Lateness

By Yang Zi  Ttranslated by Fiona He

In the exhibition "Lateness" (Chinese title: “Shanshan”), Zhang Miao presents a compelling sense of fluidity in his art practice. Shanshan is drawn from the Chinese idiom, shan shan lai chi, which describes slow and unhurried gesture of movement (a long time coming). With this, the artist suggests his art practice marks a trajectory of escape from a definitive perspective. This escape is not a resolute rupture but builds on existing foundations in a drawn-out manner. At times, these two types of perspectives could be interchangeable in a nested manner.

In Entering the Basement and Meeting the Sea, the light blue seems to extend to the dark blue, while the silver frame hinders the hint of a hidden perspective illusion. Zhang Miao's sophisticated visual language raises the point that the goal of artistic practice is not to manipulate visual momentum and provide the viewer with a false sense of reality; its function lies precisely in encouraging the viewer to leave the image after being immersed in it. Color plays a vital role in achieving this goal. On the one hand, the artist tries to highlight the subtle movement of color under the light (which he calls "without line"). On the other hand, he uses heavy sculptural forms and materiality (which he calls "with outline," but sometimes thinks these two terms might be the same) to capture the escaping colors. This balancing act requires him to mediate between various psychological senses: di......