Mr. Zhang, 47, is one of China’s best-known artists. For years, his works – like those of other avant-garde artists of his generation – could not be exhibited in China, often because they were deemed too modern or politically questionable.
But now his paintings are not only collected by wealthy Westerners and leading foreign museums, but they are also increasingly fashionable among well-to-do Chinese and are being exhibited in China’s state-run museums and galleries.