Spotlight Artist: Jian-Jun Zhang's Upcoming Solo Exhibitions

Starting this month, art galleries in New York, Hong Kong, and Shanghai will feature solo exhibitions by NYU Shanghai art professor Jian-Jun Zhang.

From March 13 to April 11, Zhang's exhibition of monoprints and sculptures titled Water • Ink • China will show at Pace Prints in New York.

At Hong Kong's Art Basel, Zhang will show his most recent ink paintings in an exhibit titled Nature and Beyond, showing from March 13 to 17 at the Leo Gallery.

In Shanghai, Zhang will display a set of earlier works titled 1980s: Jian-Jun Zhang's Artwork (1987-1988) from March 17 to June 2015 at the Yuz Museum as part of the Shanghai Galaxy exhibition.

Through these three exhibits, one can see how Zhang combines an Eastern way of thinking with contemporary visual art media. The traditional Chinese medium of ink, in combination with water, shows a symbolic flow of Chinese history. Reflecting a balance of old and new, Zhang's works reveal an echo of ancient Chinese calligraphy pictograms that have evolved into modern forms of contemporary art.

Molding the past with the present, Zhang's sculptures are cast from ancient ceramic vessels dating back to the Han, Tang, and Song Dynasties. However, his use of vibrant, silicone rubber relics merge traditional style with contemporary materials and eccentric shapes.

Zhang's works prompt the timeless questions: Where did we come from, and where are we heading?