172 Davenport Road, Toronto, ON M5R 1J2 Canada or PAINTINGS BY ZHANG HE

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1 Qi 172 Davenport Road, Toronto, ON M5R 1J2 Canada or PAINTINGS BY ZHANG HE

3 Qi PAINTINGS BY ZHANG HE November 1 - November 24, Davenport Road, Toronto, ON M5R 1J2 Canada T F E info@odonwagnergallery.com W Member of Art Dealers Association of Canada

4 Qi: paintings by Zhang He Qi, In Chinese philosophy, is defined as the ethereal life force from which everything is composed. Zhang He s extravagant, multihued paintings harness the power of Qi, concentrating his explosive energy onto canvases filled with abstract imagery that takes as its starting point the still life floral arrangements in particular. Contrary to the Chinese idea that flowers must represent specific, always beautiful qualities, for He, flowers have come to represent the everchanging emotional facets of his own life. Within the push-pull of abstraction in Still Life with Melons from 2003, for instance, He s spirited slashes of paint and unconventional use of colour are already clearly visible. In this exhibition of work from 2007, only the merest suggestion of the still life remains, now overtaken by a masterful expressiveness and expert manipulation of his medium. Thick layers of oil paint are pasted then smeared roughly down one side of the canvas, off-kilter yet strangely balanced. Wild brushstrokes evoke urgent calligraphic messages. In Flying High, 2007, the canvas peeks through areas of green and muddy taupe over which a series of dark, tumultuous strokes dance as if flung by an orchestral conductor. Broad bands of mustard yellow emerge hopefully through tender clouds of mushroom paint in The First Day I, 2007 while in Hero, 2007, crimson tones provide the backdrop for an unrestrained flowering of black lines, chrysanthemumlike, across the canvas. Though each work is decidedly abstract, in several pieces like The Place Where I Want to Go, 2007, one can find traces of the floral arrangements from Zhang He s earlier work. A mass of deep green and black near the base of the canvas, for instance, seems to anchor the orange and yellow blossom-like dabs that hover above. While such a discovery may be pleasing for the viewer, however, it would be wise not to attempt too much of a reading of Zhang He s painting. Zhang He was born in Shen Yang, China in 1963 and moved to Canada from China in 1998, followed by his wife, DingLi, in While his work does marry the Chinese painting skills in which he was trained with the Western tradition of abstract painting, Zhang He s insistence on freedom in this case from the political and artistic constraints of his home country, and perhaps less intentionally from the tradition of Western art history makes his work particularly relevant today. The script-like swirls across many of He s paintings bear allegiance to a strong tradition of East Asian calligraphy, which was established well before the Tang dynasty ( A.D.) when it came into its own as an art form. Since then, perhaps due to the Buddhist principles of contemplation and respect for the passing of time, the Chinese have favoured individualism and a spontaneous quality over the ability to simply convey meaning. The great Chinese artist Gu Kaizhi (c ) of the Jun Dynasty stressed the importance of making the form show the spirit. For him, a painting should express the spiritual energy of Qi, with only the mere essence of the object being represented. Qi, In Chinese philosophy, is defined as the ethereal life force from which everything is composed. Zhang He s extravagant, multihued paintings harness the power of Qi, concentrating his explosive energy onto canvases filled with abstract imagery that takes as its starting point the still life floral arrangements in particular. Contrary to the Chinese idea that flowers must represent specific, always beautiful qualities, for He, flowers have come to represent the everchanging emotional facets of his own life. Within the push-pull of abstraction in Still Life with Melons from 2003, for instance, He s spirited slashes of paint and unconventional use of colour are already clearly visible. In this exhibition of work from 2007, only the merest suggestion of the still life remains, now overtaken by a masterful expressiveness and expert manipulation of his medium. Thick layers of oil paint are pasted then smeared roughly down one side of the canvas, off-kilter yet strangely balanced. Wild brushstrokes evoke urgent calligraphic messages. In Flying High, 2007, the canvas peeks through areas of green and muddy taupe over which a series of dark, tumultuous strokes dance as if flung by an orchestral conductor. Broad bands of mustard yellow emerge hopefully through tender clouds of mushroom paint in The First Day I, 2007 while in Hero, 2007, crimson tones provide the backdrop for an unrestrained flowering of black lines, chrysanthemumlike, across the canvas. Though each work is decidedly abstract, in several pieces like The Place Where I Want to Go, 2007, one can find traces of the floral arrangements from Zhang He s earlier work. A mass of deep green and black near the base of the canvas, for instance, seems to anchor the orange and yellow blossom-like dabs that hover above. While such a discovery may be pleasing for the viewer, however, it would be wise not to attempt too much of a reading of Zhang He s painting. Zhang He was born in Shen Yang, China in 1963 and moved to Canada from China in 1998, followed by his wife, DingLi, in While his work does marry the Chinese painting skills in which he was trained with the Western tradition of abstract painting, Zhang He s insistence on freedom in this case from the political and artistic constraints of his home country, and perhaps less intentionally from the tradition of Western art history makes his work particularly relevant today. The script-like swirls across many of He s paintings bear allegiance to a strong tradition of East Asian calligraphy, which was established well before the Tang dynasty ( A.D.) when it came into its own as an art form. Since then, perhaps due to the Buddhist principles of contemplation and respect for the passing of time, the Chinese have favoured individualism and a spontaneous quality over the ability to simply convey meaning. The great Chinese artist Gu Kaizhi (c ) of the Jun Dynasty stressed the importance of making the form show the spirit. For him, a painting should express the spiritual energy of Qi, with only the mere essence of the object being represented. Zhang He s working method bears this out. He says he must have very strong desires built up within him before he begins to paint, after which he begins several paintings at a time,

5 1 Comfort oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in. Still Life with Melons oil on canvas, 40 x 60 in. 2

6 3 Flying High oil on canvas, 58 x 64 in. 4 The Edge oil on canvas, 39 x 48 in.

