ZHANG YONGXU

Born in Xinjiang in 1963, Zhang Yongxu was amongst the first graduating class of Central Academy of Fine Arts’ Fourth Studio. His style kept abreast of the ‘new wave’ that sprung up from the preceding hiatus in Chinese art history, and was well received. In the early 1990s, Zhang moved to the United States, where he gained his fame overseas through solo exhibitions at the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center (now MoMA PS1) and the Asian American Arts Centre. Zhang returned to China in 1997 and formally embarked on his métier as a professional artist. Zhang’s direction of transhumance has never left his homeland even during his time in New York City and Beijing. He has always kept a close touch with Xinjiang in his over three decades’ of artistic creation. In Zhang’s words, growing up in a ranch belonging to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps is like ‘sowing seeds of robust patriotism and everlasting friendship’. In his present-day artworks, Zhang incorporates bold imaginations and compositions to his painted objects and personages set in Xinjiang contexts to keep alive a sense of novelty.