Materials of the future: Documenting Contemporary Chinese Art From 1980-1990

Zhang Peili 2008-11-23
China Academy of Art and Zhang Peili's Studio, Hangzhou

Conducted in Mandarin

“During this time our conceptual thinking regarding the meaning of art underwent major change. We no longer considered the end result to be of paramount importance; that is to say, the artwork itself was not the most important thing. The traditional thinking is that the artwork is the end result and thus everything else, all the work involved, is done for the purpose of achieving this end. But our feeling was that this kind of thinking was somewhat obsolete and completely devoid of meaning. To us, the most significant element of an artwork was the process. During that time, one approach we took was to extend a work from the medium of painting to something outside of the painting.”

Biography:

Zhang Peili (b. 1957, Hangzhou) is an artist and Head of the New Media Department at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou.

Zhang graduated from the Oil Painting Department at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now the China Academy of Art) in 1984. The following year, he helped organize the exhibition ‘New Space' in which his oil paintings, including Midsummer Swimmers, Please Enjoy Some Jazz and Interval, were also shown.

In 1986, Zhang helped form the Pond Society with Geng Jianyi, Wang Qiang, Song Ling, Bao Jianfei, Cao Xuelei and others. In the late 1980s, he created a series of groundbreaking works like Yang’s Tai Chi, an innovative outdoor work, and two early experiments in conceptual, text-based art, About X?: Exhibition Procedures and Art Project No. 2. Zhang also created 30X30, a video work now recognized as the first video art piece in the history of Chinese contemporary art.

In the early '90s, Zhang founded the New Media Department at the China Academy of Art, the first of its kind in China’s art academy system. He has also been an active participant in international exhibitions. In 2008, OCAT Shenzhen held a solo exhibition for Zhang, in conjunction with a comprehensive monograph entitled Artistic Working Manual of Zhang Peili.

Zhang Peili 2008-11-23 China Academy of Art and Zhang Peili's Studio, Hangzhou

Zhang Peili 2008-11-23
China Academy of Art and Zhang Peili's Studio, Hangzhou