Today we’d like to introduce you to Lite Zhang.
Hi Lite, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Space and audience interaction are important to me, more important than mere visual effects. I love converting existing objects and topics into my own unique vision. Through my research and contemplation of reflecting on objects, I strive to provide my audience with a completely sensory experience. I engage different senses with the addition of auditory, tactile, and immersive components in my installations to more fully engage with my audiences. I transform the driftwood into a living form the grass into an art label, and thereby invite the audience into a part of the artwork. Intervening in the stage of perception is the most direct way for me to create a dialogue with my audience, to regenerate a surreal fantasy by changing or replacing the original perception and thinking. Cognition refers to the process of understanding the world through perception, thinking, memory, and logical reasoning. I believe that human cognitive ability begins with perception, which leads to the acquisition of knowledge and insights.
I have also redefined many traditional Chinese folk arts and presented them in a contemporary 3D language. I am passionate about exploring the infinite possibilities of common materials, even trash, to express my thoughts and observations of different social phenomena in different forms and properties.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It is quite difficult for me in general. Most challenging is language. One is the language of self-expression, and the other is the acceptance of different artistic languages in different cultural backgrounds. As an international student/artist, different cultural backgrounds and languages bring about different ways of thinking. How to properly present one’s inner thoughts to the audience is undoubtedly the most difficult point for an artist to figure out. I may still be finding this balance to this day.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I was born into an artistic family, and both my parents have unique views on art. Creativity and imagination have always been the driving force behind art creation for me. Constantly trying new things and stepping out of one’s comfort zone, I think it’s the easiest quality to shine in this era. My undergraduate study was at the Maryland Institute College of Art. The beginning of the undergraduate course is the real contact with systematic art education for me. My first major was Painting but during this time, I have been trying to take classes in different majors. From Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking to Sculpture, Ceramics, and Fabric. Gradually I discovered my preference for three-dimensional art. So during my undergraduate period, I switched from majoring in Painting to General Fine Art and finally graduated from the Department of Sculpture and the Department of GFA.
Now I am still studying at the Maryland Institute College of Art as a graduate student of the Rinehart School of Sculpture. The current art research is more inclined to public art and installation art.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I have loved drawing since I was a child. When I was a child, I was bored in class, so I drew pictures in the textbooks and drew my own inner world. As I get older, the ideas and dimensions of the work grow. When making work in the undergraduate period, we must consider its physical size. But now, the size of my creations is no longer a constraint. As a public artist and installation artist, everything can be art, and everything can be an artist’s canvas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.litezhang.com
- Instagram: RitterZhang
