Zhang Yongzheng, the master of deluding reality

Reality is an illusion, say Buddhist texts. And each of Zhang Yonggzheng’s (Gansu, 1978) works plays with this concept to remind us again and again that there is no immutable reality but a fluid universe of forms that our mind interprets as we have educated it. Lines could be the waves of the sea or the infinite sand of the desert. In Zhang’s work they become part of the Buddha’s eye. There is no doubt that he too is defined by the infinite, and his wisdom extends like the waves of the sea, or the sand dunes of the Gansu province where this singular artist was born.

His work is a polyphonic hymn to his homeland. To the wonders of the Buddhist world preserved there and to the succession of people who have traveled these lands. If every Buddha image is a help in meditation and a companion in the discovery of inner realities, where illusions are generated, Zhang’s work is even more so. It is an implementation of the most unfathomable Buddhist truths.

But when one questions a fragment of reality, one is certainly questioning the whole biological mechanism on which it is built. Zhang deconstructs the world, his sets of lines open up a new reality. He proposes one interpretation, but how many more underlie his work waiting to be discovered? In reality, the vision of the world is a personal construction. And from contemplation, understanding and meditation on his work, everyone can begin to build their own reality.

Thanks to Master Zhang, a lesson as old as art itself is revealed in original, aesthetically impeccable works, which, like a well, lead the viewer to a profound reflection on the world and how people see it.

The English title of the exhibition «Shadow of images» does not quite correspond to the original Chinese 罔相 «Deceive», which in ancient characters showed a person and a net. And indeed with each Zhang painting we suffer a deception or a delusion. The images deceive as his title says, the reality only lies beyond appearances.

Thank you Master Zhang for presenting to us in an aesthetically complete language this sample of timeless wisdom.

«Shadow of Images- Zhang Yongzheng Solo Exhibition» can be seen in Kunming, Arttime (Caiyunli), 128, Shulin jie.