Jinxi Zhang Xing Art Gallery

Jinxi Zhang Xing Art Gallery

The Zhang Xing Art Gallery is located on Shangtang Old Street in Jinxi Town. It was donated to the People's Government of Jinxi Town by Zhang Xing in 2002. Across from the gallery stands Pujing Bridge, built in the fifth year of the Hongwu era, and the five large Chinese characters “Zhang Xing Art Gallery” were inscribed by the renowned Chinese art master Mr. Qi Dong. The gallery showcases nearly thirty years’ worth of artworks from various periods by the celebrated young Chinese painter Mr. Zhang Xing, as well as a collection of pieces owned by Zhang Xing, including works by Liu Haisu, Qian Juntao, Wu Zuoren, Cheng Shifa, and others—totaling 109 pieces.

Mr. Zhang Xing was the last direct disciple of the late master Liu Haisu. He currently serves as the Head and Professor of the Fine Arts Department at Songtian College, Guangzhou University, President of the Liu Haisu Art Research Association, Academician of the China Celebrity Calligraphy and Painting Academy, and Invited Artist of the China Calligraphy and Painting Research Association. He has authored works such as Zhang Xing’s Painting Collection, Selected Sketches by Zhang Xing, Zhang Xing’s Chinese Painting Collection, and Zhang Xing’s Ink Painting Collection. His works Fisherman’s Boat at Dawn and Spring Comes with River Water Green as Blue were collected by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. In 1994, he created the ink painting scroll Picture of Jiangnan in Misty Rain, which is 73 meters long and 0.77 meters wide, and it was selected as the longest ink painting in the Guinness World Records.

Zhang Xing was born in 1955 in the ancient water town of Jinxi. The picturesque scenery and profound cultural ambiance of this poetic town nurtured his deep love and unwavering passion for painting and calligraphy from an early age, laying a solid foundation for his future artistic achievements. In his early years, Zhang Xing studied under Zhang Jixin, and later under Ji Dayu, mastering the true essence of meticulous brushwork, flower-and-bird painting, and figure painting from both masters. His artworks feature vigorous and bold landscapes, as well as rich yet elegant ink paintings that are graceful and free-spirited. Especially notable are his grapes—each one depicted as crystal clear, vivid, and expressive, earning him the title of China’s “Zhang Grapes” in the contemporary art scene.

In the late 1980s, after studying under Liu Haisu, Zhang Xing received meticulous guidance from this “contemporary art master.” In the summer of 1993, when Shanghai Film Studio and Pearl River Film Studio were preparing to shoot the film Cang Hai Yi Su (A Grain of Sand in the Sea), depicting the life of Master Liu Haisu, Liu himself personally chose Zhang Xing to serve as his painting double for the scenes requiring brushwork. Madam Xia Yiqiao, Liu Haisu’s wife, praised Zhang Xing as the “master’s successor of a generation,” while Qian Juntao spoke highly of his works, awarding them the lofty praise of “masterful charm.”