Impulsive creativity brings body of work to urban life

Zhang has made a name in ink art circles for his realistic approach to depicting people at the grassroots and their heroic deeds and other grand, historical themes. Meanwhile he has invested much zeal in profiling the mentality of city dwellers since the late 1990s. The ongoing show presents his latest attempt to engage the audience in "the discussion of the destiny of men as the final question of art", according to the exhibition's curator Wei Xiangqi.

For instance, Zhang has brought to the show the Virtual Life series in which he juxtaposes real people and robots in such a way that viewers "will find it difficult to distinguish one from another", says Wei. The series "shows the fruits of modern civilization cultivated by technological progress and meanwhile, the complicated feelings and worries when recent technological developments have cast a shadow over the future of human society".