KWM artcenter is pleased to present Zhang Gong’s solo exhibition “Revelations” from 8.13.2020 to 9.26.2020.

The show displays 23 paintings on canvas and 12 drawings from 2018 to 2020. In this era of structural changes in the world, the artist describes various revelations he has received in the form of fantasies and beliefs through to subtle details from nature. The Revelations series most typically represents the style of the artist during this period. The depicted knights sometimes hold medieval spears aggressively, sometimes quietly hold the necks of their animals, are sometimes naked and sometimes dress like Victorian ladies. Their animals are sometimes horses, sometimes dragons, and some have slender feet like praying mantis. Some have the feet of toads, and some have roses growing from between their toes. In the background, there are curtains full of green scales, clouds with open red eyes, Renaissance-style seaside towns, skulls and spring flowers, and landscapes where babies and sirens grow like crops. The theme is surreal. It’s like a dream. From a distance, there are fairy tale-like images and thangka-like colours, but on closer look, you find information about death, resurrection, destruction, and rebirth. All the knights are women. Women become messengers of revelations and pathways to different worlds.

Nature is important to Zhang Gong. Nature in the paintings is not represented by generic landscapes, but by the green plants in the community where the artist walks his dog every day: the insects in the grass, the birds in the trees and the abandoned kid’s toys. Zhang Gong once observed the delicate moss on the ground very carefully, and found that it was the entrance to another huge world of freedom. Works such as “Under the Sun” and “There was evening and there was morning”, embody this kind of fresh perspective on creation. Together with works such as “A Chasing after the Wind”, “The More Knowledge”, “The Day Breaks” and “The Shadows Flee”, the interaction between the animals, plants and the background brings us tiny and vivid depictions of our inherent fate, reflecting the power embodied in passivity, and the new ideas stemming from the overwhelming infinite repetition of motifs.

Zhang Gong’s technique is like his name in Chinese which means nervous, tenacious, and extremely accurate and precise. His creation is a slow and arduous process. But the effect of the final work is naive, clean and coherent. Every small paw, every small scale, every small leaf and every grain of dust in the sky is gently placed and stabilised by the big hands of art and his faith. A contemporary tension is formed from the juxtaposition between beautiful and childlike imagery and weighty themes.

KWM artcenter

The KWM artcenter opened on 20th October 2016. It is located on the second floor of the WFC centre CBD in Beijing. The art center is supported by the law firm King & Wood Mallesons. The KWM artcenter presents and promotes artists both domestically and overseas as well as building up its own collection. In particular, it acts as a rare art institution at the heart of the economic central area in Beijing. It provides high-quality art educational activities and courses aimed to cultivate art lovers and collectors. It serves to improve the international influence of Chinese Art and become a powerful communicator of Chinese Contemporary Art.