Juxtapoz features Xi Zhang at Modern West

We end the week on another A Portfolio for the artists in Summer Salon at Modern West Fine Art in Salt Lake City, this time focusing on China-born Xi Zhang.

'Summer Salon' Group Exhibition at Modern West
JUNE 28 - AUGUST 16, 2024


Summer Salon is an exhibition that highlights the evolution of Modern West and our artists. Through bright, vibrant, playful artworks and both traditional and innovative installations, the exhibition unfolds symbiotic relationships between the artists’ vastly different practices and techniques.

Summer Salon will feature artists Shonto Begay, Fidalis Buehler, Rebecca Campbell, Day Christensen, Michael Coles, Shalee Cooper, Angela Ellsworth, Phil Epp, Nathan Florence, Alexandra Fuller, Kiki Gaffney, Sheldon Harvey, Suzanne Hill, Dick Jemsion, Jim Jacobs, Dimitri Kozyrev, Jiyoun Lee-Lodge, Beatrice Mandelman, Mitch Mantle, V. Kim Martinez, Arlo Namingha, Louis Ribak, Bailey Rigby, Billy Schenck, Woody Shepherd, Ben Steele, Eugene Tapahe, Diane Tuft, Jerrin Wagstaff, Mike Whiting and Xi Zhang.

Modern West is pleased to host the opening artist reception on Friday, June 28 from 6-8 PM. All are invited and welcome to attend.

Xi Zhang: Double Reflection II
May 21 – September 1, 2024

For more information on Xi Zhang and his artwork please contact us at info@modernwestfineart.com.

Xi Zhang: Double Reflection
February 17 - April 6, 2024

MARC STRAUS is pleased to present Double Reflection, Xi Zhang’s second solo exhibition with the gallery.

In this series of recent paintings, Zhang considers his experiences as part of a generation that has witnessed the profound integration of the Internet into our daily lives. Fascinated by the phenomenon of the transition from mainly physical to mostly virtual, Zhang observes that nowadays we often interact with substitutes for physical objects and real people. Many elements in the Double Reflection series–such as backgrounds, shapes, decorations, and colors–are inspired by designs found in digital games and animations, serving as symbols for the object substitutes we interact with in our real lives. The protagonists of Zhang’s paintings represent real people, taking inspiration in style and subject from late 19th-century, early Impressionist, and realist paintings.

“I intend to emulate the landscape we live in as the atmosphere of my paintings. In essence, I aim to capture the realness of humanness in our combined virtual and physical surroundings.” – says Zhang of his Double Reflection series.

Informed by his inner dialogue with his younger self, Zhang’s images bridge the past and present and embrace imperfections, much like his coexistence with the self of his youth. The resulting works are expressively painted cathartic vistas that bring video game and animation designs into the traditional painterly world.

Zhang’s paintings have always manifested the psychological weight experienced in moments of turmoil and tribulations. In his oneiric narratives, melancholia is a familiar companion–overbearing landscapes and foreboding atmospheres suppress his lonely protagonists, obscuring the delineation of fantasy and reality.

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Please join us in the historic Mary Harris Auditorium Lobby at 6:00 p.m. MT for refreshments on August 31, while you enjoy the exhibitions on display in the Rotunda, Rude, and Philip J. Steele Galleries. The award ceremony will commence at 7:00 p.m. For those who cannot attend in person, the ceremony will be available on live-stream.

We honor this year’s recipients of the Radiance Award, Xi Zhang (2008) and Luke Flowers (2000), two alumni who radiate the core values of RMCAD!

Intersect Aspen 2023
01 Aug - 04 Aug 2023

MARC STRAUS is pleased to participate in Intersect Aspen, featuring work by Natasha Das, Anna Nero, Jeff Overlie, Antonio Santín, Clive Smith, and Xi Zhang.

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Juxtapoz

Friday, July 28, 2023
6:00 pm-9:00 pm MST

Utah Museum of
Contemporary Art
20 S. West Temple
Salt Lake City UT 84101

A Greater Utah is an ambitious survey of artists living and working in Utah today, curated by six leading curators, cultural programmers, and artists working in a myriad of diverse Utah counties and regions—from the rural to the desert to the capital city that destabilizes the singular voice of a set curatorial practice. It serves a state-wide audience, exploring the most pressing issues of Utah, and gives authorship and authority to the six curators to select work that best defines the topics and themes affecting their region.

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“The Modern West highlights artists whose practice embodies our mission of creating thoughtful dialogue and reframing our understanding of the West. Each of these artists, all currently residing or having lived in Utah, create works that speak to their identity and have influenced the next generation of creatives.