7 5 The Place Where I Want to Go oil on canvas, 64 x 58 in. 6 Serenity oil on canvas, 68 x 72 in.

8 7 & 8 The First Day oil on canvas, 49.5 x 61 in. 9 Straggle oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in.

9 10 Crescendo oil on canvas, 44 x 44 in. 11 The Beginning oil on canvas, 72.5 x 72.5 in.

10 12 Les Brumes Passantes oil on canvas, 48 x 36 in. 13 One Moment in Time oil on canvas, 56 x 80 in.

11 14 Unreachable oil on canvas, 60 x 40 in. 15 After the Rain oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in.

12 16 Hero oil on canvas, 60 x 84 in. 17 Sunburst oil on canvas, 72 x 48 in.

13 18 Rhapsody I oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in. 19 Rhapsody II oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in.

14 20 Sentiment Profound oil on canvas, 44.5 x 44 in. 21 Free as a Bird oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in.

15 22 The Process oil on canvas, 84 x 60 in. 23 & 24 The Way It Is oil on canvas, 51.5 x 62 in.

16 25 The Union oil on canvas, 58 x 64 in. 26 The Background oil on canvas, 48 x 72 in.

ZHANG HE EDUCATION Specialist in Oil Painting, LiaoNing ShenYang LuXun Art Institute, China Studies in Stage Design, LiaoNing University of Cultural Arts, China Studies in Photography, Edition and

17 ZHANG HE EDUCATION Specialist in Oil Painting, LiaoNing ShenYang LuXun Art Institute, China Studies in Stage Design, LiaoNing University of Cultural Arts, China Studies in Photography, Edition and Direction, Beijing Institute of Communication , Personal studies with masters SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2007 Odon Wagner Contemporary, Toronto 2007 Galerie Pangée, Montréal 2003 HAN ART, Montréal 2002 Gallery DeNovo, Ketchum, Idaho 2002 Galerie au Fond de la Cour, Paris 1999 Musée du Québec, Québec 1991 Galerie Jordan, Montréal 1991 Loranger Gallery, Toronto 1990 Chinese Canadian Art Gallery, Toronto Chinese/Canadian Born in Shen Yang, China, 1963 photo credit: Odon Wagner GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2007 Galerie D ESTE, Contemporary Canadian and International Art 2006 Elliot Lois Gallery, Canadian Fine Art, Vancouver 2004 Abstractions of Spring, Gallery DeNovo, Ketchum, Idaho 2002 ACCCA (Association of Contemporary Chinese Canadian Artists) 2002 Entitlement Toronto, Canada China Culture and Art Now Embassies, Cultural Houses (PRC Domestic Culture Promotion Dept.) 1992 China Culture and Art National Art Exhibition Shanghai, China (PRC** Domestic Culture Promotion Dept.) 1989 China Culture and Art National Oil Painting Exhibition Beijing, China (PRC Domestic Culture Promotion Dept.) 1987 China Culture and Art National Youth Art Exhibition Donbei, China (PRC Domestic Culture Promotion Dept.) China Culture and Art various expos, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China (PRC Inter and Intramondial Culture Promotional Departments and Universities) PUBLIC & CORPORATE COLLECTIONS IACO International Aviation Corp., Montréal, Canada Pfifner Management, Montréal, Canada & Zurich, Switzerland Lise Watier International, Montréal, Canada & Paris, France Monit International, Montréal, Canada & Miami, Florida Hot & Spicy Inc. International, Montréal, Toronto, Canada & Singapore, China Ta Yu Association, Seoul, South Korea Association du Nouveau Monde, Hong Kong

18 CREDITS CURATORS Odon Wagner Rafael Wagner Barbara Edwards INTRODUCTION Andrea Carson GRAPHIC DESIGN Angela Wagner ( PRINTING Caractera, Québec Note: This catalogue is also available on our website Zhang He ISBN National Library of Canada Copyright: Odon Wagner Gallery 172 Davenport Road, Toronto, ON M5R 1J2 Canada T F E info@odonwagnergallery.com W Front cover: The Place Where I Want To Go, oil on canvas, 64 x 58 in. Inside detail: Straggle, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in.

de Sarthe Gallery: Private reception with the artist on November 27 th, 6-8pm Please RSVP to attend the opening at

For Immediate Release Probe II Wang Guofeng s Solo Show in Hong Kong de Sarthe Gallery: Private reception with the artist on November 27 th, 6-8pm Please RSVP to attend the opening at rsvp@desarthe.com