Illusions of Enlightenment

Based on Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1504), the painting removes the centarl figures and instead focuses on the animals around them. A series of Italian hand gestures signaling the numbers one to ten appera on the left. The work is featured in Examen curated by Philipp Lange at documenta-Halle, Kassel, Germany. 

Zhang Kaitong (b. 1991, Cangzhou, China) received his formal training at the Kunsthochschule Kassel in Germany. Currently, he divides his time between Berlin, Athens, and Beijing. His practice often involves appropriating imagery from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, particularly scenes of psychological intensity, such as war, destruction, and punishment, as the basis for his painting experiments. Zhang employs a set of visual strategies intended to drain these once-powerful imageries of their emotional charge. His goal is to “reach a state of zero,” where strong emotions are muted and neutralized.