Kate Zhang

The artworks relate to purity, subtlety and carry a strong meditative quality. Mapping the trace on a scrunched canvas is the main notion of my current practice. By growing up in a Zen Buddhist family, the artworks are influenced by my interest in East Asian philosophy.

The works express the idea of emptiness and reality in Zen. Emptiness could be explained as the world in a unity or syncretism with no beginning or end. It is like the carefully hand-drawn pencil line in the works, no trace of any starting point or end point. The lines are interconnected to each other, and also to each fold and the fold cannot exist without canvas, these in all express a state of emptiness and dependent origination.

The patterns on the work are from the texture of crumpled canvas. By revealing the overlooked beauty of crumpled material in this way, it addresses the intricacy and magnificence of nature. The use of positive and negative space creates a dimension inside the artworks that invite the viewers to take time to concentrate on the details of the texture and those subtle nuances on the surface. The monochrome colour paintings create a visual experience of slowing the pace to see and comprehend the work.

Agnes Martin and John Cage are my main reference artists. They are influenced by Zen philosophy and try to depict the notion of emptiness through art. Especially John Cage, I am inspired by the way he saw everything is in an equal state. In his music, each sound or pitch carries the same weight with the others. He considered each and everything in all of time and space is related to each and every other thing in all of time and space.

East Asian Philosophy is never easy to be fully expressed, but it can use art to let more people to experience and feel. The works express the notion of emptiness to an artistic and visual form, and demonstrate the dynamic of emptiness. It is not only that my works absorb the ancient eastern concept, but also, the works offer a diverse way to understand this ancient philosophy.