Zhang Yu

Mineral colour on paper
47 x 73 cm.18 1/2 x 28 3/4 in.
Signed in Pinyin；dated and titled 11-2 on the lower right
LITERATURE Da Xiang Art Space, Tai Wan, Zhang Yu’s One-Finger Chan Culture and Spiritual Exploration, 2009, p.36-37.
EXHIBITED Taiwan, Da Xiang Art Space, Zhang Yu’s One-Finger Chan Culture and Spiritual Exploration, June19 - August 9, 2009.
Zhang Yu
(b.1959-)
“The old concept of ink painting is to create from rice paper but it is quite difficulty to identify if it is ink paining from my work. This is my stance for the thinking of contemporary art. What I want to do is an “unprecedented in the history of Chinese art” and I intend to build a new personal system, a simple language that completely belongs to me.
Zhang Yu is not only a Chinese contemporary artist but also the founder and advocator of theory. His creations and discourses are closely related to the entire exploration process of Chinese contemporary art and Chinese paintings but it can also be said that his personal creation course reflects the post Chinese contemporary art of the “85 new trend.” After the 1980s, China also faces with a brand-new atmosphere due to the open art of politic
Zhang Yu attempted a behavioral expression to break the traditional pattern of literati painting starting 1991. He directly moistened the ink with finger to print on the paper, known as the preliminary study of “finger printing series.” In 1992 the artist went to Russia and drafted the book on “The Trend of Chinese Contemporary Ink Painting Art in late 20th Century” in half year of period. He also called for artists and critics with identical ideas to jointly promote the ink painting experiment, known as the source of “experimental ink painting.” He even started the non-concrete attempt in 199. By 1994, he produced “Miraculous Lighting” series. The theory of basic composition