Crossing Art is honored to present “The Light of Ink,” a solo exhibition by contemporary Chinese artist Zhang Zhaohui. The Light of Ink exhibition reinterprets the fundamental visual language of ink art while investigating the dynamic integration of contemporary artistic concepts with traditional Chinese media. The Light of Ink exhibition presents artist Zhaohui’s three-decades-long career oeuvre, encompassing his evolution of artistic practices, observations, and personal reflections.

The exhibition also features a multimedia video piece by artist Zhang Zhaohui from 2009 called “Mirror Man,” which shows a symbolic performance of the artist dressed in a stainless steel mirror suit as he walks through the famous Times Square region of NYC. In his mirror suit, Zhaohui traverses the neon-lit urban landscape of New York City, appearing almost robotic or otherworldly. His mirrored body surface captured and distorted the interplay of lights and shadows from the surrounding urban environment, transforming the cityscape into an immersive optical experience. His daring performative exploration prompted Zhaohui to reflect on his artistic practice, questioning why light remained absent in the millennia-old tradition of Chinese ink painting. He pondered whether light, as a core element, could redefine the visual language of ink art and situate it within the framework of contemporary artistic discourse.

In his colored ink artworks, Zhaohui is no longer confined to calligraphic ink brushstrokes but strives for an optical dimension within a spatial structure. By layering intersecting grids, linear accumulations, and ink permeations, Zhaohui succeeds in creating a dynamic interplay of light and shadow on xuan paper. His subtle gradations of gray and structured linear compositions evoke an illusory depth, while the interplay of ink layering, paper absorbency, and fluid brushwork enables light to oscillate dynamically between black and white.

PRESS RELEASE