Zhang Xiaogang was born in 1958, Kumming, China. He graduated from Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in 1982. Two major events in China that shaped his artworks and artistic practice were the cultural revolution and the revolution at Tiananmen Square. Growing up during the Cultural Revolution, gave Zhang Xiaogang a traumatic childhood. His parents were sent to “study camp” in the countryside and he never had a close relationship with his father and his mother was suffering from schizophrenia. This detached emotions from the family was reflected upon his “Bloodline: The Big Family” series. During his early career, he experimented different forms of western art styles: Cubist, Surrealist and Expressionist. One of the major turning points in his career was the Tiananmen Square Revolution in 1989. With China opening up more to Western influences, plenty of artists were copying western artists and their styles. However, Zhang felt lost and was not able to distinguish himself amongst thousands of artists copying western styles. In 1993 he had an opportunity to study in Germany for three months. Most of the experiences during these three months dramatically changed his view on art and was a major contributing factor to his well-known artworks. He traveled around Europe and saw artworks of Van Gough, Magritte, Beuys, Kiefer, Baselitz and Richter. These artists inspired him to create his own visual style and color palette. Even though he was categorized by many art critics and art historians as Post-1989 or Post-Mao era artist, his works are different from many of his contemporaries. Unlike most of Post-1989 artists, Zhang does not focus on current politics, but his works reflect on a nostalgic feeling influenced by his childhood and the scares left by previous Chinese generation.
Zhang Xiaogang. Bloodline: Big Family No.3, Oil on Canvas. 1995. Image source: artnet.com (http://www.artnet.com/WebServices/images/ll00145lldQZ9GFgSeECfDrCWvaHBOcjXJE/zhang-xiaogang-bloodline:-big-family-no.-3.jpg)
Bibliography
Huang, Yiju. “4 Ghostly Vision: Zhang Xiaogang’s “Bloodline: The Big Family””. In Tapestry of Light, (Leiden, The Netherlands: BRILL, 2015)doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004285590_005
Lü, Peng, and Bruce G. Doar. A History of Art in 20th Century China. Paris: Somogy Éditions Dart, 2013.
“Now Modern and Contemporary Asian Art – Evening Sale.” Steichen, Edward ‘the Pon ||| Photographs ||| Sotheby’s N08165lot387hmen. Accessed January 20, 2019. http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/modern-contemporary-asian-art-evening-sale-hk0528/lot.145.html.
