Exhibition News｜The Land of Reversal - Zhangyong’s Solo Exhibition:

Sculptor Zhang Yong's first solo exhibition "The land of reversal " in China Grand opening at the Common Art Centre in Beijing 798 Art District! At 4:00 p.m. on August 1st 2021

Exhibition time: August 1st to August 30th, 2021

Common Art Center

This exhibition is cued by Ms. Su Mang, and a total of 14 representative sculptures of Zhang Yong are exhibited.

Ms. Su Mang's on-site speech

"Hi everyone, thank you for coming to Zhang Yong's solo exhibition in such a hot weather. Zhang Yong is a graduate of the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He has done his own exhibition in Singapore. He is a person who cherishes his feathers very much. This is also his first solo exhibition in China. I appreciate Zhang Yong's works very much, because Zhang Yong's works are trendy and speculative. He is an artist who grew up under the education of the orthodox Academy of Fine Arts, which has laid a very good foundation for him and accumulated solid skills over the years. But I really appreciate Zhang Yong's words, which is, "What is the greatest charm of art? That is freedom." Art gives people the freedom to imagine, the freedom to express, and the freedom to create. In Zhang Yong's works, these lovely images also convey the tingling pain when hugging. This sense of contradiction of speculation is the thought that exists in Zhang Yong's art.

—— Su Mang

Founder of Chaoshang Culture

Artist Zhang Yong speaks at the exhibition site

Thank you for coming to my exhibition. In the face of the repeated epidemic, I would like to thank Sister Bao Yu and Sister Su Mang for their efforts to promote the success of this exhibition. I hope you can feel these works freely. The emotions put into these works are of great significance to me, and I hope to bring you a precious memory.

——Artist Zhang Yong

Producer Ms. Bao Yu spoke at the exhibition site

Our gallery has been planning this exhibition for more than a year. Zhang Yong is a very rigourous, easy-going artist. It is very hard to prepare for the exhibition this time. He also said that he stayed up late to prepare his works like a university, and there was no rest 24 hours before the opening. Because of this attitude, such high-quality works will be presented today. I hope you can feel the rebellion and emotions in Zhang Yong's works in today's exhibition. We will continue to pay attention to Zhang Yong's works and carefully prepare a higher-quality exhibition for everyone. Thank you for your attention to this exhibition.

——Bao Yu

  Co-founder of the Joint Art Centre
 

The Land of Reversal

 

The concept of inverse contrast originated in Europe in the 19th century and was used to describe a unique font design style. The characteristic of inverse contrast is that the traditional writing style is exaggerated in a completely opposite form, such as turning the original part of the rough strokes into extremely fine strokes, and the part of the fine strokes into extremely thick strokes. This straightforward contrast constitutes a very impactful visual effect and a strange sense of grotesqueness. Using the abstract concept of inverse contrast to understand Zhang Yong's animal sculpture, we can feel the stimulation brought by this strong contrast. It is not difficult to see from the shape of these small animals that they should be cute, soft, warm and innocent, and our childhood memories still clearly retain the touch of them. But in Zhang Yong's works, they are sharp, cold and dazzling. Such a visual combination is so strange and contradictory, so deviating from the paradise of memories that the viewer has an unadapable sense of confusion in the strong contrast.

 

When the eyes touch these edges and corners, what you can see is not only the visual experience, but also the tactile experience. The reason why this tactile visual experience can touch emotions is that in the process of synesthesia experience, the viewer's body serves as a bridge across time and space, connecting him/her past and the present world. On this flowing bridge, the teddy bear in the tender arms, the teddy bear discarded in the corner of the storage room, overlapped with the shining golden bear in front of him. Their temperature, smell and touch are mixed together, and what is tightly entangled in these feelings are emotions, memories, dialogues, and silhouettes. Walking into this exhibition is like walking into an amusement park in the mirror. Reality and memories, reality and fantasy are scattered and melted into a golden light. Imagine hugging this golden bear full of sharp thorns. Is this experience happy or sad? Is it beautiful or painful? Is it lingling or numb? In the mirror that everyone sees, these dazzling little animals are different. Some people see sweetness, and some people see the combination of bitterness, innocence and cruel contrast, which makes people unable to tell whether this is the childlikeness of the adult world or the adultisation of the childlike world.

