Yan Zhang

I create paintings using traditional materials, ink, and brush on rice paper. These paintings are meticulously rendered, elaborately staged, and illustrative works. I use dramatic and expressive poses along with symbolism as a vehicle for my personal narratives.
My paintings are inspired by Surrealism. However, unlike the Surrealists, my works are more consciously and deliberately composed. The figure in my paintings works as a universal symbol to illustrate an array of human emotions. It is about struggling and anxiety, but also about resistance and resilience. My works aim to explore something of the transience and vulnerability of human beings, as well as the surreal nature of the world around us.
My recent works combine figuration and abstraction, aiming to balance freedom of creative process with carefully crafted an image. I would like my paintings to be a free space where the viewers can make their own connections and form their own interpretations.

2022 MFA Wayne State University, MI
1997 BFA with Honors, Art Education, Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, China

2023 The third Juried Show of Fine Art, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Canada
2022 Michigan Emerging Graduate Artists (MEGA), Alluvium Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2022 INBODY EMBODIED, WSU Art Department Gallery, Detroit, MI
2022 BIPOC Is The Theme! Buckham Gallery, Detroit, MI
2021 Inaugural Juried Show of Fine Art, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Canada
2021 2021 Art in the Legislature, Michigan Senate Binsfeld Office Building, Detroit, MI
2021 WSU Current MFA Exhibition, WSU Art Department Gallery, Detroit, MI
2021 Work from Home, Voices on Identity and the Domestic, Scarab Club Gallery, MI
2020 IDENTITY online exhibition as a featured artist
2016 Canada International Renowned Chinese Artists Exhibition, CCCGT, Toronto, CA
2014 Moon, Wind, Pine, Masters of Chinese Art Exhibition, SHO Gallery, Windsor, CA
2014 5th Ontario Art Instructor’s Joint Exhibition, Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, Toronto, CA
2009 New Ink Experiment Exhibition of Universities, HIFA Art Museum, Wuhan, China
2004 10th National Art Exhibition of China, Hangzhou World Trade Center, China
2004 10th Hubei Province Art Exhibition, HIFA Art Museum, Wuhan, China