ZHANG Minghai

Zhang Minghai, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Oil Painting, Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts (XAFA).

Zhang’s practice centers on individual existence and the passage of time within the context of the contemporary metropolis. Turning his gaze toward the fleeting scenes of everyday life, he abstracts and symbolically distills the image of the “crowd,” exploring the interwoven and coexistent relationship between the individual as a microcosm and the broader tempo of the age.

In terms of technique, Zhang seeks to push beyond the conventional boundaries of oil painting by deeply engaging with the physical properties of the medium itself. Through the natural flow of color and the emergence of chance textures, he constructs a visual logic imbued with a sense of breathing and rhythm. By combining the spontaneous seepage of pigment with deliberate intervention, he captures on canvas those vivid moments that hover between stillness and motion. This state of pictorial uncertainty is not only a visual registration of temporal flux, but also a sensuous expression of the contingency and vitality of life.