The energy within variation - The interpretation of Zhang Hua’s sculpture.WANG LIN\............ \............ \............ I like Zhang Hua’s sculpture when I first saw his work. He transforms the ordinary sculpture unexpectedly into a formal and planal creases,to make the common classical images lose its authority to narrate, his works show an alternative way for modern people to reinterpret and experience the history. With the same intention to dispell the narrative authority, Zhang’s art practice is different from many coeval people. No grinning scoffs, no shallow entertainment for consumption. What he respects is history, and the internal changes within. His attitude is serious and conscientious.
I gradually get more familiar with him and I found that Zhang as a emerging young artist has his own perspective and sensitivity on the form towards sculpture. What he likes is the uneven architectural forms, like the pagoda with acock eaves and the arch bridge with railing. He is interested in the uncertainty and volatility of physical forms, like the Häagen-Dazs in the shape of glass. Since no matter it is in the form of clay or decorative construction, both have hidden the innate and changing energy behind the periphery shape. It is due to such particular sense towards the “unseen yet perceptible” potential, Zhang started to mold object in distorted form. He wants to reveal the twisting power which urges the distortion,which reminds us the “Negative Aesthetics” by Adorno. Perhaps we can know his reaction to western culture and consumerism through Häagen-Dazs, but this is far from the most concerning issue. That is Zhang has found a visual language to express his realization and consciousness of modern culture and living environment. While object is the self-denial of form, form as an object becomes a denial-reality force. In other words, Zhang’s criticism of history is the criticism of language. As for art, history exists in language.
You may realize that Zhang has always created his works in between hard and soft material. He transforms classical sculptural entity into origami shell or melting paste, and he elongates crushes or reduces the scale to make various contrasts. His work involves the Chinese traditional wisdom of void over solid, perceiving the massive from tiny. But Zhang is good at transforming the void /solid relation by internalizing through the touch of material, it is also artits’s live experience. The character of his sculpture is not only caused by the similarity between the distortion and the digitalize graphic, nor the connection between the surface processing and the industrialize property. The texture of the folding creases with the glittering from cars’ paint surface, further reinforces our illusionary feeling. It is worth noting that Zhang has avoided using pompous macro-narrative and philosophical myth. Your gaze cannot leave the crease texture, the flashy lighting, or you are inevitably searching the structure and shapes. The sense of touch and depth of experience tempt you into an imaginary expression of Zhang Hua’s sculpture world.
The profundity of Zhang’s work is present yet real time, which is completely different from last decade sculptors. Take Zhang Hua as a counter example, who said that youngsters could only be superficial and entertaining?!
... \............ \............ \.... \.... \......2008.6.8 Peach Blossom Hill Side, Sichuan Academy of Art
