Taking the eyes into shades and depth
“Distance,” mineral pigment on canvas
An exhibition of works on canvas by artist Zhang Wei is underway at the Art+ Shanghai Gallery. Entitled “Invisible Forms,” it is the artist’s first solo show in Shanghai.
Using mineral paints on canvas, his works trick the eyes into shadows and depth with soft gradients and shades. His geometric compositions are based on the idea of folding, overlapping and layering, creating a dimensionality that lies somewhere between the planar and spatial.
The overall tone is soft and light, and there is always this tension generated from the strict arrangement of the painting and the simulated texture that is randomly shaped on the surface.
In some of his latest works, Zhang dispelled the only central object of the tableau, inviting the viewers to appreciate non-figurative painting from different angles. They achieve a different experience of appreciation.
Perhaps it is not accurate to define Zhang’s art as abstract. As Gilles Deleuze put it in “Francis Bacon: The Logic of Sensation” — “There are two ways to go beyond the concrete, abstraction and visualization. Paul Cezanne gave the latter way a simple name: feeling.”
Zhang’s works are separated from the concrete form and representational expression. It’s a practice of senses over sight, like a piece of thought in search for the “potential” existence when its familiar visual experience no longer works.
Exhibition details
Date: Through July 10 (closed on Mondays), 10am-7pm
Venue: Art+ Shanghai Gallery
Address: 191 Nansuzhou Rd
“Latent No. 2,” mineral pigment on canvas
