Preface
In the 1930s, the Austrian Nobel Prize winner and biologist Kondra Lorenz proposed the famous "Kindchenschema" to explain why humans have a strong preference for things with juvenile characteristics—— The enlarged head, big eyes, and round and full facial contours are just like the classic images in Zhang Zhanzhan's paintings that can give healing power to people's hearts.
In the original DNA of human beings as living things, driven by the instinct to continue genes, the love for juvenile things will have a strong subconscious impact after the individual reaches childbearing age. So how to explain that many viewers can get a "sense of healing" after seeing Zhang Zhanzhan's works. Those clear eyes and smooth faces may evoke each viewer's most direct desire for care, which is different from Foucault's sexual desire.
Compared with works in contemporary art, or in museum-like spaces that have a sense of ritual alienation, the images in Zhang Zhanzhan's paintings may have already been reflected on the retina when the images on the canvas were first seen. Through the most direct visual perception, the collective empathy that is the universal existence of organic life is quietly conveyed to the viewer. It is like the effect of a small amount of alcohol or oxytocin on the body. It is unintentionally hallucinogenic but can produce a large amount of dopamine, thus Images composed of colors and lines act like neurotransmitters, evoking emotional pleasure driven by the sensory system.
As Zhang Zhanzhan himself said in his creative statement, "For me, (creative) feeling should be the priority." He is not doing "textual research-based creation" or making use of the openness of contemporary art to build theory, artists who play with conceptual works have not stepped into metaphysical "form exploration" in the next step of shifting from realistic painting to two-dimensional image creation. Every step of Zhang Zhanzhan's creative process is extremely clear - the artist is more like an adventurer. When many people are still immersed in the cute and healing PUPU bears and YOYO rabbits in his works, this exhibition makes him bring you more childhood memories, which may directly touch the softest and most sensitive hearts of contemporaries. In terms of painting methods, he firmly and clearly understands what he wants to express and what emotional value he brings to the viewer. There is no doubt that in the current art environment, he is the artist best able to "play with" emotions. The people and objects in Zhang Zhanzhan's paintings guide the viewer into his or her inner world, with warm energy amplifying the secret and delicate emotions to achieve a breakthrough in the boundaries of the self.
In Zhang Zhanzhan's paintings, he is accustomed to a few colors, just like the artist's own temperament, which is quiet, restrained, and not ostentatious. Visually, he is known for his distinctive and clear images, and there is no intention to show off his painting skills or knowledge in his works. He never constructs the artist's arrogant sense of sacred authority, and faces the cunning sense of distance brought about by deliberate defamiliarization. Zhang Zhan possesses an extraordinarily calm and sincere attitude toward others outside the canvas and his own world. He hopes that his work can always stay with you.
—————— Serena Zhao (Curator & Founder of ArtDepot)
On December 9, 2023, the solo exhibition "You're always on my mind" by Zhang Zhanzhan, the exclusive artist of the Artdepot, was successfully opened at A4X Art Center in Luhu, Chengdu. The exhibition presents the artist's new paintings in the past two years, as well as several large-scale sculptures. The exhibition has been welcomed and loved by Chengdu visitors, with more than 3,000 visitors (including more than 1,600 children) on the first public Open Day on December 10, and the exhibition will continue until March 10, 2024.
This month the exhibition has finally arrived in Beijing, China. It will displays more than 30 new works and more than 10 large sculptures by the artist Zhang Zhanzhan in recent years in 798 "B06" space (more than 1500 square meters), bringing the upgraded version of the exhibition "You're always on my mind", and launching Zhang Zhanzhan × CSA space mascot "Lumi" and space immersive exhibition hall. To provide the audience with the most systematic and comprehensive presentation of artist Zhang Zhanzhan's works.
