Zhang Huan, June 15, 1964, ash on linen, 9’ 5/16 x 122 ‘ 11/16”, 2013.
Zhang Huan at Pace Gallery
At 122 feet long, Shanghai-based artist Zhang Huan’s epic painting of Mao surrounded by hundreds of government members and followers forcefully demonstrates the Chinese leader’s power just a short while before the Cultural Revolution began. Created in ash gathered from Buddhist temples, a material Zhang identifies with ‘collective longings, wishes of the people,’ the piece demonstrates the continued sway of history on contemporary life and politics. (At Chelsea’ Pace Gallery through Dec 12th).