Zhang Hongtu (born 1943) is a Chinese

Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

 artist based in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Zhang was born in Pingliang

Pingliang

Pingliang is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu Province in China. Pingliang is famous for a local mountain range that includes Kongtong Mountain, a site sacred to Taoism and mythical meeting place of the Yellow Emperor and Guangchengzi, an immortal....

. He works in a variety of media such as painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 (sometimes with soy sauce

Soy sauce

Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...

), sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

, collage

Collage

A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....

, ceramics

Ceramic art

In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...

, digital imaging

Digital imaging

Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is the creation of digital images, typically from a physical scene. The term is often assumed to imply or include the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of such images...

 and installation

Installation art

Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...

. His work explores the freedom to criticize the Chinese authorities afforded to an artist living in the West.

He studied at the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

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In 1987 he took part in the founding of The Chinese United Overseas Artists Association, along with Li Shuang

Li Shuang (artist)

Li Shuang , born in Beijing in 1957, is a contemporary Chinese artist.Li Shuang’s works testify to her painful personal and artistic journey. She grew up in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution within a family of intellectuals...

, Qu Leilei

Qu Leilei

Qu Lei Lei is a modern Chinese calligrapher, painter and author currently based in the UK.Qu grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution and spent some time forced to work as a lumberjack after his parents were branded capitalists...

, Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist, active in sculpture, installation, architecture, curating, photography, film, and social, political and cultural criticism. Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008...

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Selected exhibitions

2004

Selected work, William Holland & Drury Gallery, Marlboro College, Vermont

2003

Icon & Innovations: The Cross-Cultural Art of Zhang Hongtu, The Gibson Gallery, State University of New York at Potsdam

2002

Paris-Pekin, Espace Cardin, Paris

ConversASIAN, National Gallery, Cayman Island

2000

New Paintings, Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, New York

1996

Soy Sauce, Lipstick, Charcoal, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Chairmen Mao, Groton School, Massachusetts

1995

Zhang Hongtu: Material Mao, The Bronx Museum of the Arts

Bronx Museum of the Arts

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is a cultural institution located in the New York City borough of The Bronx. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th century works created by American artists, and it has hosted exhibitions of art and design from Latin America, Africa and Asia...

, New York

1994

The Fifth Biennial of Havana, Cuba

Small World - Small Works, Galerie + Edition Caoc, Berlin, Germany

External links

• Zhang’s official site
• Images, biography and texts from the Saatchi Gallery
• Zhang Hongtu on ArtNet.com