Zhan Wang

Zhan Wang is recognized as a contemporary Chinese sculptor, but his work also spans other art forms, including installations, photography, and video.

Biography of Zhan Wang

Zhan Wang was born in 1962 in Beijing, China. As a child, he was deeply fascinated by art. He received a formal art education in 1978 at Beijing Industrial Arts College, where he studied under an instructor specializing in the Soviet style of sculpture. During this period, his training was predominantly focused on this particular artistic approach.

He continued his studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in the Sculpture Department. It was only after graduating from these art institutions that he began to explore modern sculptors and incorporate contemporary influences into his work.

Zhan has exhibited extensively in major museums and galleries worldwide, such as the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, Saatchi Gallery in London, Kunst Museum in Bern, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and the Asia Society Museum in New York.

His works are part of several major public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, and the Smart Museum of Art in Chicago. 

Zhan Wang's Art Style

Zhan Wang's practice encompasses sculpture, installation, performance, photography, and video. Deeply rooted in Chinese traditions and culture, he seeks to offer a personal interpretation of Chinese heritage by blending historical, traditional, spiritual, and natural elements into his work.

His style focuses primarily on abstract forms he refers to as "floating stones." These are large, textured rock-like sculptures coated in chrome, also known as mountain or scholar's rocks.  Zhan's fascination with rocks stems from their cultural significance in Chinese history, where they are seen as possessing the purest qi, or vital energy, and are used as objects of art and meditation. 

Zhan's process involves applying a pliable sheet of steel over natural rocks and hammering it to replicate their surfaces. This technique allows him to maintain the intricate textures and forms of the original rocks while transforming them into modern, reflective sculptures.