Crossing Art Gallery presents The Light of Ink, a solo exhibition by contemporary Chinese artist Zhang ZHAOHUI (ACC 1996, 1997, 1998).

The Light of Ink exhibition reinterprets the fundamental visual language of ink art while investigating the dynamic integration of contemporary artistic concepts with traditional Chinese media. The Light of Ink exhibition presents Zhaohui’s three-decades long career oeuvre encompassing his evolutionof artistic practices, observations, and personal reflections.

The exhibition also features a multimedia video piece of artist Zhang Zhaohui from 2009 called, “Mirror Man”,which shows a symbolic performance of the artist dressed in a stainless steel mirror suit as he walks throughthe famous Times Square region of NYC. In his mirror suit, Zhaohui traverses the neon lit urban landscape ofNew York City, appearing almost robotic or otherworldly. His mirrored body surface captured and distorted theinterplay of lights and shadows from the surrounding urban environment, transforming the cityscape into animmersive optical experience. His daring performative exploration prompted Zhaohui to reflect on his artisticpractice in why light remained absent in the millennia-old tradition of Chinese ink painting. He pondered onwhether light, as a core element, can redefine the visual language of ink art and situate it within the frameworkof contemporary artistic discourse.