Zhang Xiaogang

Coinciding with Zhang Xiaogang: Mayflies at the Long Museum West Bund, Pace’s exhibition in Hong Kong will spotlight eleven new and recent paintings related to the works on view at the Shanghai institution through May 7. Lost will run from March 21 to May 4, with an opening reception held at the gallery on March 20 from 6–8 p.m.

The exhibition will also include Jump No. 6 (2022), an oil painting on paper, and Jump No. 8 (2022), an oil painting on canvas. These works reflect the artist’s sensitivity and finesse in his approach to different mediums and materials. Jumping figures have been the subjects of Zhang’s works over the past few years. However, the dynamism implied by the titles of these paintings is upended by their content: human figures appear to be suspended in solidified air, impervious to gravity’s pull. This visual phenomenon might be understood in the context of the global pandemic’s effects on time and space. The artist intuits and absorbs his own experiences, creating works of both psychological and physical heft. Through the ancient technique of painting, he weaves the turbulence of contemporary life into the eternal predicament of the human soul in theatrical, absurdist scenes that might be interpreted as poetic fables of the present day.