PAC, Padiglione Arte Contemporanea, Milan
Until 12 September 2010

The pieces in the exhibition reflect on the theme of spirituality which is crucial to the poetry and life of this absolute protagonist on the scene of contemporary Chinese and international art.
His works spring from the intricate link between Buddhist spiritual practices and various traditional Chinese techniques and take inspiration from cultural and iconographic sources. These are brought together by an intense, contemporary and versatile expressiveness. Performance, photography, sculpture, video, painting are instruments that Zhang Huan uses to resuscitate the roots and traditions of Chinese culture and express a close relationship with the past, with nature, with history and himself. Ancient carving techniques, calligraphy, the religious practice of burning incense, wrought iron sculpture, the representation of Buddha and the scared parts of his body, the faithful reproduction of nature and the popular iconography of Communist propaganda are all found in Zhang Huan’s work.

Buddha Hand (img 4), Peace 1 (placed in the courtyard outside PAC) and Berlin Buddha (img 3) are three large sculptures that demonstrate the crucial importance of Buddhism for Zhang Huan and his strong ties with traditional sacred iconography. Displayed for the first time in public Berlin Buddha is a fascinating installation with a large Buddha composed of ash placed in front of its aluminium cast. The Berlin Buddha represents the most impressive sculptural use of ash, which comes from the burning of incense in temples and collected from various places of prayer around Shanghai. As the exhibition progresses the enormous figure of Buddha in ash will slowly break up, the sculpture decomposes gradually depending on the surrounding environment: the vibrations of the ground, currents of air and the movement of people who come to the exhibition change the piece until all the ash has fallen to the ground.

The exhibition brings together some of the most significant Ash paintings of various different subject matter – portraits, military scenes, flags, skulls – composed with incense ash in a range of shades from white to black that Zhang Huan uses as a real colour. The importance of this medium lies in the lyrical and spiritual power of this “dust” that remains from an act of devotion deeply rooted in Chinese culture and a sign of prayer and hope. The poetic charm of the incense amplifies the emotional impact of the paintings and brings to light personal and collective memories, for example in Samsara, Zhong-Shan-Suit, Winter Night, Felicity No.5 and two portraits of Mao (Mao Portrait No. 1 and Mao Portrait No. 2).

Zhang Huan was born in 1965 in An Yang City in the province of Henan , China; he lived in New York from 1998 to 2005 before moving to Shanghai where he presently lives and works.


Images, from above:
1-2. Project B, Photo Nico K. Tucci
3. Berlin Buddha
4. Buddha Hand, 2006, Copper, Collection Caspar H. Schubbe
5-6-7. Family Tree series, 2000, C prints edition of 25, Courtesy of Friedman Benda, New York