ZHANG HUAN'S THREE HEAD SIX ARMS INSTALLED IN SAN FRANSICO

SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, ARTS COMMISSION PRESIDENT PJ JOHNSTON AND DIRECTOR OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS LUIS R CANCEL RECENTLY DEDICATED A NEW TEMPORARY SCULPTURE BY CELEBRATED CHINESE ARTIST ZHANG HUAN. PRESENTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SHANGHAI-SAN FRANCISCO SISTER CITY 30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, ZHANG'S COLOSSAL THREE HEADS SIX ARMS (2008) MADE ITS WORLD PREMIERE IN THE HEART OF SAN FRANCISCO'S CIVIC CENTER, THE JOSEPH L ALIOTO PERFORMING ARTS PLAZA, WHICH IS LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE CITY HALL. THREE HEADS SIX ARMS, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND THE PACE GALLERY, NEW YORK, IS ON LOAN THROUGH 2011. THREE HEADS SIX ARMS IS PART OF A SERIES OF MONUMENTAL WORKS DEPICTING THE FRAGMENTED EXTREMITIES OF BUDDHIST STATUES. THE SERIES WAS INSPIRED BY ZHANG'S DISCOVERY OF RELIGIOUS SCULPTURES THAT HAD BEEN DESTROYED DURING THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION FOR SALE IN A TIBETAN MARKET. HE BEGAN THE AMAZING SERIES IN 2006 SHORTLY AFTER MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY FROM SHANGHAI WHERE HE RETIRED HIS PERFORMANCE ART PRACTICE AND EMBRACED A MORE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO ARTISTIC CREATION. HIS RECENT WORK IS CHARACTERIZED BY A MORE OVERT RELATIONSHIP WITH TRADITIONAL CHINESE CULTURE AND BUDDHIST ICONOGRAPHY. STANDING OVER 26 FEET TALL AND WEIGHING ALMOST 15 TONS, THREE HEADS AND SIX ARMS IS ZHANG'S LARGEST SCULPTURE TO DATE. ZHANG CHOSE SAN FRANSISCO AS THE IDEAL SETTING TO DEBUT HIS SCULPTURE, IN PART BECAUSE OF THE LONG-STANDING HISTORY BEING HONORED BETWEEN SHANGHAI AND SAN FRANCISCO DURING THIS YEAR'S SISTER CITY CELEBRATION. 'THE SHANGHAI SAN FRANCISCO CITY CELEBRATION COMMEMORATES THIS IMPORTANT TIME IN THE HISTORY OF OUR TWO COUNTRIES WHEN THE EXCHANGE OF ART, CULTURE AND IDEAS BETWEEN THE EAST AND WEST IS MARKED BY OPENNESS AND MUTUAL APPRECIATION. WHILE THREE HEADS SIX ARMS CLEARLY EMBODIES IDEAS THAT ARE ROOTED IN CHINESE CULTURE AND TRADITION, IT IS ALSO ABOUT OUR COMMON HUMANITY. I HOPE THAT, WHILE THE SCULPTURE IS IN SAN FRANCISCO, IT WILL SERVE AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THESE TWO GREAT CITIES AND THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO FOSTER THIS SPIRIT OF TOLERANCE AND APPRECIATION', SAID ZHANG.