The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Skin
1997
(Chinese, b. 1965)
Paper: 55.9 x 66 cm (22 x 26 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2012.101.m
© Zhang Huan
Location: Not on view
Description
Zhang Huan had studied classical ink painting, Western drawing and painting, and art history when he turned to performance art in 1990. There were few precedents in Chinese art, so he looked to Western genres including performance art, body art, and serial imagery. Zhang performed 1/2 Series and Skin just for the camera. Living on very little money, Zhang asked himself, “Is it possible to make a piece without spending any money?” Skin was the answer. Through making it, he discovered “the potential of skin, with its traces of relaxation and aging.” He came to believe that the body is “the only direct way through which I come to know society and society comes to know me. . . . The body is language.”- Unknown, probably purchased from a gallery; Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg; Cleveland Museum of Art
- Refocusing Photography: China at the Millenium. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 8-November 16, 2025).
- {{cite web|title=Skin|url=false|author=Zhang Huan|year=1997|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2012.101.m