Zhang Fangbai, born in 1965 in Hengyang, Hunan Province, graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1991. He is currently the director of the Chinese Expressive Arts Research Center and a professor at the School of Fine Arts of East China Normal University, and lives and works in Shanghai and Beijing.
Zhang's works are mostly in black and white. Through the collision of two different media, oil paint and Chinese ink, he tries to convey a sense of mystery with an oriental touch and religious meaning. Believing in the motto of "harmony in diversity," he began his artistic creation by distancing himself from popular trends, walking on the fringes, and insisting on his own unique language. Zhang's alternative approach constitutes the essence of his artistic creation, making his works different from most of the works that concern social issues, more focused on the inner spiritual experience of the individual, emphasizing on the exploration of historical consciousness and the expansion of the ideological space.
Zhang Fangbai has exhibited at important venues such as the M.L. Art Museum, Asia Art Center, Hua International in Germany, MKM Kupersmüller Museum of Contemporary Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ludwig Museum Koblenz, and National Art Museum of China. He has been awarded the "International Outstanding Artist Award" by the Austrian Ministry of Culture. His works have been collected by National Art Museum of China, National Museum of China, CAFA Art Museum, Ludwig Museum Koblenz, China Art Palace in Shanghai, and Guangdong Museum of Art among the other venues.