Don Gallery is pleased to announce the participation of our artist, ZHANG Yuanyao, in the 16th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art. This year’s Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art, Manifesto of Fragility, is curated by the dynamic curatorial duo Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, positioning fragility in the centre of the discussion as artists collectively recognised fragility is one of the few universal commonality in our current widely divided world. Featuring 30 hitherto unseen works, they will be on view across three venues: The Guimet Museum (Ancien musée d'histoire naturelle), MAM - Musée des Arts de la Marionnette, and MAC Lyon from 14th September to 31st December 2022.
After seeing the previously unoccupied The Guimet Museum (Ancien musée d'histoire naturelle), the vast emptiness and the dark corners in the building invoked a certain unpredictability in ZHANG’s mind. He was intrigued by the interior of the three historical buildings, taking this into consideration for his creations. He favours giving his works simple titles, presenting what is to be seen on the felt, either from the shapes or the subject presented, rather than contextualising the works with complicated titles.
ZHANG has instilled this unpredictable yet simple energy into a number of works—among them, Connector I. It invites the viewer to step in front of the hollow tunnels, to contemplate the uneasiness of what is beyond. Touch, an innocent dog extracted from a group sculpture in the Louvre, sits quietly inside the opened vitrine at The Guimet Museum (Ancien musée d'histoire naturelle). Its thick unruled curly hair has always brought the artist an uncomfortable sensation similar to trypophobia. As it is a quintessential part of ZHANG’s artistic practice to explore the fragile states of the mind and the body, at times he would challenge his own mind by selecting images that unease him.
Due to the nature of graphite and felt, the media ZHANG choses to work with, each work has to undergo impeccable preparations, as there is minimal room for errors once the first graphite hits the fabric. Through this lengthy creative process, ZHANG was forced to persevere against the discomfort of even a single glance of this dog would bring, and to confront the vulnerability of his mind.
The extension of his previous works, Study in Figures, is artist’s most ambitious work to date. Stretched out in the form of a Chinese hand scroll, this eight-metre work has been covered in details of the figures from Greek sculptures. Viewers with keen art historical eyes would immediately recognise that a section of the monumental Pergamon Altar is prominently visible. Throughout his career, ZHANG has been verbal about the importance of Greek sculptures to his artistic practice. From the tensions created by the contrapposto of the bodies to the delicacy of the flesh carved out of marble by the great masters, these classical elements have been forgotten by so many contemporary artists, yet they are inextricable for ZHANG’s works as he continues to draw inspirations from them.
Ultimately, ZHANG’s work is a culmination of a lifetime of artistry and an expression of emotion, as he continues to bring the classical ideals into contemporary conversations.
After seeing the previously unoccupied The Guimet Museum (Ancien musée d'histoire naturelle), the vast emptiness and the dark corners in the building invoked a certain unpredictability in ZHANG’s mind. He was intrigued by the interior of the three historical buildings, taking this into consideration for his creations. He favours giving his works simple titles, presenting what is to be seen on the felt, either from the shapes or the subject presented, rather than contextualising the works with complicated titles.
ZHANG has instilled this unpredictable yet simple energy into a number of works—among them, Connector I. It invites the viewer to step in front of the hollow tunnels, to contemplate the uneasiness of what is beyond. Touch, an innocent dog extracted from a group sculpture in the Louvre, sits quietly inside the opened vitrine at The Guimet Museum (Ancien musée d'histoire naturelle). Its thick unruled curly hair has always brought the artist an uncomfortable sensation similar to trypophobia. As it is a quintessential part of ZHANG’s artistic practice to explore the fragile states of the mind and the body, at times he would challenge his own mind by selecting images that unease him.
Due to the nature of graphite and felt, the media ZHANG choses to work with, each work has to undergo impeccable preparations, as there is minimal room for errors once the first graphite hits the fabric. Through this lengthy creative process, ZHANG was forced to persevere against the discomfort of even a single glance of this dog would bring, and to confront the vulnerability of his mind.
The extension of his previous works, Study in Figures, is artist’s most ambitious work to date. Stretched out in the form of a Chinese hand scroll, this eight-metre work has been covered in details of the figures from Greek sculptures. Viewers with keen art historical eyes would immediately recognise that a section of the monumental Pergamon Altar is prominently visible. Throughout his career, ZHANG has been verbal about the importance of Greek sculptures to his artistic practice. From the tensions created by the contrapposto of the bodies to the delicacy of the flesh carved out of marble by the great masters, these classical elements have been forgotten by so many contemporary artists, yet they are inextricable for ZHANG’s works as he continues to draw inspirations from them.
Ultimately, ZHANG’s work is a culmination of a lifetime of artistry and an expression of emotion, as he continues to bring the classical ideals into contemporary conversations.
10 October 2022
