Always with animals roaming about on her canvases, international artist Odele Eleanor Zhang (b. 1987) embraces conflicting elements. Odele was born and spent her early childhood in Qingdao, China. As a child, she made frequent trips to Jerusalem to visit her father who had been studying his Ph.D. there. Monumental historical walls, elements from the Mediterranean region from Cairo to Beirut, convoluted with images of Tsingtao Beer subconsciously began to shape Odele. She eventually moved to Jerusalem before going on to grade 6-12 in Cleveland, Ohio. After college in Philadelphia, various work experiences in Hong Kong, Sydney, New York, Singapore, Shanghai, and constant cultural visits/research into different parts and time periods of the world, it’s inevitable how “conflicted” Odele would become. To deal with the real world, Odele is often compelled to urgently express in the language of images, to get through to all cultures. She is naturally attuned to the way conflict and creativity both result when different worlds collide. Yet, with each piece of her art, she invites the viewer (you) to bring one more point of view to the encounter. Perhaps, you right there, can solve the puzzle of why this animal? Why here?
In addition to high cultural awareness, Odele is concerned about animal welfare and is committed to protecting wildlife and habitats. Proceeds from her paintings are often donated to organizations such as IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), naming specific animal species. Her intriguing works as well as her unique vision of interpretation of art have already attracted much media attention both in China and the USA.
Odele often advocates that who she is can be understood simply with her interaction with you right at the current moment, an accrual of all her past experiences and interactions with the various environments. Her way of speaking, gesturing, and the content of what she’s communicating/visually presenting, would dictate who she is. Hence, specific profile facts such as year-born, college-attended is inconsequential to who she is. These “profile items” often box how we view people only from the perspective of our own worldview. Odele would prefer that we look at everything with our best effort of eliminating prior knowledge (bias).
Selected solo exhibitions include Open Jungle @chashama Gallery, New York, NY, USA (2014); Mysterious Animals coming to Berlin @GlogauAIR, Berlin, Germany (2014); Animals and Machines, Shanghai, China(2014); Menacing BUTT Spaces, New York(2013) and The Elephant that Stayed in the Room, Shanghai, China(2012).
Selected interviews include Artist Seeks to Collaborate with you--Animals and Machines Exhibition, CBN(2014); Meet the Artist Odele E. Zhang, Shanghai Family(2014); Beauty in Interpretation: Animalistic Art Invites Walk on Wild Side, Sara Michael(2013); An Artistic Riddle, TALK Shanghai(2012).
For additional information about Odele, please visit http://www.odele.co/
For additional information about this artist, visit Mutual Art
