Artist Biography
Zhan Wang (1962, born and based in Beijing, China) examines the relationships between old and new, natural and artificial, rural and urban to arrive at an artistic language where these opposing forces coexist. His practice reflects a critical view on China’s rapid urbanisation, while being grounded in its cultural heritage. This has earned Zhan recognition as one of China’s leading contemporary artists
As a graduate student in the early 1990s, Zhan moved away from Socialist Realism to create hyperrealistic, ‘anti-hero’ sculptures of ordinary people. Later, a growing interest in Conceptual Art gradually led to his celebrated Artificial Rocks (1995–ongoing) series. These sculptures draw from the historical scholar’s rock—unusually-shaped rocks revered, collected and displayed by Chinese literati in spaces of contemplation such as courtyards—and Chinese landscape painting, or shanshui (“mountain and water”). Created using a patented method of meticulously moulding stainless steel sheets on actual stones, then welding and polishing them to a mirror-like shine, these sculptures invite viewers to consider how tradition evolves in the contemporary world.
Zhan obtained his BFA and postgraduate certificate in Sculpture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing in 1988 and 1996 respectively. His work is held in major collections including the British Museum, London; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; National Museum of China, Beijing; and Smart Museum of Art, Chicago.
Notable solo exhibitions include Forms in Flux (2017), Long Museum West Bund, Shanghai; Nothing for the Time Being (2015), OCAT, Shanghai; My Personal Universe (2011), Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; Voyages (2011), National Museum of China, Beijing; On Site (2011), Milwaukee Art Museum; Suyuan Stone Generator - 1 Hour Equals 100 Million Years (2010), Today Art Museum, Beijing; Garden Utopia (2008), National Art Museum of China, Beijing; On Gold Mountain (2008), Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Urban Landscape – Beijing (2006), Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown. The artist has also participated in major international festivals including Time Gravity (2023), 11th Chengdu Biennial; The Light of Life (2022), 9th Beijing Biennial 2022; 13rg Amsterdam Sculpture Biennale (2022), Open Borders (2019), 14th Curitiba Biennial; Middle of Now | Here (2017), 1st Honolulu Biennial; The 2nd Vancouver Biennale (2009–2011); Wonder (2008), 2nd Singapore Biennale; HyperDesign (2006), 6th Shanghai Biennale; Dreams and Conflicts (2003), 50th Venice Biennale; and Spirit of Shanghai (2000), 2nd Shanghai Biennale.
Zhan Wang had his residency at STPI Workshop in 2010, culminating in the exhibition 小宇宙 My Universe (2012).