Zhang Lin Hai
Zhang Lin Hai
Purple Series No. 10, 2006
Purple Series No. 10, 2006
Great Wall, 2001
Purple Series No. 1, 2005
Purple Series No. 2, 200..
Golden sky, 2002
Paradise Series No. 42, 2005
Shepherd, 200..
Joyful time no. 1, 2001
Red flag, 2002
Purple Series No. 3, 2006
"More White Less Black Series No. 11, 2008
-----
“Zhang Lin Hai's collection of new works shows how he is evolving stylistically as an artist as he further develops his scope of imagination, and his motif of bald young boys against a backdrop of a post-industrial arid wasteland. More so now than ever before, Zhang Lin Hai's onus is placed on the individual, rather than an oblique field of the masses. Zhang Lin Hai is also bringing a strong emotional pièce de résistance to the fore, explicitly articulating feelings such as sadness, fear, a need for escape, bemusement, and even more disconcerting, the vapid glare of shock or even possession.
The dense terminal clusters of the grasslands are still used to great effect to explore the landscape of memory through locally specific symbols and typographical reference. But now, Zhang Lin Hai borrows from his uniform representation of youth to enforce the identity of the individual - his solo protagonists peer out from the canvas with looks of bewilderment and emotion, sometimes tears are spilling down the chubby cheeks of injured youth. Zhang Lin Hai's paints in the characteristic greys of his muted and sombre palette, his figures are depicted in monochrome and at times garbed in crimson, a highlighting technique that brings a harrowing and haunting quality to the canvas. In addition to this stylistic device, Zhang Lin Hai is also experimenting with ochre yellows and terracotta hues, throwing his monochrome figures sharply into relief, more so even than the craggy tips that span the horizon.
Zhang Lin Hai's works foster a discourse that implies the significance and resonance of personal boundaries, as they are expressed through and against society. The tone of his works is much less about staring across a field of masses, or into a dizzying height of strangely androgynous forms assimilating into towering architectural towers like the fabled tower of Babel - these heights no longer descend down upon the viewer. Spatially, Zhang Lin Hai pits a panoramic expanse against the recognition and solace of solitude - there seems to be an eerie dimension that has now been infused into his works, thus denoting a shift in his awareness of the transcendental and otherworldly.
Again, Zhang Lin Hai surpasses his already established heights of achievement and artistic clairvoyance. This show is one not to be missed.“
Written by Alexandra Hamlyn
Zhang Lin Hai
Purple Series No. 10, 2006
Purple Series No. 10, 2006
Great Wall, 2001
Purple Series No. 1, 2005
Purple Series No. 2, 200..
Golden sky, 2002
Paradise Series No. 42, 2005
Shepherd, 200..
Joyful time no. 1, 2001
Red flag, 2002
Purple Series No. 3, 2006
"More White Less Black Series No. 11, 2008
-----
“Zhang Lin Hai's collection of new works shows how he is evolving stylistically as an artist as he further develops his scope of imagination, and his motif of bald young boys against a backdrop of a post-industrial arid wasteland. More so now than ever before, Zhang Lin Hai's onus is placed on the individual, rather than an oblique field of the masses. Zhang Lin Hai is also bringing a strong emotional pièce de résistance to the fore, explicitly articulating feelings such as sadness, fear, a need for escape, bemusement, and even more disconcerting, the vapid glare of shock or even possession.
The dense terminal clusters of the grasslands are still used to great effect to explore the landscape of memory through locally specific symbols and typographical reference. But now, Zhang Lin Hai borrows from his uniform representation of youth to enforce the identity of the individual - his solo protagonists peer out from the canvas with looks of bewilderment and emotion, sometimes tears are spilling down the chubby cheeks of injured youth. Zhang Lin Hai's paints in the characteristic greys of his muted and sombre palette, his figures are depicted in monochrome and at times garbed in crimson, a highlighting technique that brings a harrowing and haunting quality to the canvas. In addition to this stylistic device, Zhang Lin Hai is also experimenting with ochre yellows and terracotta hues, throwing his monochrome figures sharply into relief, more so even than the craggy tips that span the horizon.
Zhang Lin Hai's works foster a discourse that implies the significance and resonance of personal boundaries, as they are expressed through and against society. The tone of his works is much less about staring across a field of masses, or into a dizzying height of strangely androgynous forms assimilating into towering architectural towers like the fabled tower of Babel - these heights no longer descend down upon the viewer. Spatially, Zhang Lin Hai pits a panoramic expanse against the recognition and solace of solitude - there seems to be an eerie dimension that has now been infused into his works, thus denoting a shift in his awareness of the transcendental and otherworldly.
Again, Zhang Lin Hai surpasses his already established heights of achievement and artistic clairvoyance. This show is one not to be missed.“
Written by Alexandra Hamlyn
Zhang Lin Hai