 

Zhang Yong's animal sculpture achieves the strongest collision with the simplest shape. The sense of contrast between naivety and sharpness gives these small animals unexpected power. They have more or less the shadow of each viewer. In this contradiction, we realise that every individual is full and multi-facetted. In the eyes of children, the image of a teddy bear is a flat beautiful thing, but in the eyes of adults, it is indeed so complex and beautiful. Appreciating Zhang Yong's animal sculptures, we are not looking at our own individuals through them, watching the edges and corners left by life, laughing and tears.

——Su Mang

Curator

--focus--

The scene of the opening ceremony

A group photo of the guests present

When it comes to Zhang Yong's creation, the most representative feature is undoubtedly his "durian thorn" on the outside of the statue, which is almost Zhang Yong's unique sculpture language, carrying his unique artistic concept.

Teacher Zhang Yong receives an interview with Phoenix Art

Photos of the exhibition site

Photos of the exhibition site

At first, on the road of exploring his own sculpture language, Zhang Yong did not match the display technique of "durian thorn". He tried many other forms of expression, such as thorns on roses.

In the end, the durian thorn became Zhang Yong's ultimate choice with its unique strong vitality and changeable form. The durian thorn in Zhang Yong's works is not exactly the same, but changes size, direction and density with the modelling logic. Therefore, Zhang Yong's works are vigourous.

Sun Guosheng, editor-in-chief of Art BAZAAR，shows photos in the exhibition

Photos of the exhibition site

The appearance is soft and cute, but the whole body is full of thorns; if you want to touch it, you must keep a distance; this sense of contradiction provokes the relationship between the viewer's "self" and "ego". The artist himself explained his work in this way: "Art is a combination of heart and eye. I hope my work can bring thinking to the viewer and make people face their inner impulses.

Photos of the exhibition site

Photos of the exhibition site

Seeing Zhang Yong's sculptures, most people can't suppress their inner impulses and want to touch them. The artist was very moved by this feedback: "Art can express more than language, which shows that I have successfully provoked the emotions of the viewer."

Artist's live tour

Tour the scene photos

Tour the scene photos

--appreciation--

<<Love-1>>

The throne is a symbol of power and desire. The artist uses this statue to summon people's instinct. He wants to sit on it but can't; this metaphorical expression is fanciful.

<<Love>>

This work is the artist's interpretation of love. It is not only soft and smooth, but also strong and rebellious. Tear the illusion of perfect love may be eaten back.

<<Koala>>

The artist's thinking caused by the Australian wildfires, the koala represents the spatial regional expression, and carries the artist's thoughts about the creatures in the face of natural disasters.

<<Cattle>>

The artist's original animal, the shape comes from the traditional "tea pet", which is full of rhythm and vitality.

<<Polar Bear>>

It is also the source and artist's thinking about the geographical nature of space time, and the impact of global warming on biology.

<<Rabbit>>

Inspired by the artist's girlfriend and Peter Rabbit. The cute image and the real character with thorns coexist.

<<Mickey>>

The artist goes back to his childhood and reshapes the classic image.

<<Pikachu>>

The most common animation image represents the artist's rebellion against contemporary art; completely indulging in the application of the sculpture language itself, ignoring the symbolic meaning.

<<Song-Song>>

The artist expresses the vitality of the "durian thorn" with the image of a teddy dog. The thorns on dogs, whether large or small, change with the animal's morphology, are logical for growth.

<<Teddy bear>>

The shape comes from the puppet on the artist's sofa, which shows the anxiety when thinking about resistance and resistance, sweetness and stability in life.

<<Dolphins>>

The inspiration comes from Japan's wild hunting of dolphins, and the artist gives these dolphins sincere blessings with the image of jumping.

<<Panda>>

Cartoonised panda, cute and simple image. With profound skills, the artist vividly expressed the original black and white iconic animals in the accurate application of "Durian thorn".

<<Giraffe>>

The giraffe is the most conspicuous existence of nature in Africa. Artists express their admiration for nature and life in a unique way.