Zifeng Zang

Lives and works in Philadelphia, PA

Artist statement

My paintings explore the experience of the present moment through color, movement, and the passage of time. Working with handmade high-fluid acrylics on raw canvas, I allow pigments to soak, spread, and interact freely. The process embraces unpredictability, but it is never entirely accidental. Through careful adjustments of water, density, and viscosity, I guide how colors travel, blend, and settle, creating atmospheres that emerge between intention and chance. Color is central to my practice. I see color not only as a visual element but as a way of sensing and responding to the world. Drawn from nature, memory, and emotion, each painting becomes an exploration of how color can hold feeling, movement, and presence. Behind every finished work are countless experiments, observations, and moments of waiting—an ongoing search for relationships that feel alive and authentic. Patience is an essential part of my process. Sometimes an entire day is spent pouring a single layer of color or simply observing the surface, waiting for the right moment to continue. The level of wetness determines how the paint behaves—whether it forms a sharp edge, a soft transition, or a transparent veil. These decisions unfold slowly, allowing the painting to reveal its own possibilities over time. After the fluid color fields have developed, I return to the surface with highly controlled lines. These deliberate marks introduce focus, structure, and clarity. They require a very different mindset from...

Artwork