• Mrs Tay
• Bryan Chia
• Bryan Tan
• Esther Loh
• Dipar
• Fathin
• Eric
• Nicole
• Wei Jiang
• Charissa
• Joycelyn
• Shawn
• Michelle



Coding/Design: Yours-Tragically
Icons: Enlaced

July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
January 2010
May 2010

A Big Family by Zhang Xiao Gang

Zhang Xiaogang (張曉剛 / 张晓刚) (born 1958) is a contemporary Chinese symbolist and surrealist painter. His paintings, which are often monochromatic, stylized portraits of Chinese people, usually with large, dark-pupiled eyes and posed in a delibrate stiff manner reminiscent of family portraits from the 1950s and 60s.

Like Wang GuangYi, Zhang grew up during the Cultural Revolution which had a great influence on his paintings. Also like Wang, Zhang belongs to the best-selling contemporary Chinese artists and is a favorite of foreign collectors.

Both are also similar in that they use icons from the Cultural Revolution. For Wang he uses propoganda posters from the resolution while Zhang uses old family portraits from that same era. Both also use some bright colours in their works to
emphasis certain portions.

However this is where the similarities end. In both stlye and artist intensions, both artists differ greatly. Firstly Wang uses a cut and paste method similar to that of Andy Warhol's printing method. Zhang on the other hand paints rather realistically. Furthermore Zhang focuses on the idea of photographs instead of the idea of consumerism (Wang). Zhang noted that old photographs "are a particular visual language" and says: "I am seeking to create an effect of 'false photographs' — to re-embellish already 'embellished' histories and lives." He said: "On the surface the faces in these portraits appear as calm as still water, but underneath there is great emotional turbulence. Within this state of conflict the propagation of obscure and ambiguous destinies is carried on from generation to generation."

As said by Zhang on his painting of The Big Family:
We all live 'in a big family'. The first lesson we have to learn is how to protect ourselves and keep our experiences locked up in an inner chamber away from the prying eyes of others, while at the same time living in harmony as a member of this big family. In this sense, the "family" is a unit for the continuity of life and an idealized mechanism for procreation. It embodies power, hope, life, envy, lies, duty and love. The 'family' becomes the standard model and the focus for the contradictions of life experiences. We interact and depend on each other for support and assurance.