Zhang Jian is an aesthete striving to stay positive with the reality. He tries to search beauty from mundane life. He is one of the representatives of the third generation contemporary Chinese artists who were born in 1970s and experienced Tian'anmen incident in their college years. However, he is separated from the protagonist of cynical realism, one of the major movements of the 1990s in contemporary Chinese art, in terms of his aesthetic propensity which focuses more on personal subject than on grandeur social ideology.

　　Zhang Jian is an aesthete. He tries to capture the beauty from the moments of mundane life. While his figure paintings in early years discover the vanity of existence of life through the fading light, Houhai series explores the beauty of moments through the rhythmic oscillations of water. If those works represent the beauty he seeks for, his Tiananmen paintings show his stream of perception about the reality which still remains lyrical.

　　His works can be categorized into two different series: figure and landscape series. His well known landscape series include Houhai  Chang'anjie and Tiananmen Square. As of his Houhai series, we find a clue for the aesthetic goal Zhang Jian seeks for. There exists sufficient time to slow things down in his water series. We can catch artist's feeling of meditation about the mundane life. His water series is that which shows artist's interpretation of the world and where artist can find a place to escape from the uncertainty of the reality.

　　His works express fresh visual images and use a clearly individual language. His figure paintings in 90s prove his strong affection for impressionist. His attempt to capture the light in his painting creates dreamlike atmosphere. The light seems to refer to his relation for the reality. While the mute figures give a gaze to an unnoticeable place, the shining scenery with people in a mind void of all ideas and thoughts seems to imply their loss of idealism form reality. As he reaches his 30s, he begins to draw more attention to his feeling for objects than their specific description.

　　Tiananmen Gate and Square are often shown in the paintings of contemporary Chinese artists. The blood shed in Tiananmen Square has come to represent the triumph of the spirit over brute force. Its great cultural significance has affected many Chinese artists who went through heated democracy movement in 80s.  Zhang Jian is no exception for this. However, his painting does not include any political messages. His view of Tiananmen Square, like many of the third generation Chinese artists, seems to show his indifferent attitude toward the overpowering force of history.

Curator: (Korea) Seon Hee Kwon