The evening of October 19th will mark the opening of two shows at Mill Fine Art. Contemporary artist John Y Chang will present an exhibit of new work, and the gallery will also unveil a powerful group exhibit curated by Mr. Chang. Two of the four artists featured in the group exhibit, Jiang Zhuqing and Biying Zhang, have established themselves as skilled artists with vital and unique visions.
Born in 1984 in Guangzhou, China, Biying Zhang holds a BFA from Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and an MFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Through her oil paintings, Zhang taps into the underlying anxiety and psychological tension at the core of her urban experience. Her work is courageous, bold, and haunting. A Queen-sized mattress, symbolic of comfort and relaxation, takes the place of a human form as the protagonist of Zhang’s paintings. We find it slouching in bright, dark cityscapes: overwhelmed by blue waves; alienated in the middle of a light-streaked, murky street; and obscured by clouds of gray and red smoke.
Apocalyptic in nature, Zhang’s work explores the sense of loss lurking inside of our modern information age. It forces the viewer to ask what is left behind when one era ends and another begins. Zhang’s paintings have been shown around the world: at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; Exchange Gallery in Cornwall, UK; Kunst-im-Tunnel Museum in Dusseldorf, Germany; and Alpha Gallery in Boston, MA, among others. She currently lives and works in Boston.
Another artist featured in this exhibit, Jiang Zhuqing, has worked extensively with the human form, encouraging it to interact with other elements. For a 2008 exhibit at the Huan Tie Art Museum, Zhuqing created an abstract painting that used cassette tape ribbon and black hair clips to embroider a human shape. She hoped to make viewers think about the important relationship between human beings and the world. Her other murals have featured human shapes made out of computer parts, adorned with painted flowers, and decorated with toy cars. From these diverse materials, Zhuqing summons forms that are elegant in their beauty.
Zhuqing was born in 1962 in Tsingdao, Shandong, China. She received an MFA from Central Academy of Art and Design in 1991 and currently works as an associate professor at Tsinghua University. A member of the Chinese Artists Association, Zhuqing has held a number of personal and group exhibitions both in China and abroad.
For more information on the other artists in this unique exhibit please see our previous blog post, Materials at Hand: The Transformative Artwork of Two Contemporary Chinese Artists. Finally, mark your calendars for October 19th and be present at the opening reception.
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