 x 24 cm Read more -
The Remedy
2015 Soft Cover, 96 pages
Publisher: Ora-Ora International Limited
ISBN: 9789881864802
Dimensions: 21.5 x 24 cm Read more -
Devotion to Ink - Contemporary Ink Show
2014 Soft Cover, 96 pages
Publisher: Ora-Ora International Limited
Dimensions: 9.5 x 13.5 cm Read more
-
Hong Kong Art Week 2019 Highlights
April 4, 2019Across Hong Kong last week, 307 galleries from across the world showcased at blockbuster art fairs Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central. However, that...Read more -
Hong Kong – Exhibition Zhang Yanzi: Seclusion
March 25, 2019Galerie Ora-Ora presents Zhang Yanzi‘s solo exhibition “Seclusion” which includes the artist’s new and old works. Zhang Yanzi explores the human natural longing for self-restoration....Read more -
Galerie Ora-Ora presents Zhang Yanzi’s solo exhibition “Seclusion” in Hong Kong
March 25, 2019Galerie Ora-Ora is delighted to present Beijing-based artist Zhang Yanzi’s solo exhibition Seclusion with opening reception to be held from 6 pm to 8 pm...Read more -
Zhang Yanzi’s ‘Healing’ solo series arrived Edinburgh and Bath
May 11, 2018Sohu Both of Zhang Yanzi solo exhibitions A Quest for Healing and A Quest for Wellness have recently kicked off in the city of Edinburgh...Read more -
Zhang Yanzi’s ‘Healing’ solo series arrived Edinburgh and Bath
May 10, 2018Phoenix Art Both of Zhang Yanzi solo exhibitions A Quest for Healing and A Quest for Wellness have recently kicked off in the city of...Read more -
Bath Museum of East Asian Art to reopen after burglary
May 3, 2018The Guardian MEAA marks 25th anniversary with new exhibition though room that was broken into remains closed. Staff at a museum in Bath have spoken...Read more -
Herald Scotland: Critics Choice
April 28, 2018The Herald For the first time in its 500 year history, Surgeons’ Hall, the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, will mount...Read more -
Galerie Ora-Ora is delighted to announce their gallery artist Zhang Yanzi’s first solo exhibitions in the United Kingdom
April 28, 2018Artron News Galerie Ora-Ora is delighted to announce their gallery artist Zhang Yanzi’s first solo exhibitions in the United Kingdom with A Quest for Healing...Read more -
Artist brings wonders of Far East to east coast
April 27, 2018The Herald Acclaimed Chinese artist Zhang Yanzi shows off her latest creation after it was put on display in Surgeons’ Halls Museums, Edinburgh. The work,...Read more -
A Quest for Healing: Zhang Yanzi
April 27, 2018Art Rabbit Moved by her residency at the museum in 2017, the show’s gentle yet probing paintings and installations have been inspired by the rich...Read more -
Galerie Ora-Ora is delighted to announce their gallery artist Zhang Yanzi’s first solo exhibitions in the United Kingdom
April 23, 2018Sohu Galerie Ora-Ora is delighted to announce their gallery artist Zhang Yanzi’s first solo exhibitions in the United Kingdom with 'A Quest for Healing' at...Read more -
(Hong Kong Arts Month) The most concentrated art space in Central
March 16, 2018香港01 Once galleries were blooming in the city of Hong Kong, yet, normally with locations rather far away from the crowd. Ever since the inauguration...Read more -
Founder of Galerie Ora-Ora, Henrietta Tsui-Leung: It’s necessary to create a blooming industry for arts; and it’s a pleasure to compete with powerful rivals
March 16, 2018Artron Galerie Ora-Ora is proud to celebrate the opening of their new space in the H Queen’s building in March, where its new art space...Read more -
“Screaming Books”: Galerie Ora-Ora opens new space at H Queen’s, Hong Kong – in conversation with Henrietta Tsui-Leung
March 14, 2018Art Radar Founded by Henrietta Tsui-Leung ten years ago in Hong Kong, Galerie Ora-Ora is a research-based contemporary art gallery specialising in sculpture and works...Read more -
