ZHANG Jian's works are the most "peaceful" I have ever seen in China's art currently, therefore, such "peace" may be the main characteristic of ZHANG Jian's works.

　　ZHANG Jian's early works shuttle in the sunshine of the impressionism. Those warm scenes are just like that famous "Lunch on the Lawn", the difference is that ZHANG Jian doesn't have so many historic missions and life-risking spirits of innovation as Mr. MA has, he just describes boring life before his eyes indolently. Those works have something to do with the city of Beijing, exactly with the royal city, the memory in this royal city, something seemingly true or not but happed, just like our memory of "the Cultural Revolution".

　　ZHANG Jian's early works were warm and sunny, but something ancient with old legends. The sun shined in the park, on the river bank, just like the old sunshine on the muntins. ZHANG Jian, like a story-teller in the sun (but not vividly as the real teller did), told some amphibolous memories discursively.

　　ZHANG Jian's "boring life" is different from that of the "cynical realism". The latter shows clearly the emotions of rebellion and "taedium vitae", while ZHANG Jian's "boring"is quite pure, there is almost no content behind such "boring"people can see, just like a glass of water, leaving no place for people to think. Such description seemingly like line drawings makes his works different from ever.

　　Of course, ZHANG Jian is neither one of the landscape painters in traditional sense who normally pour their infinite feelings towards the nature into their works, nor he is a realistic painter and he is not willing to put his likes and dislikes into his pictures bit by bit. In his early paintings, he even rarely mixed his personal emotions, just did what he liked independently due to his blurring life painting of the memories.

　　ZHANG Jian seems to have nothing to do with the so-called "contemporary Chinese art", neither with its merits nor with its shortcomings. He is not cynical, he doesn't use the red symbols, he has not intention to reflect any social realities, or touch any sensitive topics; he just draws a pile of pictures of memories, related to life we are seemingly familiar with, and a certain age and region. Neither avant-garde nor conceptual, his works are more simple and pure, more close to the meaning of paintings than abstract works.

　　Later ZHANG Jian paints on water, on Hou Hai. Every time when I see Hou Hai she paints, the most strong feeling I have that I am personally on the scene he paints.

　　The phase "be personally on the scene"has been used in many unreasonable places, which makes this phrase something disgusting. But whenI try to describe ZHANG Jian's works, I just want to return the original meaning back to this words, or extremely speaking, try to change its etyma meaning to serve for one of my argument.

　　Today the phrase in people's understanding mainly refers to the describer (you, he or I) has "real", "accurate" and literary description of the objective. I stress more on the blurring and objective meaning of this phrase with its use to describe ZHANG Jian's works. Actually the phrase has no much different with "have the same feelings". When viewing his "Hou Hai", I feel that I was with him when he painted this picture and saw with the same view in the same angle. Another feeling is that I seem to be sitting before his works, before that still water area, looking at the time like friends passing by.

　　From "Hou Hai", ZHANG Jian began to show a kind of blue and oppressive atmosphere in his works, especially in the late period of time, the injection of emotions changes the colors/personality/temperament of his works. What kept unchanged was that he did not endow the nature with more emotions and love and was still outstriping the landscapes painted, with personal and unique moods. So he was still some way from the traditional landscape painters. Still another unchanged was that he did not add the so-called elements of"concepts" and "avant-garde" in his works, but described the sceneries in his heart and surrounded, with memories hard to get rid of. So he still had nothing to do with that "contemporary art". However, his blue and oppressive is still quite peculiar.

　　Actually, when I am viewing his works, I find a feeling of friend, to which the works become not so important. I still remember he has a purple painting, Hou Hai, quiet and lonely, like a game of killing. I stared at the works and suddenly felt an upsurge of emotion. The loneliness of the landscape is also a kind of weapon, with sharp and cold blade. Then I knew later that this painting was for Haizi, with his low-pitched style corresponding to the high-pitched flower blooming in warm spring. What does a friend mean? One hurts and warms you, like a piece of weapon, like Hou Hai of ZHANG Jian. A weapon has no expressions, Hou Hai is serene and gloomy, all are immersed into larger and broader tranquility.

　　The change of meaning is like ZHANG Jian comparied with traditional landscape painters and the so-called "contemporary art", change ultimately or no change has no much sense, what still makes sense is that this phrase still have the right to say.

　　Later on ZHANG Jian paints some street scenes of Tian An Men Square with quick-run brushwork, still lonely and calm, it seems that to keep out of the business is right his principle and creation concept.

　　No matter what he paints, the tune in his heart is black and white, for the memories are black and white, so are the dreams of people in this generation.

Wang Jiang, Thursday, Nov. 30th, 2006

作者：HUANG Liaoyuan