Zhang Huan “Let There Be Light”

The Pace Gallery (510 W 25th St)

poster for Zhang Huan “Let There Be Light”

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Pace Gallery announces Let There Be Light, an exhibition featuring new ash paintings by Zhang Huan on view at 510 West 25th Street. A new catalogue with an interview by art critic Barbara Pollack will accompany the exhibition.

Zhang’s new body of ash paintings—made between 2011 and 2014—present passages from the Bible and “The Star-Spangled Banner” in braille. Emphasizing surface, the works continue his use of incense ash from Buddhist temples as a medium while demonstrating a departure from the figurative themes of his earlier ash paintings.

Zhang’s monochromatic paintings, which differ in tone and surface value depending on the color and texture of the collected ash, have a minimalist quality with visual affinities to the work of Agnes Martin and Robert Ryman. Using the Chinese system of braille script, the paintings appear visually abstract but are concrete in their content. Zhang’s use of a Buddhist material draws parallels between Buddhist texts and those of the Bible, presenting themes of human nature, truth and kindness that can be read as universal. By rendering religious passages in a tactile writing system using an inherently fragile material, Zhang is relating materiality to the methodology of prayer and illusions of belief. The emphasis of braille as a textural surface read through touch resonates with the corporeal dimension of Zhang’s earlier performance work.

The exhibition also includes a figurative ash painting—Zhang’s largest to date—measuring 122 feet long. Based on a photograph taken on June 15, 1964, the painting represents Mao Zedong surrounded by the central leaders of his government and over 1,000 loyal followers. For Zhang, who was born a year after the photograph was taken, the image prompts memories from his childhood during the Cultural Revolution. It represents a time in China’s history fraught with disaster and disorder, when Chairman Mao sought to consolidate his rule over the country. By sourcing imagery from a media archive of government-approved material, Zhang is highlighting the fallibility of a constructed memory. The ash painting presents the appearance and spirit of China at the time, highlighting a collective devotion and ideology based in communist and socialist thought. June 15, 1964 demonstrates the potential for human history to be interpreted through multiple cultures and systems of belief, generating a growing dialogue and platform of communication.

Conceptually, both bodies of work on view are embedded within a framework of systems. The figurative work adheres to a controlled set of images used by the government to craft a tailored representation of Chinese history, while the braille paintings follow a standardized system of reading and writing. The subjects of the braille texts further exist within the structure of a system by referring to the hegemonic forces of monotheistic religion and nationalism.

Media

Schedule

from October 30, 2015 to December 05, 2015

Opening Reception on 2015-10-29 from 18:00 to 20:00

Artist(s)

Zhang Huan

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