Biography:

Zhang Jianjun (b. 1955, Shanghai) is an artist and professor in the Department of Art and Art Professions at New York University’s (NYU) Steinhardt School and is also involved with the Shanghai Center of NYU’s Shanghai campus.

In 1978, Zhang graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at the Shanghai Drama Institute. In 1983, he participated in the ‘’83 Experimental Painting' exhibition held at Fudan University in Shanghai. In 1987, Zhang became an assistant to the Director of the Shanghai Art Museum and received a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council to visit the United States. Upon his return to Shanghai, Zhang took part in the performance The Last Supper and participated in the ‘China/Avant-Garde Exhibition’ at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing (1989).

Zhang moved to New York in 1989 and began teaching at NYU’s Steinhardt School in 1997. Since 2007, he has been teaching at NYU’s New York and Shanghai campuses. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he continues to make art and recently participated in ‘Turn to Abstract: A Retrospective of Shanghai Experimental Art from 1976 to 1985’ (Shanghai, 2008).