Wanxin Zhang

Wanxin Zhang (born 1961) is a Chinese sculpturer who is based out of San Francisco.[1] Zhang's work is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum Collections.[2]

Wanxin Zhang
Born	1961  (age 62) Changchun
Occupation	Sculptor
Website	https://www.wanxinzhang.com/

Zhang was born in Changchun, China in 1961.[1][2][3] Zhang attended Lu Xun Academy of Fine Art and was a part of the first generation to get a formal art education after the cultural revolution.[2] Zhang's work is inspired by Chinese culture, such as Chinese opera, and his experience living in the United States.[2] Zhang left China in 1992 and moved to California, where he started working at the Artworks Foundry in Berkeley.[4][5] The Artworks Foundry's founder Peter Voulkos and artist Robert Arneson have also been cited as influences.[5] Zhang works as an instructor at the San Francisco Art Institute.[6][7]

In 2008, Zhang's piece "Pit #5" was on display in the Art Beatus Gallery in Hong Kong.[8][9] In 2011, the Bellevue Arts Museum held the first in-depth survey of Zhang's work with the exhibit titled "Wanxin Zhang: A Ten Year Survey."[10][5][11] Zhang's piece "Panda Warrior" was on display at Hong Kong's Jingyixuan Gallery in 2012.[12] In 2014, Zhang participated in a panel called "RISE UP! Art As Action: A Panel Discussion" with artists Chester Arnold and Michele Pred.[13] Zhang, Arnold, and Pred were chosen for the panel since their work was featured in San Francisco Arts Education Project’s exhibition "Rise Up! Art As Action."[13][14]

From December 2017 to January 2018, Zhang's “Wanxin Zhang: Fahrenheit" exhibit was on display at the Catharine Clark Gallery.[15] In 2018, Zhang's exhibit "40x40" was on display at the Sonoma State University Art Gallery.[16] In 2019, Zhang had a solo exhibit at the San Francisco’s Museum of Craft and Design titled “Wanxin Zhang: The Long Journey” that ran from April to July.[17][7] He also had a joint exhibit with ceramicist Richard Shaw at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art titled “Richard Shaw and Wanxin Zhang.”[3]

In 2021, Zhang’s piece "Warrior with Color Face" became part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection for the exhibit "This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World".[2][18][19] The piece was a gift in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery.[2] It was also inspired by Zhang's study of the Terracotta Army in Xi'an.[2] In 2022, Zhang's solo exhibit "Wanxin Zhang: Witness" was on display at the Catharine Clark Gallery.[20][21][22] His artwork was also on display at the 2022 Seattle Art Fair.[23] Zhang's ceramic sculpture "Color Face" will be featured in an outdoor group sculpture exhibition called "Claiming Space: Refiguring the Body in Landscape" in 2023.[24][25] The exhibit also features artists such as Alison Saar, Pilar Agüero-Esparza, and Hank Willis Thomas.[24]

Some of Zhang's work is also in the Holter Museum of Art's permanent collection.[26]