ZHANG Jinxian 张谨贤

New Ink Art Reborns the Tradition

Zhang Jinxian designs his ink artworks with a part drawn from Chinese culture and philosophy and a part drawn from his reflections and innovations in contemporary art. His work also brings a whole new perspective on the current world. His artwork is awlays full of profound cultural and philosophical thoughts beyond his age, as well as tranquil and far-reaching spiritual conception.

Zhang Jinxian combines Chinese culture and symbolic language in his paintings. He uses Chinese animals (red-crowned cranes, carps, hinds…) and natural objects (lotus, Tai Hu stones…), as material for his works. This approach quickly sparked a debate on "Zen", on respect for nature through the cultural barrier. Also, all these animals and these natural elements selected have a very deep meaning in Chinese tradition. Their resonances can unconsciously stimulate our imagination, enchant our dreams, or quite simply bring our hearts back to the essential, namely nature, our wild nature.

In aim of preservation and revival of Chinese ink, the artist finds himself in a complex challenge of innovation. Zhang Jinxian tries out many daring ink experimentation leading to a diversity of practices that bear different results. Never has the art of ink known such diversity in the same artist, whether it is the exploration of new colors, new forms, or the contrast between the traditional, the contemporary and the symbolism. In his perpetual search he achieves a subtle balance between mastery and freedom. His unique style weaves a link between ink painting in contemporary culture and Chinese calligraphy in traditional culture. The artist operates a real revolution, considerably widening the field of experimentation with Chinese ink.

Zhang Jinxian constantly strives to break the constraints of creation in the stylized painting methods of academy and Chinese painting to find new freedom, while inheriting the traditional beauty essential. He is one of the rare Post 85' Chinese-style artists advocating "experimental ink painting" as an indigenous form of contemporary art that both revitalizes and diverges from a traditional art form.

Zhang Jinxian masters extraordinary technical and aesthetic refinement, tradtional but also abstract and contemporary impression expressions. He dares to explore and use innovative compositions and bold colours to express the beauty of nature and his emotions.

Born in 1988, Shanxi, China

Graduated from the China Academy of Art

Selected member of "National Artists' Association", Shanxi Province

• Granted the Diploma from the China Academy of Art in 2010, one of top art acdemy in China, ZHANG Jinxian was under the dedicated instruction of the master painters XIAO Feng, WANG Guanjun, and HAN Lu. ZHANG Jinxian masters a wide range of techniques and styles from both Eastern and Western art, including traditional Chinese ink-and-wash painting, fine brush flower-and-bird painting, freehand landscape painting, calligraphy and oil painting. He found himself in contemporary Chinese painting best to express both the tradition and new thoughts.

• Beyond his solid art background, ZHANG Jinxian holds exceptional profound heritage and deep knowledge of traditional Chinese culture to nourish his unique style and content, such as classical Chinese literature and poetry, Chinese art history, Taoism and Buddhism. It allows him to "write" an extremely rich and mature grasp of freehand ink-and-wash paintings, and at the same time, a profound artistic expression beyond his age.

• Public Collections:

- Fujian Provincial Art Museum, China
- Jiangxi Provincial Art Museum, China
- Hubei Wudangshan Art Museum, China
- XianHuaWenJinYuan Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition Centre, China

• Awards & Prizes :

2021: Selected artwork for the Charity Project for Elderly Chinese Migrants in Brussels,

ConnectingBrussel - You Matter and Flemish Govenment, Brussels, Belgium

2015: National Exhibition of “Huang Shen Prize” on Chinese Ink-and-Wash Painting in Hakka Style, ZiYang Art Museum, Fujian, China

• Exhibition & Prizes:

Art Yī is the exclusive gallery in Europe of Zhang Jinxian.

Our latest exhibitions :

2024: "Art on Rooftop", Warwick Hotel Brussels, Belgium

2024: "Dragon New Year", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2022: "Sakura • Nagara", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2022: Affordable Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium

2022: "An Old Childhood Dream", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2021: "Timeless", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2021: "Art Exhibition for the Hommage of René Julien", Ramatuelle, France

2021: Art Up Lille, Lille, France

2021: "Blooming", group exhibition, Brussels, Belgium

2021: "Togther", group exhibition, Brussel, Belgium

2019: National Exhibition of “Thousands Years of Pu River”, XianHuaWenJinYuan Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition Centre, Zhejiang, China

2018: National Fine Art Biennale, Xiamen City Art Museum, Xiamen, China

2016: Third session of National Exhibition of “XU Beihong Prize” on Chinese Ink-and-Wash Painting, JiangSu Provincial Art Museum, Jiangsu, China

2016: First session of National Exhibition of “Bada Shanren” Landscape Painting, JiangXi Provincial Art Museum, Jiangxi, China

2016: National Chinese Painting Exhibition of “Talking Wudang”, Wudangshan Art Museum, Hubei, China

2015: Fourth session of National Exhibition of “Mingde Herong” on Chinese Ink-and-Wash Painting, ShanDong Provincial Art Museum, Shandong, China

2013: The 12th National Art Exhibition of Shanxi Province Art Selection Exhibition, Taiyuan City Art Museum, Shanxi, China

2012: Shanxi Fine Arts Exhibition, Shanxi Province Folk Art Museum, Shanxi, China

ZHANG Jinxian 张谨贤 Chinese, b. 1988

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