Ethan Cohen Gallery
Zhang Dali, AK47 | The Art Blog
Zhang Dali, AK47, Acrylic on vinyl, 40 x 32.25 in, 2010
Zhang Dali (b. 1963)
Zhang Dali’s work reflects the rapidly shifting urban landscape of China. The artist first became interested in engaging the architectural restructuring of Beijing in the late '80s and his urban interventions, which included 'tagging' areas of the city with graffiti or carving his profile into the walls of condemned buildings, were primarily documented by photographs.
More recently, Zhang has taken on the depiction of migrant workers as his subject, rendering them in grisaille portraits using his moniker "AK-47" as a mark-making device. This new nomadic class within Chinese society is helping to pave the way to a new China while they themselves remain on fringes of society. Zhang brings humanity to their plight while also questioning the high price of modernization.
Previously on view at Fuck Off Generation: Chinese Art in the Post-Mao Era, Ethan Cohen Gallery
