This surreal artwork depicts a pair of exaggerated high-heeled shoes on a stark, minimalist background. The colors used are vibrant shades of pink, purple, and teal, creating a dreamlike, fantastical atmosphere. The shoes themselves are distinctly stylized, with elongated, curved forms and intricate patterns that suggest a playful, imaginative approach to the subject matter.
The subject matter seems to be a commentary on the ornate, impractical nature of high-fashion footwear, subverting the traditional symbolism of power and status associated with such objects. The artist's distinctive style, combining bold colors and abstracted, surreal forms, reflects a contemporary, conceptual approach to visual art. This piece likely aims to challenge conventional perceptions and prompt the viewer to consider the cultural significance of fashion and its impact on the human experience. ...
Eva Yi Zhang (b.1989, Chengdu, China) currently lives and works in Shanghai. Her works explore the experiences of women in both work and leisure life. Zhang taught herself sewing and fabric alteration techniques to create her works, which often involve dyeing, cutting, and patchwork of fabrics. She draws inspiration from her everyday experiences and historical texts such as “Nüshi Zhen Tu” to reimagine existing narratives about women. Her recent works explore the female body as a subject. In her pieces, parts of the body are depicted as broken steel bars, wooden blocks, thorns, or punctured and stretched to express the artist's personal experiences of pain. The protruding and irregular shapes made from fabric in her works seem to reveal hidden secrets within the body.
Zhang holds a master’s degree from University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree from University of Minnesota. Her recent exhibitions include Tabula Rasa: Unveiled, No.9 Cork Street (London, 2023); Asia NOW, presented by Tabula Rasa Gallery (Paris, 2023); The Consolation of Clinamen, Tabula Rasa Gallery (Beijing, 2023); She/They, FERNWEH Space (Beijing, 2021); Watch the Fire from the Shore, LINSEED (Shanghai, 2021); Art021 Art Fair, Tabula Rasa Gallery (solo, Shanghai, 2021); Harmony, Powerlong Art Center (Shanghai, 2022); Roarrrrr, Tabula Rasa Gallery (solo, Beijing, 2021). ...
Tabula Rasa Gallery is based in Beijing's 798 art district. Established in 2015, it aims to promote both Chinese and international contemporary artists through exhibitions, talks, research and publication. The gallery name is Latin for 'blank state'. In philosophical discourse, it refers to the idea that our knowledge comes from our experiences and education, all participants are born in a Tabula Rasa state. Tabula Rasa hopes that the exhibitions they present can subvert viewers’ preconceptions, creating conditions for fresh artistic experiments. ...
