About the Artist
Zhang Guangyu, born in 1987 and currently based in Shanghai, China. He received his BFA from Central Saint Martins College of Art in 2012.
Saatchi Art first recognized Zhang Guangyu as one of their Outstanding Artists and placed him on their List of Noteworthy Artists. They also selected him as one of their Best of 2014 and Best of 2017 and featured his work in Saatchi Gallery’s international emerging artist exhibition, Continental Shift.
His work was selected for inclusion in Tate Britain’s Source Collage exhibition in 2014. In 2017, he was invited to participate in the 10th Asian Artists of the Year Festival organized by DDP in Seoul. In the same year, Hennessy HQ invited Zhang Guangyu for a global collaboration, as well as packaging design for X.O and James Hennessy. 2020, Carlsberg Group invited Zhang Guangyu for an artistic collaboration-these works are intended to be created for the smooth recovery of the world in 2021. The project, Springtime 2021, captures the hope for a vibrant recovery in the New Year. In addition, he had a solo exhibition at CAMP Gallery in Miami and was featured on the art news website Artnet News.
This emerging artist expresses the embellishments of ink art to represent idealized landscapes, combining the way the western occupies all available space with the more saturated elements expected of Oriental Art. His diverse compositions convey a sense of nostalgia driven by traditional Chinese motifs, revealing a world filled with auspicious symbols. The inclusion of these elements solidifies the surreal nature of the artist’s aesthetic, realizing the collage-like quality of his work by introducing characters that at first glance do not belong in his conception, illustrating how his work expresses the artist’s own imagination.
