Xiaoze Zhang

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Contact

graciexiaozez@gmail.com
@x1aoze.z

Artist Statement

Xiaoze Zhang (she/her) is a London-based painter and PhD candidate at Camberwell, Chelsea, and Wimbledon Colleges, UAL. Born in 1999 in Shenyang, China, she holds an MLitt in Fine Art Practice (Painting) from the Glasgow School of Art.

Her practice spans painting, installation, and animation. Zhang’s research explores the expansion of easel painting into interactive spatial forms, using collage to evoke non-linear dream narratives and the unconscious. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, she reconfigures two-dimensional images into sculptural environments that invite playful and critical viewer interaction. Her current work experiments with spatial storytelling and perceptual distortion, challenging the boundaries between illusion, memory, and material presence.

Education

Practice-Led PhD in Fine Art
University of the Arts London, UKSep 2024 – Present
MA (Distinction), M.Litt in Fine Art Practice (Painting)
Glasgow School of Art, UKSep 2021 – Sep 2022

Exibitions

Women/我们(women), The Morgue, Chelsea College of ArtsLondon, UK, July 2026
Rebuilt Babel, Art’otel Gallery 1-3 Rivington St, London, UK, January 2026
New Spring Lines, Safehouse2
London, UK, January 2026
The Poetics of Attention, Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges of Art
London, UK, October 2025
Atlas of Empathy, Carrousel du Louvre
Paris, France, October 2025
Home, Troublesomely Eases Me Out: A Modern Nomadic Melodrama, Safehouse2
London, UK, August 2025
Whispers in Aria, Sol de Paris Gallery
Paris, France, August 2025
She Looked Back, Purist Gallery
London, UK, August 2025
Practice Based Research Based Practice, Millbank Tower
Floor 27, London, UK, July 2025
The Beautiful Thing About And, UAL Doctoral School Summer Exhibition
272 High Holborn, London, UK, June 2025
La beauté du petit — Peinture, Sol de Paris Gallery
17 Rue Chapon, Paris, France, May–June 2025
Postgraduate Degree Show, Glasgow School of Art, Stow CollegeGlasgow, UK, August 2022
Undeniable, Barnes Garage Space
Glasgow, UK, May 2022
Strewn Taboos, Barnes Garage Space
Glasgow, UK, April 2022
Early Days, Barnes Garage Space
Glasgow, UK, November 2021

Publications
Zhang X. (2025). The Image That Hesitates: Narrative, Space and Ambiguity in the Work of Calum Colvin.” Interview with Calum Colvin. The Urgency of Art Magazine.

Zhang X. (2019). The application of watercolour in 2D-animation scene. Literature Life.

Zhang X. (2018). The application of Chinese traditional cultural elements in animation. Literature Life.

Projects

Led a UAL-funded collaborative exhibition project as part of the Catalyst Doctoral Initiative2025
Study on innovative combination of traditional Chinese architectural elements with modern urban architecture2020

Awards & Scholarships

UAL CCW Student Initiative Fund (2025-2026)
Excellence Prize, 11th National College Students Advertising and Art Contest (2019)
University Professional Contest Scholarship (top 20%) (2019)
1st Prize, 8th Shuxianghuayi Cup International Youth Painting and Calligraphy Competition (CCTV)
(2019)

University Second Class Comprehensive Scholarship (top 20%)(2019)
1st Prize, Moranzhonghua Cup China-Thailand International Youth Painting and Calligraphy Competition (CCTV) (2018)

1st Prize, Moranzhonghua Cup International Youth Painting and Calligraphy Competition (CCTV) (2018)

Media Coverage

Funhouse Maundering: The Paintings of Xiaoze Zhang
artistweekly.com (2026)

Whispers in Aria
visualartjournal.com (2025)

Homes That Drift, Stories That Stay
ourculturemag.com (2025)
Interview with Calum Colvin by Xiaoze Zhang
theurgencyofart.com (2026)