Description
Ke Zhang
KE ZHANG was born in China and later moved to the UK in 2008. Influenced by her cartographer parents, Ke developed a deep interest in drawing and painting from a young age and later became attracted by classical and representational art. Ke initially came to the UK to study psychology and received her PhD in relation to the research of human behaviour. However, her long-lasting passion for the visual interpretations of the world eventually led her to change the career path from behavioural research to representational art.
While highly interested in painting techniques and the science of materials, Ke is further fascinated by the fact that art can go beyond itself and touch on the complexity of humanity, reflecting how we see and react to life. Ke believes that visual art leads us to a world where beauty can be sensed through the image itself, independently from verbal interpretations. As a great symphony does not require words to make people weep, by liberating itself from the literary “meaning”, visual art will ultimately lead us to delve deeper into the dynamic dimensions of aesthetics.
Ke’s academic training of representational art began in 2016 and continued on a part-time basis until her graduation in 2021. She met Sarah Margaret Gibson and Lee Craigmile during the short courses at the Glasgow School of Art in 2016. Graduated from The Florence Academy of Art, Sarah and Lee introduced the atelier style of training to Ke and she subsequently started private training with Gibson. Later Ke joined The Glasgow Academy of Fine Art when it was founded by the couple in 2019, and graduated from the academy in 2021. In the same year, Ke started her teaching role as the principle instructor at the academy.
Ke specialises in representational drawing and oil painting and is particularly interested in portraits and still lifes. While making regular journeys to teach at the Glasgow Academy of Fine Art, Ke now lives in Oxford, England, and has set up her personal studio for ongoing projects in London.