In a restless and exaggerated world, one should adjust his mood before reading Zhang Xiangxi’s arts. Instead of inventing schematic symbols to cater to the market, Zhang works like a slow handicraftsman in the past. We have almost forgotten the craftsmanship but could only recall fragmented memories of cutting papers and sewing fabrics in the primary school. Patience and delicateness are moralities of craftsmanship which continue to benefit us even when we have grown up. Typically in Zhang’s case, craftsmanship greatly enriches the contents of his works. Zhang’s art is about dedication and craftsmanship, or in old Chinese words: Tao is there.

A refined taste is detected in his installations of micro scenes and faked traditional ink art classics. In both series, the quality originates from the hard-work, and the taste connects to the ideas. Zhang sophisticatedly replaces, borrows, assembles and mismatches the images, ending up with amazing subtleness and gracefulness. While the unavoidable implantation of an inner contradiction also appeals to the history and psychology, which could only be experienced at the bottom of our hearts unspeakably. I appreciated this young man and his arts, as he is so different from his peer-groups who are disciples of consumerism.——Wang Lin