"I have always been fascinated by how humankind has changed nature, and what we leave behind.”
– Zhang Kechun
Available Works
Zhang Kechun
People taking photos at Heidushan, 2025
Zhang Kechun
People Singing in the Desert, 2025
Zhang Kechun
Imitation Longmen Grottoes, 2025
Zhang Kechun
Huabiao, 2025
Zhang Kechun
Film City in the Desert, 2025
Zhang Kechun
People traveling in Heidushan, 2025
Zhang Kechun
Imitation Yungang Grottoes, 2025
Zhang Kechun
People Climbing Mountains, 2025
Zhang Kechun
People riding camels in the desert, 2025
Zhang Kechun
Buddha Statues, 2019
Zhang Kechun
Morning Exercise Under a Dragon Lamp, Gansu, 2011
Zhang Kechun
Military Academy, 2015
Zhang Kechun
People Fishing by the River, Shaanxi, 2012
Zhang Kechun
Man Standing on an Island in the Middle of the River, Shaanxi, 2012
In particular, Kechun explores the relationship between the country’s cultural heritage and the effects of modernisation. Kechun’s works are quiet and atmospheric, using a subtle colour palette. Whilst Kechun imbues the altered landscape of China with a tragic poignancy, his photographs also capture the comical moments in people’s everyday lives that he encounters.
Zhang Kechun was born in 1980 in Sichuan, China. He won the National Geographic Picks Global Photo Contest in 1998 and was shortlisted for the World Photography Awards in 2013. In 2014, he received the Discovery Award at Les Rencontres d’Arles for The Yellow River, and more recently was awarded first prize in the Still Life category at the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at Photoquai in Paris, the Beijing Photo Biennale, and the Delhi Photo Festival. Works from The Yellow River were shown at the Bangkok Art Biennale in 2020. In 2025, his work featured in group exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Lithuania, the Museum für Geschichte, Austria, and the Cantor Arts Center, California.
January 1 – February 28, 2026