This exhibition features works by Fidalis Buehler, Rebecca Campbell, Angela Ellsworth, Moana Palelei Iose, Jiyoun Lee-Lodge, Mitch Mantle, V. Kim Martinez, Antra Sinha, Eugene Tapahe and Xi Zhang, and will be on display from July 21 through September 30, 2023.”

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"The Wand"
Xi Zhang's Solo Exhibition at Hua Yuan Murray Hill Art Museum
Opening: July 14th 2023

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Xi Zhang
EXIT: Childtown
April 6 – July 1, 2023
Marie Walsh Sharpe Gallery, Ent Center for the Arts
Read More Part One
Read More Part Two

Recent Press:
The Colorado Springs Gazette
Westword
UCCS Communique

India Art Fair 2023
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Xi Zhang Won Art Saves Humanity Grand Prize in Painting from See Me

Juried by: Jerry Saltz, Christine Kuan, Poppy Simpson, Brendan Ciecko, Marine Tanguy, and Ariel Adkins.
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Xi Zhang: Dream Dust Milkshake At Kimball Art Center

Xi Zhang’s recent paintings explore what it is to be human—to grow and evolve, to navigate relationships, and, often, to struggle. Placing his protagonists amid dream-like landscapes, reality becomes tangled with the complicated nature of how we perceive ourselves, others, and our surroundings. It is in these psychologically driven, often ambiguous narratives that Zhang compassionately depicts universal moments of struggle. Here, he aims to uplift the viewer—to inspire hope and let us know that we are not alone in moments of turmoil and tribulation.

MARC STRAUS is pleased to present our inaugural solo exhibition of new paintings by Utah-based Chinese artist Xi Zhang. The exhibition opens Friday, February 16 from 6pm – 8pm and then will be on view through April 1st, 2018.

Cultural identity and immigration are the most decisive issues of the day in international politics; frequently breeding conflict and misunderstanding. Zhang has tackled these subjects for almost a decade, having studied painting both in China and the US. His new paintings more poignantly than ever bring insight and balance to these heated subjects. His expressionistic canvases present elusive narratives: who are these characters? where are they? The oneiric environments are manifestations of their inner anxieties and dilemmas, places in-between dream and reality, where forbidding landscapes and atmospheres engulf the protagonists. They reflect the immediacy of the issues at hand, that the physical and psychological struggles are real, and pressing.

Visually, they are arresting-loud, vibrant colors amplify emotional depth. Conflating styles of the East and the West, Zhang’s work echoes water-colored landscapes of antique Chinese scrolls, but also the expressionistic gestures and exuberances of early 20th Century Germans and the Italian Transavantgarde of the 1980s.

In his painting The Castle a blind boy ambles across the surface of a luxuriously large bed. It is a place of affluence with well-appointed furniture and large architecturally impressive windows; and yet the foreground is overgrown with wild foliage. Entropy is quickly breaking down the productive bubble. The blind resident is oblivious to his precarious position, an apt metaphor for the modern moment, where wealth may provide an illusionary place to retreat from looking at the wider world. Christina’s World relocates Andrew Wyeth’s iconic character from the idyllic American heartland to a harsher shanty town. Piecemeal shacks are crumbling in the background, while Christina stumbles through a fallow landscape of dead trees and refuse. Toxic green ground and orange skies drive home the mental trauma of the setting. The exported American Dream is forced to be reconsidered with shocking contemporary realities.

Yet, Zhang is not a pessimist ─ his narratives remain open; there is beauty and hope within. For Zhang a brighter future is always possible but requires sincere acknowledgment and apprehension of current obstacles.

Born in 1984 in Kaifeng, China, Xi Zhang completed his studies in painting at The Beijing Institute of Art and Design. He moved to the United States and received a B.A. in painting at Colorado’s Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in 2008. That year the Denver Post recognized him as the “Emerging Artist of the Year”. He received an M.F.A t the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2011, and was named one of the “12 Best Colorado Artists Under 35” as well as one of seven “Pathfinders” in the arts in the Denver Post. His 2011 commission from CNN elicited millions of enthusiastic responses on the channel’s website. He was a finalist for the Celeste Prize in 2017.

Chessmen is selected as Celeste Prize 2017

Round 6 Juried Winners of the ArtSlant Prize

Xi Zhang is named as "Top Five Local Denver Artists" by Chanel CBS

"There are so many unique and wonderful visual artists in the Denver area. With tons of available gallery space all over the city, artists of all types are finding ways to display their work, make their own statements and inspire others to do the same. If you aren’t familiar with some of the brilliant work being done in the art community in Denver, here are five local artists that should be on your must-see list the next time an exhibition is announced. Here’s a look at these great artists and where you can go to see them in action...


