Artwork Description

Title:Avoidance
Artist: Jing Zhang
Date: 2016
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 39.4 x 31.5 inches (100 x 80 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Avoidance is an oil on canvas painting by the contemporary Chinese artist Jing Zhang, completed in 2016 and measuring 100 by 80 centimeters. The composition is executed in Zhang’s signature fantastical style, likely featuring childlike figures or surreal elements within a dream-inflected space. The subdued palette and delicate rendering underscore the psychological tension suggested by the Title:, evoking themes of distance, introspection, and unspoken narrative.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Jing Zhang’s oeuvre is renowned for its blending of magical realism and surrealist tendencies, drawing upon both Eastern narrative traditions and Western modernist influences. Her visual language often positions youthful figures in ambiguous, symbolic environments, echoing the unconscious dreamscapes explored by artists such as Leonora Carrington and Balthus. The emphasis on vulnerability and psychological nuance lends her work a timeless and universal appeal.

3. Historical Context
Produced during a period when Chinese contemporary art increasingly embraced the personal and the introspective, Avoidance reflects a shift away from overt sociopolitical commentary toward explorations of identity, memory, and the inner life. In dialogue with global surrealist practices, Zhang’s paintings resonate as intimate yet archetypal narratives of the human psyche, filtered through the lens of contemporary visual culture.

4. Provenance and Authenticity
For full provenance details and certificate of authenticity, please contact the gallery directly.

5. Condition and Conservation
The work is in excellent condition, with the pigment layers stable and the canvas taut. No evidence of retouching, varnish alteration, or surface loss is visible.

6. Artistic Significance
Avoidance exemplifies Jing Zhang’s contribution to the resurgence of narrative figuration in contemporary Chinese painting. Through her synthesis of innocence and enigma, the artist creates works that invite sustained contemplation and reward repeated viewing. Collectors value Zhang’s paintings for their rare ability to merge technical refinement with psychological depth, situating her practice within the broader discourse of global contemporary art.