Screaming Books
March 1, 2018TimeOut Galerie Ora-Ora’s inaugural exhibition explores the relationship between art and literature, featuring works including the King of Kowloon. To celebrate the move to their...Read more -
A purpose-built art building bringing the galleries together
March 1, 2018Sing Tao Daily Entering “Hong Kong Arts Month” with the upcoming significant exhibitions and events, lovers and readers for culture and arts have already filled...Read more -
"Screaming Books" – Halley Cheng, Hung Keung, Peng Jian and 5 Additional Artists
March 1, 2018DODOOBA “Screaming Books” inaugurates Galerie Ora-Ora’s new space in the H Queen’s building. This literature-themed group exhibition features eight contemporary Chinese and Hong Kong artists—Halley...Read more -
Galerie Ora-Ora latest show "Screaming Books" at H Queen's
March 1, 2018Artron News Galerie Ora-Ora is proud to celebrate the opening of the new space in the H Queen’s building with an inaugural exhibition that explores...Read more -
Local Talent: 7 Must-See Exhibitions At Hong Kong's Homegrown Galleries
February 20, 2018Hong Kong Tatler There’s more to Hong Kong’s art scene than the celebrated shows at big international galleries. Here’s our pick of upcoming exhibitions at...Read more -
‘Screaming Books’ at Ora-Ora, Hong Kong
February 8, 2018Blouin ArtInfo Galerie Ora-Ora is hosting an exhibition titled “Screaming Books” at its Hong Kong venue. Galerie Ora-Ora’s exhibition “Screaming Books” asserts the universality of...Read more -
Team Volta Presents Their Favorite Picks of the Decade Edition
March 15, 2017It’s been ten years since VOLTA NY first invited solo artist projects in order to promote them to a large audience. By setting the stage...Read more -
CRITIC’S VIEW: Five Booths Not to Miss at Volta NY This Year
March 2, 2017HampstonsArtHub Zhang Yanzi at Ora-Ora (Hong Kong) The precision of her drawings of scalpel and stethoscope, watercolors assembled in a grid in the show, reflect...Read more -
Artron: Zhang Yanzi Showcased at Volta NY 2017 as the only Chinese artist
February 27, 2017Medical Humanity -- a Conversation between Art and Science Investigating medicine through art is what interests Zhang the most at this stage ... According to...Read more -
5 Must-See Artists At VOLTA NY
February 3, 2017source:http://artzealous.com/5-must-see-artists-at-volta-ny/Read more -
Art Meets Science at Medical Museum
July 10, 2016South China Morning Post Art Meets Science at Medical Museum A human-sized wing forged from steel and wrapped in bandages lies on a hospital bed...Read more -
Zhang Yanzi Brings out the Essence of Art and Science in Hong Kong
July 5, 2016Blouin Art Info Zhang Yanzi Brings out the Essence of Art and Science in Hong Kong Art and science do not necessarily mix; it would...Read more -
The 20 Best Booths at Art Basel in Hong Kong
March 22, 2016Artsy After a stint in the fair's Insights section last year, Ora-Ora graduates to Galleries with a curated exhibition, 'Cha-Na.' Addressing ideas around instantaneousness and...Read more -
Art Big Bang: March
March 11, 2016Hong Kong 01 More than 3 billion years ago, the universe is but a micro singular dot of measureless weight. There is no starry sky,...Read more -
5 Art Space: Zhang Yanzi
March 26, 2015Art China Through Ink Art Zhang Yanzi metaphysically expresses her feelings and care towards all beings. Certainly we find many elements of Buddism such as...Read more -
Art Basel Hall 3: Eye-catching Exhibits
March 14, 2015HK.on.cc You can already smell the pungent scent of Chinese medicine from a distance. This year, Galerie Ora-Ora presents The Remedy, a solo exhibition featuring...Read more