The exhibition title is ‘guan xi xue’. ‘As Yin and Yang, Men and Women, Big and Small, Nature and People, Society and Individual……….. everything in the universe is allowed to exist on the balance of ‘Relationships’, says the DM for invitation I received.

Gallery ef where his exhibition was being held is a place with a very special character. It is more like a cafe-gallery and you will be led to the exhibition-space created in the ‘storage’ at the depth of the cafe . The height of its entrance is around 120cm so you have to bend your body to enter it. The moment you are in there, however, you realize that you are in the wonderful space made of a black lacquered floor, plastered walls and wood beams shining in black surrounded by the works of Mr.Zhang. Rather than being exhibited, his works seemed to have melted into the space itself as its natural components.

What Mr.Zhang paid his specially careful attention to was not only the works’ concepts but the materials to make them up. For example, the paper used for them is hand-manufactured one in Anwhei Province of China, which is said to keep its quality for hundreds of years. The one shown in the photo is one of my most favorites among a number of works exhibited there. It’s a powerful ink-brush painting like a single stroke brush-drawing on a long narrow paper belt. Glancing at it, you may think it’s a calligraphy but taking a careful look at it, you will find various natural phenomena drawn there. Japanese paper-roll paintings are drawn horizontally but Mr.Zhang’s are drawn vertically. Mr. Zhang says ‘ Chinese characters were originally pictographic, therefore they can express such subtle areas of art where you cannot exactly tell whether it’s a calligraphic letter or a painting. This well represents the theme of the exhibition ‘guan xi xue’, I guess.

In addition to Mr. Zhang’s works, I was also impressed by the exhibition-gallery itself that looks like a cafe combined with a traditional Japanese storage space (gallery itself) located in Asakusa which people associate with the image of old Tokyo’s Shitamachi. Since the opening day of the exhibition, the active conversations among people exchanged in Chinese, Japanese and English have been heard in the cafe.

Of course such recent popular spots as Roppongi Hills, Marunouchi Building, etc. are exciting but having such spaces as this cafe-gallery in the ordinary downtowns all around Tokyo will encourage it to be a much more attractive city, I’m sure.


Translated by Yuji Tazaki