Zhang Chong – Chinese Seal Carver

About the Artist

Zhang Chong is a rare artist who unites the four arts — poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal carving — and whose pictorial seals (xiaoxing yin) are considered without precedent in the modern era. A graduate of Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts & Design and former visiting professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, he has created the entire “Heart Sutra” in sixty seals, an achievement of striking originality.

Artist Introduction

Zhang Chong (张翀) was born in Beijing in 1968. Known as the master of the Zuowang Studio and Xin Yin Shan Ren (“the mountain man of the heart-seal”), he graduated from the decorative arts department (mural specialisation) of Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts & Design, formerly the Central Academy of Arts and Design, and served as a visiting professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is the chief artist of “Chinese Symbols”, a founder of the Guose art network, and a pioneer of contemporary Chinese new-style photography with twenty years of experience in film and television production. His art is distinguished by its fusion of classical and contemporary: his seal carving is simple and clean yet noble and elegant; his pictorial seals — the most personal and celebrated part of his oeuvre — are said to have no precedent in the history of the art. He carved the complete “Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra” into sixty seals of Shoushan and Qingtian stone, an original art form that won wide market and public recognition, followed by the Taoist classic “Taishang Qingjing Jing”. His ink paintings of Guanyin and of figures are vivid and expressive, and his “ink cats” are particularly admired. His calligraphy is simple and honest with inner refinement, mostly his own poems and spiritual reflections. He is recognised as a successor to the national intangible cultural heritage of Xiling-style seal carving.

Works Appreciation

Application Scenarios

Zhang Chong’s works — pictorial seals, Heart Sutra seal sets, ink cats and Guanyin paintings — appeal to collectors of Buddhist art, contemporary seal carving and original artistic concepts. His works are ideal for meditation spaces, studies and galleries, and for those who collect art with a spiritual dimension.