Perspective, No. 1 · Calina Zhang

Curator’s note

Calina, it is an honor to welcome you as the first artist of Perspective. This exhibition began with a question. Today we tend to judge a work first by its surface, and only rarely by the artist behind it. Is that really right? I would rather see how an artist comes to be. Only by knowing the artist can we truly understand the work.

Zeus Zou, curator

Four phases · Centrepiece I–IV

As a child in a pale dress, Calina climbs the white staircase toward the arch where a violinist plays. — I Mama, I want to learn the violin. Open this phaseOpen

Calina sits crouched on the stairs, head on her knees, below the violinist in the arch. — II The violin seemed to trap me. Open this phaseOpen

At the top of the stairs, Calina in black reaches up toward the violinist in the arch. — III The violin became my everything. Open this phaseOpen

Calina in a red dress walks down the staircase with her violin, the violinist still playing in the arch behind her. — IV I don’t want to stop at the violin. Open this phaseOpen

Perspective, No. 1 · 798 Art Zone, Beijing, October 18–19, 2025 · Artist: Calina · Curated and photographed by Zeus Zou
Translated from the Chinese.

PerspectiveNo. 1