Zhang Xuerui (b. Shanxi Province, China, 1979) paints abstract paintings of colour grids in subtle gradations that go beyond their visual appeal challenging the convention of realistic representation. A
graduate of the architecture department of Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, Zhang is a master of constructing subliminal influences within interdependent modules. Within her works lie the blurred boundaries between fact and fiction embracing a dual construction of both the metaphysical and the concrete. This complex and meticulous system is constructed from complementary resonances between the part and the whole, universality and individuality, as well as the form and the idea. Prior to the first brushstroke, Zhang sets the fundamental tone of the canvas, and samples the temporal direction and degrees of the gradual process with smaller sketches. The piece originates with pre-set colours at three corners of the canvas. During the coherent, inter-locked coloring process, meticulous shading of tones, she progressively blends the lattices, evolving and congregating into a “spectrum” on the face of the blank canvas. A purely visual space, detached from specific, identifiable objects, is thus fostered.