张洹个展——放虎归山
佩斯北京将于5月20日至7月20日隆重为其艺术家张洹举办其第三次佩斯个展，名为《放虎归山》。这是继年初成功地举办上海“创世纪”个展及台北“阿弥陀佛”个展后，艺术家首次在北京举办个人展览。
作为最具活力与影响力的当代艺术家之一，张洹因其多方位的艺术创作手法被世界所熟悉。90年代初期张洹以行为艺术开始了他的早期创作，很快引起了国际的关注。2006年创建上海工作室后，他的艺术创作开始倾向绘画、雕塑及大型装置。此次《放虎归山》将展出多幅近期香灰画作品及牛皮雕塑并发表同名画册。
与之前的基于照片的写实风格香灰画作品相比，此次展出的香灰画作品更着重渲染野生自然环境中生态间的抗衡，笔触更具表现性，更加收放自如。作品着眼于东北虎这一既令人生畏又岌岌可危的世界濒危动物，该物种亟需更多的保护及空间来繁衍生息，而中国急速的城市化和经济增长却进一步加剧了丛林动物的灭绝危机。寻找保护区和私密领地已成为动物和人类共同面对的课题。张洹认为人类应更进一步的回归于自然，在新作品系列里，他以虎喻人，两者都渴望原生态的栖身之地。他将人、虎与自然之间的关系视为其生存的关键所在，两者都在自然界中不断的寻觅避难所。
牛皮作品延续了牛皮佛脸系列。张洹对牛皮材料的情结，源自幼年时期在河南农村经常骑牛的成长背景。粗犷的牛皮依旧保留着自然的能量，却被赋予新的思想。这无界无物的脸，在轮回中等待重生。
张洹生于1965年，中央美术学院油画硕士，目前工作和生活在上海。2007年，张洹的个人回顾展《改变的状态》在亚洲协会及温哥华美术馆展出，这也是亚洲协会首次为在世艺术家做回顾展。他的作品曾被纽约现代美术馆、纽约大都会博物馆及巴黎蓬皮杜中心等众多艺术场馆永久收藏。
Pace Beijing is excited to present an exhibition of Zhang Huan’s recent work. It is his first exhibition with the gallery in Beijing and his third with Pace. A catalogue will accompany the exhibition. Zhang Huan: Free Tiger Returns to Mountains will open on May 20 and remain on view through July 20, 2010.
Zhang Huan is well-known for his ability to work in multiple mediums. He initially gained fame as a performance artist in the 1990s, but in recent years has returned to painting, sculpture, and large-scale installations. Free Tiger Returns to Mountains will include ash paintings and cowhide sculptures. This new series of ash paintings are different from his previous paintings. Whereas in the past they were based on existing photographs, the new works are imagined wildlife scenes. The brushwork has a more expressionist and looser feel than before.
The ash paintings focus on the Chinese tiger. One of the most endangered animals on earth, the Chinese tiger is revered but under extreme threat. The species desperately needs further protection and land to ensure it will survive. China’s rush towards urbanization and economic growth has only furthered the stress on already endangered animals in the country. Finding protected land or private space is increasingly a bigger problem for animals and humans alike. Like the tigers need for more protected land, Zhang Huan believes that humans need to return or refer to nature more frequently. His new series compares people to the tiger; both need their privacy within nature. He sees their relationship to nature as essential to their survival; they are dependent on and inspired by the sanctuary that nature provides.
The cowhide sculptures are from his Cow-skin Buddha Face series. He connects with the material because he grew up in rural Henan province and during his childhood he used to ride oxen. The hides are a very raw material; they feel as if they still retain some of their life and energy. The hides are part of a cycle and are reborn as sculptures.
Zhang Huan was born in 1965; he graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Art, Department of Oil Painting. He currently lives and works in Shanghai. This year Zhang Huan has had solo exhibitions at The Shanghai Art Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, and a mid-career retrospective was organized by the Asia Society in 2007 and then traveled to the Vancouver Museum of Art. His work is the permanent collection of numerous museums including The Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and The Pompidou Center, Paris.
了解更多张洹《放虎归山》个展讯息，请致电 +86 10 5978 9786 汤小姐 或邮件：pr@pacebeijing.com
展览地点：北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路2号798艺术区佩斯北京
Additional information for Zhang Huan “Free Tiger Returns to Mountains” is available upon request by contacting
Maggie Tang at pr@pacebeijing.com or by calling +86 10 5978 9786.
