Xiaolu Zhang

Change is the most consistent circumstance during my study abroad. I feel I’m more like a witness who is “made in China” experiencing the chemical effect with the “western culture”. Through this, I found my horizon has become broader. During this experience I gradually found my new way through the special “chemical reaction” in the new area and the endless changing of my painting. My paintings are the outlets of my flashbacks and never answered puzzles. Since the speed of life engulfs lots of questions and answers, I choose to focus on the process and the fun that I can find when I discharge the DNA of culture, the fragments of my memories, and the various version of “my-self” in my works.

In my most recent paintings I’m interested in looking for a way to combine abstract expression and figurative style together. In various experiments, I use a lot of bright and artificial color which emphasis a sense of “false appearance”. It’s unnatural and foppish, but it’s significant element to echo the concept. The blurred gender and morbid state of the series “new girl friends” was a sign supposed to reflect the issues and shadows of society. However, in my painting, here no judge, no anger, no deep thought, no solution, instead, I chose to play, play, play. In my works, I’m playing with all the wonderful illusion, joking with those ugly shadows, flirting with the “new girlfriends”, dancing with those marks and mistakes.