"Xi Zhang was born in China and studied painting at the Beijing Institute of Art and Design. He then moved to Denver to study at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, where he graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in painting. His work combines the world of pop-icons with technology and other resources to create works of art that highlight American hybrid and Chinese culture under the impact of globalization and technology. You’ll find his paintings to be vastly detailed, with winks and nods to many pop culture and historic icons, all of which with a slight sense of whimsy behind them. Check out his work at Denver’s Plus Gallery where he is a regularly featured artist."

CBS

shortlist on Master of Fine art International UK

Xi Zhang is Under the Radar from Artslant

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Plus Gallery is very excited to announce that Xi Zhang has been selected as a finalist for the Italian Combat Prize 2016 in painting. This is the second major international painting prize that Xi has been selected for, what a nice recognition of his extraordinary talent. We'll be visiting with Xi this weekend again in NYC where he is in residence with Marc Straus

http://www.premiocombat.it

Xi Zhang begins prestigious artist residency with Marc Straus NYC


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Posted April 29, 2016 by Ivar Zeile

In one of the most exciting developments of 2016, Plus Gallery artist Xi Zhang has been invited by prominent contemporary art collector and gallerist Marc Straus, to spend three months in New York City as an artist in residence starting in May. Zhang’s residency will be in connection with Marc Straus’ gallery located in the Lower East Side area at 299 Grand Street, currently one of the most booming scene’s within New York’s ever shifting core. Straus supports a first-rate stable of international contemporary artists, and, along with his wife Livia, is the founder of the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in Peekskill, NY, which the residency also intersects. The residency is a major opportunity for Zhang to obtain exposure in New York, and comes at the invitation of prominent art patrons of tremendous depth and community standing, whose collection has been the focus of nine separate museum exhibitions. The opportunity comes at an exciting and appropriate time for Zhang in his blossoming career. Plus Gallery is honored to have Zhang participate in a prestigious program with roots to some of the most exciting contemporary art in the world today. More updates to follow here as well as our Facebook page.

Read more on Collectors Marc and Livia Straus here

The Straus residency invitation straddles other exciting news for Zhang this week. After three years of entering their competition, Zhang was officially selected as the Gold Winner in painting for Art Forward contest #5 “ Show and Sell.” The award is the top prize from a pool of 800 submissions, and comes with a full page notice for Zhang and the competition in this coming June’s edition of Blouin International Gallery Guide. The publication will be all over the streets of NYC during Zhang’s summer residency as well as the world at large throughout galleries, museums and institutions. Zhang’s submission for the award was “Paper Boat,” one of his recent paintings from his ongoing Metallic Leaf Garden series, which has garnered him other prestigious placements and exhibitions including the current John Moores painting prize exhibition in China as well as the upcoming New American Paintings group exhibition at the Elmhurst Art Museum in Illinois, set to kick off in late May.

Plus Gallery encourages everyone to support Zhang’s residency opportunity and burgeoning career by considering an acquisition of his work. There has never been any doubt that Zhang is one of the most exciting artists to ever have emerged from Denver’s contemporary community, and will continue to be one to watch and collect in the future.

A reference to Zhang’s most recent paintings can be viewed in Plus Gallery’s most recent publication on Zhang at blurb.com as well as the plusgallery.com website.

Xi Zhang just won the Gold Award (painting) from Art Forward Contests

http://www.artforwardcontests.com/gold-award-winner-painting/

RARE at SCOPE New York



March 3 - 6, 2016

BOOTH #D9

RARE Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in SCOPE New York, March 3 - 6. This year the art fair returns to 639 West 46th Street (off 12th Avenue) across from the Armory Show. RARE will occupy Booth #D9 on the second floor.


To celebrate our 16th consecutive year of participation in SCOPE, we will be exhibiting Surrealist/Pop clock works by ClockWork Cros, exquisitely precise abstract paintings on paper by Colin Prahl, Symbolist-inspired mixed media collages by Patrick Seeley, and intimate, otherworldly figurative paintings by Xi Zhang.

Please visit us at Booth #D9 to check out new works by these artists and to meet the RARE team. Feel free to contact Owner Peter Surace if you have any questions about the fair or any of our artists.


646.339.6050
raregallery@earthlink.net
www.rare-gallery.com

XI ZHANG FEATURED IN LATEST EDITION OF NEW AMERICAN PAINTINGS

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Xi is awarded for the ArtSlant 4th 2015 Showcase Winner

Xi Zhang's first Milwaukee solo exhibition, Metallic Leaf Garden, will be at GreyMatter Gallery.
Metallic Leaf Garden - New Work by Xi Zhang
Artist reception
July 24th 5:00 - 9:00pm
Exhibition runs through August 29th.

