The show confronts viewers with intense works that explore endurance, memory and collective experience.
A Provocative Return to New York
Pace Gallery presents Ash Paintings and Performances at 125 Newbury, spotlighting Chinese contemporary artist Zhang Huan. Known for his extreme and boundary pushing work, the exhibition brings together documentation of past performances alongside paintings, sculptures and photographs.
The show offers a rare look at previously unseen material from the 1990s and early 2000s, placing Huan’s most challenging works back into public view.
Performance as Endurance and Expression
Zhang Huan built his reputation through physically demanding performances that test the limits of the human body. His work often explores themes of resilience, labor and impermanence through acts that can be both unsettling and deeply symbolic.
One of his most well known pieces, 12 Square Meters, involved sitting motionless in an enclosed space while covered in honey, allowing flies to gather on his body. Other works shift toward collective action, such as performances where groups of people physically alter landscapes, emphasizing shared effort and temporary transformation.
Material, Memory and Transformation
Beyond performance, the exhibition highlights Huan’s ash paintings, created using incense ash collected from Buddhist temples. These works carry a sense of history and ritual, transforming discarded material into layered, meditative compositions.
Photographs and sculptures further expand the narrative, capturing moments of endurance while reflecting on memory and identity. Together, the works demonstrate how Huan turns physical limits into a broader exploration of human experience, creating art that is both confrontational and deeply reflective.
