Hero No. 1 by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, Hero No. 1, 2009, cowskin, steel, wood and polystyrene foam, 16' 15/16" × 32' 1-13/16" × 20' 11-15/16" (490 cm × 980 cm × 640 cm) © Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan emerged in the 1990s as a leading figure of Beijing’s Conceptual art movement. His internationally acclaimed practice engages with themes of spirituality and memory. While the artist gained early critical praise for his performance-based work—conceived as existential explorations and social commentaries—his interdisciplinary practice encompasses photography, sculpture, painting, and installation.

In the early 2000s, Zhang began incorporating incense ash into his work, developing his celebrated series of ash paintings and sculptures, which marked a departure from performance and a return to his formal artistic training.

Zhang attended Henan University in Kaifeng, China, from 1984 to 1988 and received an MA from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1993. He gained international recognition for performances including 12 Square Meters (1994) and To Add One Meter to an Anonymous Mountain (1995). In 1998, he was included in Inside Out: New Chinese Art, organized by the Asia Society, New York, and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York. The exhibition traveled to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1999); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Mexico (1999); Tacoma Art Museum and Henry Art Gallery, The University of Washington, Seattle (1999–2000); and National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2000). During this period, Zhang relocated to New York City, where over the following eight years he created thirteen performances, presented five solo exhibitions, and was included in more than sixty group exhibitions across the United States. He returned to China in 2006 and established Zhang Huan Studio in Shanghai.

Notable solo exhibitions and installations include Altered States, Asia Society, New York (2007–08), which traveled to Vancouver Art Gallery, British Columbia, Canada (2008); Three-Legged Buddha, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2007–08); Evoking Tradition, Storm King Art Center, New Windsor, New York (2014); In the Ashes of History, The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia (2020); and Zhang Huan: Ordinary Life, University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington (2025), among others.

His work has appeared in important group exhibitions, including La Biennale di Venezia (1999, 2011, 2013, 2015); Biennale de Lyon, France (2000); Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2002); Between Past and Future, International Center of Photography, New York (2004), which traveled to The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago (2004–05), Seattle Art Museum, Washington (2005), and Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2005–06); Contemplating the Void, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2010); Human Nature, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2011); Ink Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2013–14); The Allure of Matter, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2019–20), which traveled to The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago (2020), Seattle Art Museum, Washington (2020), and Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts (2020–21); and A Window Suddenly Opens, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (2022), among others.

Zhang’s work is held in major public collections worldwide, including Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Storm King Art Center, New Windsor, New York; and Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, among others.

Pilgrimage- Wind and Water in New York by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, Pilgrimage–Wind and Water in New York, 1998, chromogenic color print, 40" × 80" (101.6 cm × 203.2 cm) © Zhang Huan

1/2 (Text) by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, 1/2 (Text), 1998, chromogenic color print, 40" × 27" (101.6 cm × 68.6 cm) © Zhang Huan

Family Tree by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, Family Tree, 2000, chromogenic color print, 9 chromogenic color prints, 21-1/2" × 16-1/2" (54.6 cm × 41.9 cm) © Zhang Huan

My New York (Worker) by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, My New York (Worker), 2002, chromogenic color print, 40" × 60" (101.6 cm × 152.4 cm) © Zhang Huan

Wife by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, Wife, 2008, ash on linen, 8' 2-3/8" × 6' 6-3/4" (250 cm × 200 cm) © Zhang Huan

Shanghai Bridegroom by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, Shanghai Bridegroom, 2008, ash on linen, 59" × 43-1/4" (150 cm × 110 cm) © Zhang Huan

Night Voyage by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, Night Voyage, 2010, ash on linen, 8' 2-1/2" × 15' 9" (250.2 cm × 480.1 cm) overall installed, 8' 2-1/2" × 63" (250.2 cm × 160 cm) 3 panels, each © Zhang Huan

Long Island Buddha by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, Long Island Buddha, 2010-2011, copper, 67-11/16" × 89-3/8" × 69-11/16" (172 cm × 227 cm × 177 cm) © Zhang Huan

Spring Poppy Fields No.24 by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, Spring Poppy Fields No. 24, 2013, oil on linen, 78-3/4" × 60-1/4" × 2-3/8" (200 cm × 153 cm × 6 cm) © Zhang Huan

Hermitage Buddha by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, Hermitage Buddha, 2019, copper and steel, 39' 7-9/16" × 23' 3-15/16" × 20' 11-9/16" (1,207.9 cm × 711 cm × 639 cm) © Zhang Huan

My Winter Palace No.5 by Zhang Huan

Zhang Huan, My Winter Palace No.5, 2019, silkscreen mounted on carved antique wood door, 10' 7/8" × 4' 2-3/8" × 7-7/8" (307 cm × 128 cm × 20 cm) © Zhang Huan