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An Entropic Vision

Finished Ended on Sun Feb 25, 2007
Shine Art Space
Block 9, 50 Moganshan Lu, near Changhau Lu

About

Solo exhibition of Zhang Xiaotao, who was born in 1970 in Hechuan, Chongqing province and graduated in 1996 from the Oil Painting Department of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. He has exhibited extensively internationally, being shown in the U.S.A, Australia and Europe. Most recently he has had solo shows in Norway and Lithuania (Dreamscapes, 2005) with his most recent solo exhibition being Dream Factory - Rubbish Heap, shown in Tokyo and Shenzhen in 2006. The artist has produced extensive writings about his work and inspirations and currently divides his time between Beijing and Chengdu.


Zhang Xiaotao depicts a festering world where rats, ants and waste thrive in polluted urban landscapes; an entropic world where the artist transforms conventionally aesthetically pleasing forms such as strawberries or birthday cakes into still lives of putrefying pulp. In presenting these objects in their utmost
repugnancy Zhang demonstrates his belief that all things, despite their aparant beauty, possess a darker side, an ugly truth that he takes to represent the state of society's disorder and decline. In his depiction of discarded condoms and medical
equipment, waste heaps and symbolic armies of ants, we are poignantly reminded of the destructive path that we are following, one which can surely only lead to a final downfall. Despite this apparently apocalyptic vision however, the
artist argues that his works are ultimately positive. In Zhang's new video pieces this becomes clearer as we see the ruins that society has become starting to produce new life; Flowers that are symbols of hope amongst the chaotic destruction.

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