Chi Zhang is a visual artist whose artistic creations of simple two-dimensional objects that reference images of three-dimensional structures are based on her early years of inspiration from her architect father. Architecture has become the invisible language of communication between Zhang and her father. In order to explore how different dimensional forms change the same structure, Zhang uses photographs and drawings of architecture and reduce the complexity of the original structure. Each transformation becomes an abstraction derived from the original structure; eventually the complex structure will be minimized and presented in its simplest form. Her bodies of work not only reveal her personal memories, but also extend her knowledge of China’s economic development over the last decade. Returning back to Beijing almost 12 years later in 2014, Zhang was stunned by the transformation of the city with modern and futuristic skyscrapers. Her work serves as a communicator of the ever-fast growing nation and brings her back to connect herself with her home country. Zhang received her MFA in Fine Arts at School of Visual Arts in 2013. She lives and works in Beijing.
articles by chi zhang
“I know these projects are totally irrational, totally useless,” he added. “The world can live without them, nobody needs them, only me and Jeanne-Claude. She always made the point that they exist because we like to have them, and if others like them, it’s only a bonus.”