The art army

• Source: Global Times
• [11:19 July 01 2010]
• Comments

Zhang Huan in his workplace.

An employee works on a sculpture in the warehouse. Photos: Courtesy of Zhang Huan Studio

By Nick Muzyczka

In the relative wilderness of southwest Shanghai, where the city finally starts coming to an end, where factories begin to share the terrain with planted fields, is an art space like no other. The Global Times has been granted access to a place almost unknown and rarely visited. This is the workplace of reputed performance artist and sculptor Zhang Huan, one of the most influential contemporary artists in China.

Zhang's early works as part of a small artistic community, known as the Beijing East Village, centered on a number of controversial performance pieces, usually involving the artist being naked. He spent some time in New York in 1990s, where, along with a number of other Chinese artists, he enjoyed tremendous success, returning home in the 2000s as an international superstar with works in many prestigious galleries.

For several years now, Zhang has resided in Shanghai and has adopted a very unusual mode of production based around the concept of large-scale artworks, co-produced by a small army of assistants.

His current premises are truly fascinating, with around 120 employees on-site, a group that not only includes artists but also office workers, chefs and drivers.

"A fifth of our employees are young artists or authors who are graduates from art schools. Among our employees we also have craftsmen specializing in folk woodcarving, copper forging, taxidermists and craftsmen in other areas as well. They're all very talented," Zhang said.

"They come from all different areas of the country, different cultural backgrounds, and speak different dialects, as well as some who have returned to China after living abroad. The studio is like one big family," he added.