Zhang (artist)

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Zhang was a self-taught anonymous Chinese artist whose works were recently uncovered. It is estimated that the majority of his work was done in the 1970s.

[edit] Discovery

The collection of art now associated with Zhang was discovered during the demolition of unused industrial land. Workers uncovered a wealth of images and sculptures in a remote corner of an abandoned factory warehouse. The work was eventually transferred into the hands of contemporary Chinese art historian Wang Jun Yi.

[edit] Background

Efforts to identify the artist by anything other than his surname have proved fruitless. Due to the prominent naturalistic backgrounds in many of the works, art historians have suggested that Zhang may have been relocated from rural china to work in the factories. Zhang likely supplemented his long work-days with clandestine painting sessions, which would have been forbidden by industrial practices.

[edit] Artistic Works

Zhang’s works display an idiosyncratic iconography that reflects both traditional Chinese themes of harmony in addition to twentieth-century modernization. Many of Zhang’s works mimic popular propaganda posters of the time. The paintings depict the joy and tranquility of the people in a post-Mao society. Zhang’s style is heavily influenced by ancient Chinese painting, despite the trend of the time period to distance modern art from traditional methods.