Zhang Yu (b. 1959) Fingerprints 2011.9-2 finger print with water on paper executed in 2011 68 x 68 cm. (26 3/4 x 26 3/4 in.) FURTHER DESCRIPTION Zhang Yu is not only a prominent Chinese contemporary artist, but he also plays a key role in establishing and promoting Chinese contemporary art theory. His creation and analysis are closely associated with the exploration of Chinese contemporary art and Chinese paintings. It can also be said that his personal creative history is a reflection of the development of Chinese contemporary art.
In 1991, Zhang Yu began trying a form of behavioural expression as a means of breaking through traditional literati paintings; he dipped his fingers directly into ink and onto the paper, creating what could be described as the predecessor of the Fingerprints series. In 2000, Zhang Yu returned to the creation of “fingerprints”, this time free of all the abstraction in the past; he pressed his fingers repeatedly onto the rice paper to create a form of “behavioural record”, making his artistic expression a form of behavioural art and a form of graphic art at the same time. Subsequently, he developed image and space installations, stepped out of the framework of traditional media and completely rebuilt his very own contemporary language system. Moreover, he removed his artistry from simply “Chinese painting” and elevated it to the realm of international contemporary art.
2011.9-2 is the iconic piece in Zhang Yu’s Fingerprints series and the result of the continued refinement of the series. Take a close look at the layers of imprints and the lighting effects: it is as if the shifting of time was visible, and the footsteps of the years slipping away audibly.