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Lot Essay
Zhang Huan's Donkey is a dynamic kinetic sculpture of a taxidermy donkey literally and provocatively mounting a tilting skyscraper. Created in 2005, Donkey captures the zeitgeist of modern China in the throes of unprecedented socio-political changes. Directly addressing Shanghai's swift urban expansion, Zhang focuses his attention on the iconic Jin Mao Tower, which until recently was the tallest building in China soaring over the newly developed Pudong area of Shanghai. The tower becomes the focus of Zhang's provocative desecration and the vehicle for the artist's own rebellious inheritance, channeling the lingering resentment of political oppression from Mao's Cultural Revolution.
Satirising the soaring towerin Donkey, Zhang intentionally condenses the skyscraper, reducing it to a delicate lattice of steel, perilously keeled at 45 degrees; disrupting the symbolic power the monumental structure held within the booming metropolitan. Further disrupting this scene, Zhang positions the donkey as a powerful body dominating the tower. As the kinetic sculpture flamboyantly gyrates, the donkey penetrates the tumbledown tower in a further subversion of power, calling to question the established hierarchy in modern China.
Widely recognised internationally, Zhang Huan first emerged in Beijing's East Village performance scene in the early mid-1990s before branching out to New York where the artist worked for several years, rapidly gaining him recognition in the Western contemporary art scene. Returning to his native China in 2005, Zhang focused his practice on the formal challenges posed by the global traditions of painting and sculpture. His performances, sculptures, drawings and photo-based works have earned him a reputation as one of the leading Chinese artists working in contemporary art today. Across these different media, Zhang examines and questions humanity and spirituality to critically address China's changing environment and culture, earning many prominent public commissions home and abroad.
Satirising the soaring towerin Donkey, Zhang intentionally condenses the skyscraper, reducing it to a delicate lattice of steel, perilously keeled at 45 degrees; disrupting the symbolic power the monumental structure held within the booming metropolitan. Further disrupting this scene, Zhang positions the donkey as a powerful body dominating the tower. As the kinetic sculpture flamboyantly gyrates, the donkey penetrates the tumbledown tower in a further subversion of power, calling to question the established hierarchy in modern China.
Widely recognised internationally, Zhang Huan first emerged in Beijing's East Village performance scene in the early mid-1990s before branching out to New York where the artist worked for several years, rapidly gaining him recognition in the Western contemporary art scene. Returning to his native China in 2005, Zhang focused his practice on the formal challenges posed by the global traditions of painting and sculpture. His performances, sculptures, drawings and photo-based works have earned him a reputation as one of the leading Chinese artists working in contemporary art today. Across these different media, Zhang examines and questions humanity and spirituality to critically address China's changing environment and culture, earning many prominent public commissions home and abroad.