Read Preview Press From Mary Louise Schumacher/ Art City

Xi is featured on Platform issue #78, a French online Magazine

ArtSlant Features Xi Zhang

Xi Zhang is nominated for The Catherine Doctorow Prize in Contemporary painting

Visual art: Denver artist and rising star Xi Zhang at Saturday's high-profile solo exhibit BY THE DENVER POST
Xi Zhang's paintings are on exhibit at the McNichols Building through July. (|)

Through July 29. If you are among the throngs this weekend who will descend on the McNichols Building — headquarters for the Doors Open Denver architecture extravaganza — be sure to pop up to the third floor to see the artwork of Xi Zhang. The Denver painter is a rising star, and this high-profile solo exhibit might just be his unofficial breakthrough. The show, "21st Century DNA," mixes themes both human and political; the work is engaging and pointed and not what you would expect to see in a government-owned gallery. The artist will be in residence all day Saturday and giving a live demonstration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. McNichols, located at 144 W. Colfax Ave. at the north end of Civic Center, is open to the public 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Free. artsandvenuesdenver.com.

Ray Mark Rinald

XI ZHANG SELECTED TO REPRESENT DENVER AND PLATFORM 5280 IN BUENOS AIRES THIS NOVEMBER FOR INTERNATIONAL ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Xi Zhang's page on URRA

Plus Gallery is thrilled to announce that Xi Zhang has been selected by the committee for Platform 5280, Denver's Biennial of the Americas, to be the official Denver participant and representative URRA, an Argentine artist residency program that encourages artistic production, favours dialogues, and promotes international networking. URRA will hold the third edition of its Artist Residency Program in Buenos Aires November 1-30, 2012, bringing together a group of 15 international visual artists for a month-long program where they will work closely with their peers, interact with the community, develop projects, and present their works.

We are so proud to have Xi selected, his selection reflects not only on the high-level of engagement and success he's had within the Denver art community to date, but also sheds positive light on Plus Gallery as a vehicle for helping to build meaningful careers for Denver-based artists. According to the selection committee, "This project is an important step in achieving Platform 5280's goal to help Denver artists reach both local and global audiences."
Platform 5280 will host a public Contemporary Arts Platform Presentation at 6:00 pm on September 28, 2012 at MCA Denver. Their contemporary arts team, international guest curators, and Biennial leader Abaseh Mirvali will present an in-depth look at the projects in the 2013 Biennial that will be activating Denver's public spaces. Certainly an event that we encourage everyone in the community to get behind.

2012-5-31
Xi Zhang Features on Untitled Art Show
Xi Zhang Features on Art Ltd Magazine

Art With Future, an article about Xi Zhang from Westword

Channel 7 News Features Xi Zhang
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Xi Zhang's New Catalog, Dream Dust is currently Published by Plus Gallery

Xi Zhang's new painting, "The Roots" are featuring on CNN

"LOGAN LECTURE" at Denver Art Museum
Xi Zhang was invited to give a "LOGAN LECTURE" at Denver Art Museum on October 26.

"AWAKING DREAMS"
PRESS FOR AWAKING DREAMS EXHIBITION 2011:
Denver Post
Westword
5280 magazine

Xi Zhang is listed as The 12 best Colorado artists under 35
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Post on May 2011

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Post on Jan 03 2011

Faces of Colorado Art Billboard

Xi Zhang's Painting in the Billboard

Post on Jan 03 2011

Xi Zhang's New Solo Show at Plus Gallery
Happening right now!
December 3rd to Jan 15 2010

Review from 5280 magazine

Xi Zhang interview with Westword 2010 Dec

Xi Zhang is featured in "Faces of Colorado Art"
"Faces of Colorado Art"

Xi Zhang's untiltled Painting is Featured in current Yi Shu International art Magazine
Page 63

SHOWS PROMISE
SHOWS PROMISE: University of Colorado at Boulder
July – November 2010
Jeppessen Terminal, Level 6, East Side

Currently featured in the Shows Promise gallery is the work of Master of Fine Arts candidate Xi Zhang. After studying painting at the Beijing Institute of Art and Design, he moved to the United States in 2004. In 2008, he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. That same year, Kyle MacMillan of the Denver Post honored Zhang with Emerging Artist of the Year saying, “This young Chinese artist already possesses an integrated, well-developed and surprisingly mature artistic vision, which plays itself out with impressive creativity.”




Zhang's work explores topics of identity, globalization, and pop culture. Concerned with the collective human experience, he comments on the phenomenon of instantaneous worldwide communication. Employing both abstraction and representation, while layering colors, textures, and figures, Zhang creates a full experience for the viewer. Borrowing imagery from Google, Zhang also appropriates color from video games, computer-generated imagery, and advertisements – elements he calls “21st century DNA.”

Xi Zhang Exibition at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design
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