B. 1965

Zhang Huan, born in China’s Henan Province, is an internationally acclaimed performance artist, sculptor, painter and photographer. He was a leading figure of the Beijing East-Village movement – an enclave of artists living in impoverished conditions on the outskirts of Beijing. Inspired by postmodern and conceptual art, these artists came to prominence in the 1990s with avant-garde, politically charged actions. 

Perhaps best known for physically and mentally onerous performances, Huan’s work traverses the political, existential and spiritual. He has made work about China’s one-child policy, Daoism and his cultural history, once remarking that “My brain is my studio”. 

A foremost Chinese contemporary artist, Huan lives between Beijing and New York. His work is represented internationally at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, San Diego Museum of Art, and the Harvard University Art Museum, as well as at several Australian institutions.