Zhang Enli

(B. 1965)

Wooden Shelf
2012

Footnotes

Provenance
ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2013



Crossing the boundaries between figurative and abstract, the real and the imaginary, and the singular and the ordinary, Wooden Shelf is a sterling example of Zhang Enli's works on canvas. Born in 1965 in Jilin Province, China, Zhang Enli was instinctively drawn to working with familiar and everyday objects striving to capture their essential and organic qualities. The expressive lines we see in this present work are influenced by traditional Chinese brush techniques and underpinned by the structure of pencil-drawn grids. Here, immersed in the inherent space of the canvas, the wooden shelf almost appears to dissolve into the thin layers of paint. Zhang Enli wants his viewer to recall and reflect upon the raw essence of painting, exemplified with his use of colour and line as a means to help the viewer explore the trivial matters of this world. The result is simple yet sublime, evoking a harmonious and ethereal quality that is central to his oeuvre.

Zhang's works have been recognised internationally; he first exhibited at Art Basel in 2006, followed by a solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth in 2007 and at Kunsthalle Bern in 2008. Today, Zhang's works can be viewed in institutional collections including the Tate Modern, London and Centre Pompidou, Paris among others.