Zhang Wei
Holzwarth Publications, ISBN 9783947127191,
Hb, 224 pgs, 24 x 30cm
187 ills
Acqn. 30033
In Stock
£49.95
Hb, 224 pgs, 24 x 30cm
187 ills
Acqn. 30033
In Stock
£49.95
"What I paint seems to be something that expresses itself as nothing, not conveying any meaning," Zhang Wei says. "But, in fact, human life is basically the same… the true meaning lies in the value of life itself." In his abstract paintings, the Chinese artist thrives on a tension between the expressive gesture in abstract expressionism and the quiet force of calligraphic brushstrokes and pure concentration of Chinese ink painting. Between rapid execution and perfectly balanced composition, the white ground becomes its own shape, and color becomes a carrier of meaning. The present book completely focuses on the abstract paintings of Zhang Wei. The artist co-wrote the story of contemporary art in China, which developed with staggering speed after the Cultural Revolution, as a member of the legendary No Name Group and a pioneer of abstraction… who at the same time always followed his own path and worked outside of any collective on his unique artistic perspective combining Eastern and Western tendencies. After an introduction by Hans Werner Holzwarth, curator He Guiyan follows the development from Zhang Wei's early abstractions in the late 1970s and early '80s-inspired by the ink paintings of Qi Baishi or the first Beijing exhibition of American abstract expressionism-toward his ever more fragile compositions of today. In a conversation with Colin Siyuan Chinnery, Zhang Wei explores his own biography and tells of the radical cultural shifts in society that formed the basis for his artistic growth.