Bio:
Simon Zhang is living and working in Toronto, Canada. He has held a number of solo exhibitions and has participated in many group shows and art fairs in Canada, Germany and China. His artworks are in private collections by patrons from Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and the USA, and have also been auctioned by Neumeister in Germany, 2011. Simon has a diploma in environmental design from the Ontario College of Art and Design and a B.A. degree in stage design from Shanghai, China, and has worked as a designer in the international architectural / interior design firms in Toronto and Hong Kong for decades. Currently, he is working as a full-time artist.
AUCTIONS:
EXHIBITION LIST IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
Simon Zhang is living and working in Toronto, Canada. He has held a number of solo exhibitions and has participated in many group shows and art fairs in Canada, Germany and China. His artworks are in private collections by patrons from Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and the USA, and have also been auctioned by Neumeister in Germany, 2011. Simon has a diploma in environmental design from the Ontario College of Art and Design and a B.A. degree in stage design from Shanghai, China, and has worked as a designer in the international architectural / interior design firms in Toronto and Hong Kong for decades. Currently, he is working as a full-time artist.
AUCTIONS:
- An oil painting was auctioned by Neumeister, Germany, 2011
EXHIBITION LIST IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
About Simon's Work:
Art has always been a reflection of the delicate interplay between chaos and control, spontaneity and structure. Through years of dedicated exploration, Simon has developed a unique methodology that embodies this dynamic tension—one call the Paralleled Process. This three-stage technique, rooted in the interplay of ink, rice paper, and acrylic, serves as both the foundation and the vehicle for his artistic expression. It is a method of discovery, one that invites both artist and viewer to embrace the unexpected and engage deeply with the layered complexities of the creative process.
In the first stage, Two Surfaces, Simon prepares the acrylic base on canvas and creates ink patterns on rice paper. This is a spontaneous act—gestural, impulsive, and entirely intuitive. The canvas becomes a field of bold colour and texture, while the rice paper acts as a counterpoint, a repository of fluid, organic forms. These parallel creations are born independently, yet they are destined to intersect.
The second stage, Selections, introduces a moment of deliberation. From the inked rice paper, he select fragments—tearing, shaping, and sculpting them into forms that resonate with the canvas. These fragments are more than mere components; they are choices, imbued with intention and shaped by the dialogue between the artist's hand and the emerging work.
Finally, the Merge occurs. The selected pieces of rice paper are collaged onto the canvas, creating a meeting point where ink and acrylic collide, mingle, and fuse. The process is one of discovery, as unexpected beauty and drama emerge from the interplay of elements. The weight of brushstrokes, the movement of lines, and the intensity of textures and colours all coalesce into a single, cohesive whole.
Art has always been a reflection of the delicate interplay between chaos and control, spontaneity and structure. Through years of dedicated exploration, Simon has developed a unique methodology that embodies this dynamic tension—one call the Paralleled Process. This three-stage technique, rooted in the interplay of ink, rice paper, and acrylic, serves as both the foundation and the vehicle for his artistic expression. It is a method of discovery, one that invites both artist and viewer to embrace the unexpected and engage deeply with the layered complexities of the creative process.
- The Paralleled Process: An Anatomy of Creation
In the first stage, Two Surfaces, Simon prepares the acrylic base on canvas and creates ink patterns on rice paper. This is a spontaneous act—gestural, impulsive, and entirely intuitive. The canvas becomes a field of bold colour and texture, while the rice paper acts as a counterpoint, a repository of fluid, organic forms. These parallel creations are born independently, yet they are destined to intersect.
The second stage, Selections, introduces a moment of deliberation. From the inked rice paper, he select fragments—tearing, shaping, and sculpting them into forms that resonate with the canvas. These fragments are more than mere components; they are choices, imbued with intention and shaped by the dialogue between the artist's hand and the emerging work.
Finally, the Merge occurs. The selected pieces of rice paper are collaged onto the canvas, creating a meeting point where ink and acrylic collide, mingle, and fuse. The process is one of discovery, as unexpected beauty and drama emerge from the interplay of elements. The weight of brushstrokes, the movement of lines, and the intensity of textures and colours all coalesce into a single, cohesive whole.
- The Dance Between Impulse and Control
- Nature as Muse
- Toward a New Expressive Language