Zhang Huan
Ash Head No. 26, 2007
Ash, Steel, and wood, 59 3/4" x 63 x 36"
(151.8 x 160 x 91.4 cm)
Courtesy Pace Gallery

Zhang has said: "My experience living abroad . . . in New York and traveling all around the world had a huge impact on my life and my work, because it gave me the opportunity to see myself very clearly. After returning to Shanghai in 2005, I visited the Jing’an Temple and suddenly came to a realization that incense ash could be used as a medium to create
art . . . I began to appreciate the deeper meaning beneath its surface; it is more than just a medium—it embodies collective hopes, dreams, and memories."