Zhang Peng (; 1981) is an artist based in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Zhang was born in

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He graduated from Wu Zuo Ren Art Secondary School in

in 2001, and from the Central Academy of Fine Art in

in 2005. He has a background in

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

but has increasingly embraced

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

. His work centres on images of young girls in deceptively innocent settings. He is an innocent and courageous artist who intends to capture the truths and contradictions of this world in his art. Images of his work have appeared in

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

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online and have appeared on the covers of numerous art magazines. He has recently exhibited at the Museum Of Contemporary Art in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, the Chosun Ilbo Museum in Seoul, and is the youngest artist in the inaugural Chinese Contemporary exhibition of the new Saatchi Museum in London.

Photography

Zhang Peng changed his art from

in 2006. When asked why he converted to photography, the artist replied, "There is no special reason. When I changed my genre from painting to photography, many people were just like you. They were curious as to why I changed my media so suddenly and kept asking me why. However, all I wanted was to express many thoughts and emotions in my mind through more diversified means." He feels that photography can capture the moment of an event, while painting offers only a limited time to express all of ones thoughts. He makes flawless compositions, carefully arranged as theater sets and elaborately controls the lighting effects to create dramatic scenes. Computer manipulations are also used to make abnormally big eyes and slender bodies. The

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

used in Zhang Peng's paintings and full-color photographs symbolize "either

itself or blood. As the national economy grows, each individual within it becomes relatively small. Red implies the meaning of this duality." He doesn't use red in his recent black-and-white photographs, but the omission of it seems to add brutality and subtlety to those pieces.

Influence

Zhang Peng is determined and serious about his art. His works are different from the works of other artists of his age. The young artists of China born after 1980 grew up in relatively stable social circumstances after China's

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

. However, they were still strongly influenced by their older generations. "The memory and influence of my family background and school education build the foundation of my art. My parents and schools were influenced by politics," said Zhang Peng. He describes his growth as happening in between the sudden advent of the market economy and the long tradition of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

, which is as awkward as wearing clothing that does not fit. Zhang Peng's art conveys serious contemplation of his surroundings and the society in a way that is not found in the arts of other Chinese artists born after 1980.

Theme

All of the young girls in Zhang Peng's artworks are delicate and helpless. Their big, sad eyes are filled with tears and seem to appeal to the audience. "Their indescribable expressions of hurt and vulnerability leave the viewer unsettled, disconcerted and heavy hearted." His intentions are to create a visual contradiction that represents the current problems in China due to the ever-growing

modernization Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...

. One of those problems is the gross

overpopulation Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale m ...

of the country. Because of the

one-child policy The term one-child policy () refers to a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1980 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. That initiative was part of a much bro ...

, families are being selective about the gender of their babies. Boys have traditionally been more desired. In order to ensure the birth of boy, families resort to a number of different methods, including having early-term

abortions Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...

with the discovery of a girl fetus. Because of this, China now has the greatest difference in sex ratio, with males outnumbering females by 35 million (Timeinmoments.com, 1). Zhang Peng's image of girl dolls symbolizes the

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

against young girls in China and the injustices they endure.

Selected exhibitions

2008 ''Fascinating Beauty'', Eli Klein Fine Art, New York 2007 ''Blooms of Frailty'', Art Seasons, Beijing ''Narrative, Fantasy, Future'', Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok ''ARTSingapore 2007'', Singapore ''Art Cologne 2007'', Cologne Beijing CIGE 2006 ''Art Taipei 2006'', Taipei, Taiwan China International Gallery Exposition, Beijing 2005 ''ARTSingapore 2005'', Singapore ''Beijing International Triennium'' Beijing International Art Camp, Studio Opening Exhibition, Beijing 2009 ''Fascinating Beauty'' Klein Sun Gallery, New York

References

External links

* Zhang Pengs'
official site
*Zhang Peng o

* Further information and images from th

* Zhang Peng a
Eli Klein Fine Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Peng 1981 births Living people Painters from Shandong Chinese photographers