Zhang Peili: Weaving the Web

Meet the Chinese video art pioneer Zhang Peili, who created 30 x 30 (1988), widely considered the first video art piece in China. As a founding member of Pond Society in the 1980s, he was a prominent figure in the avant-garde art movement in China. He also led the establishment and development of the new media art department in China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, the first of its kind in the country. With a career spanning four decades, Zhang has built extensive networks with artists from different generations and has been instrumental in shaping the landscape of new media art in China.

In conjunction with the Asian Avant-Garde Film Festival, his video art installation Broadcast at the Same Time (1999.12.31 night) (2000) will be on display in the Main Hall, accompanied by tours led by the curators during the festival.

Moreover, Zhang curated a selection of moving image artworks by his students, including Li Ming, Lu Yang, Peng Yun, Wu Junyong, and Yi Lian. These works represent a diverse range of experimental practices in moving image and new media art since the inception of avant-garde movements in China. The single-channel films encompass performative videos, avant-garde image experimentation, ink animation, and computer-generated graphics.

The screening will be followed by a conversation between Zhang Peili and his former student and celebrated new media artist Lu Yang, moderated by Kate Gu, Associate Curator, Digital Special Projects. The conversation will focus on the connections between their artistic practices, and how Zhang’s teaching philosophy has influenced the creative approaches of future generations.