Zhang Nan was born in China in 1999 and currently resides in France. Her creative works mainly focus on painting, and she delves deep into those seemingly ordinary but emotionally complex moments in daily life. Through delicate brushstrokes and a unique narrative perspective, her works capture still figures, ghostly faces, and unspecified objects, intertwining dark traumas with pleasant memories and presenting those subtle yet profound turning points in life.

Inspired by her experience as an “outsider” – an Asian living in Europe – Zhang Nan captures a unique sense of detachment through her paintings. On her canvases, the figures are immersed in their own worlds, chatting with friends, swiping their cell phones, or wandering around, seemingly oblivious to the viewer’s presence, provoking thoughts of presence and absence. Moving between humor and unease, her works use fragmented narratives to place the figures in the realm of abstraction, giving the viewer the freedom to interpret them. Through distorted forms and expressive colors, she focuses on the inner state of the characters, conveying complex and ineffable emotions, while the environment changes according to the psychological state, reinforcing the narrative tension of the images

Zhang Nan studied at the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts et Design de Limoges and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts et Design de Nancy. Her work is not only a reflection on her personal experience, but also an exploration of the relationship between the viewer and the painting, inviting the viewer to interact with the painting through their own perspective and find their own meaning.