In Conversation With Rachel Zhang

Daring and powerful: two words to describe Rachel Zhang’s art. Her colorful Cityscapes spoke for themselves last Wednesday at Saatchi Yates, each telling a story that captivated the visitors; by assembling historical events, memories, and encounters, she creates narratives that plunge the viewers into a collection of time and places, offering an alternative narrative to our society.  From attending college in New York City to opening her first solo exhibition in London, Rachel Zhang has come a long way both geographically and artistically.  Seated comfortably in the back room of the Saatchi Gallery, she kindly opened up about her artistic process and development. 

Do you think that your upbringing has impacted your artistic career or artistic development?

Yes, I think so, although maybe not directly. I think that having a background as a second-generation immigrant and hearing my parent’s stories has allowed me to subconsciously see American society through a particular lens. Also going to art school and learning how to use language to put that point of view into words; learning how images and words can create a certain distance or closeness between the viewers and the images. 

Are there any artworks in particular that you wish to highlight with this exhibition?

Yes, there are a couple of paintings in the show that I would say propel the other pieces. One of them is called ‘Bar with steeping vacancies and some pushing’. With that painting I started working with color differently; how it reflects on images and how it influences how images are read. I also started working with mind mapping within the painting itself and thinking of my paintings as a journey that the viewer can look through. 

You mainly create paintings and video animations. What in these mediums attracts you? 

Painting has a long history that I love being a part of;  the dialogue with the history of figurative painting in particular, it’s exciting to me. And in narrative painting as well; seeing how I can tap into the histories of narrative painting, history painting, and genre painting with my work. Video animation is something that I do on the side; I’m drawn to it because of the narrative possibilities through time but through a more linear lens and how I can abstract that time and create scenes that circulate and almost backland themselves.  

The composition of your paintings is very ‘busy’; is there a particular reason why you chose to visually communicate in that way? 

For me, it's almost like a feeling of collecting things inside the painting. I feel more comfortable when the painting feels full; it kind of reflects on my reality or how I see the world. I want my paintings to feel true to that and I think I just enjoy having every painting feel full and round. 

Can you develop some of these elements? Are they memories, dreams, or maybe people that you know? 

It's a mix of that. Every painting is a cluster of moments and references such as personal memories, moments in history, or even observations from the streets. I’ll put in one painting all these elements that I feel are connected; sometimes in a way that makes sense and sometimes they kind of jot at one another in a way that is mysterious to me and piques my interest.

In a lot of your work like in ‘hot places hot spaces,’ there's a strong presence of the body, specifically the female nude body. Can you develop that recurring element? 

I think I'm drawn to the body because it's about visibility; it's being visible to the audience and it's very vulnerable in a way.  It also connects to art historical depictions of the female nude. I want to tap into that in connection. It’s the representation of the transformations of the female body and how it almost objectifies them, but then sometimes it also gives them power. 

A lot of your works are comments on social issues and human relations. Is there one issue in particular that is very important to you ? 

I would say in general how there are inequalities between people; the disparities between people in the way that they live their lives, and how differently they are treated because of their identities. 

So, after your soul exhibition and the Saatchi Yates gallery, what does the future look like for you? Are there any particular spaces you would like to exhibit next? 

I would like to exhibit in unconventional spaces. I would like to display my work in a church or outdoors. I think there are a lot of ideas that I would like to pursue in the future but for now, I just focus on creating and we’ll see where that takes me. 

For more information on the exhibition, click HERE