{"id":3731,"date":"2015-06-09T13:42:52","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T13:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.galerieloft.com\/artist\/zhang-dali-2\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T16:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T16:37:29","slug":"zhang-dali","status":"publish","type":"artist","link":"https:\/\/preprod.galerieloft.com\/en\/artists\/zhang-dali\/","title":{"rendered":"Zhang Dali"},"content":{"rendered":"

Born in 1963 in Harbin, Zhang Dali<\/strong>, also known by the pseudonyms of 18k and AK-47, is a Chinese artist who enjoys experimenting with the most diverse techniques and mediums, moving from graffiti to photography, from sculpture to painting. His art highlights the rapid social changes that have swept through China over the past twenty years.<\/p>\n

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After studying traditional Chinese bookbinding at the Central Academy of Art and Design in Beijing, Zhang Dali went to Italy, where he discovered the art of graffiti. He then began to paint on the demolished walls of Beijing in the early 1990s. Between 1995 and 1998, he painted his profile on nearly two thousand buildings in the city, near the Chinese character “chai” affixed by the city administration on buildings slated for rapid demolition.<\/p>\n

In early 2000, he tackled a series of portraits of migrant workers. By producing this important series of paintings bearing the inscription “AK-47” (in reference to the famous Russian Kalashnikov), he wants to pay tribute to the millions of people who came from all over the country to rebuild the great Chinese metropolises. These migrant workers, who are called “Mingong”, constitute a special group that was created during China’s post-reform era. Through this series, Zhang Dali evokes several themes related to the current situation in China. The first theme he addresses is that of violence, physical but also moral, suffered by Chinese workers: \u201cIn China, violence exists somewhere between habit and indifference. Migrant workers live in extreme conditions and many are victims of the accelerated growth of the country’s economy. Although they contribute significantly to this economy, they are also its victims because they have no rights or protections in the context of their employment. But they are also themselves the source of this violence, once they obtain a better position, by perpetuating the vicious circle that consists of subjugating the weakest. In this sense, the executioners and the victims are one in a world where morality and balance are absent. \u00bb<\/p>\n

The reference to the AK-47, one of the most powerful and lethal weapons in the world, also symbolizes this violence by evoking the brutality of society. It allows Zhang Dali to reflect in his works reflect his opinions on the unequal treatment of Chinese citizens and to raise the question of the possible reintegration of these members of society into an economy that places them in withdrawal.<\/p>\n

Zhang Dali also addresses the theme of poverty through these portraits, in reference to his own life experiences (he himself experienced the poverty of an artist without resources), but from a double perspective. He considers that these experiences also have a positive aspect because they lead us to rethink the situation of these workers in terms of self-esteem and autonomy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Born in 1963 in Harbin, Zhang Dali, also known by the pseudonyms of 18k and AK-47, is a Chinese artist who enjoys experimenting with the most diverse techniques and mediums, moving from graffiti to photography, from sculpture to painting. His art highlights the rapid social changes that have swept through China over the past twenty … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3553,"template":"","artist_cat":[24],"class_list":["post-3731","artist","type-artist","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","artist_cat-painter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preprod.galerieloft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist\/3731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preprod.galerieloft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preprod.galerieloft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/artist"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preprod.galerieloft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preprod.galerieloft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preprod.galerieloft.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist_cat?post=3731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}