Zhang’s W&L Residency Inspired By Ju’s Work
The Art Museum at Washington and Lee University is presenting “Zhang Xiaoli/ Block Party!,” an original collection of paintings that depict invented worlds using a combination of traditional Chinese brushwork and contemporary elements such as modular blocks and miniature figurines.
The exhibition will be on view through Dec. 12 in the Watson Galleries. Zhang and Daniel Greenberg, assistant professor of Asian art at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, will host a discussion at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 18 in University Chapel, followed by a reception in Watson Galleries at 6:30 p.m.
The exhibit and reception events are free and open to the public, with pre-registration required for the Sept. 18 lecture at https://tiny.cc/ blockpartyopening. Greenberg will also host 30-minute guided tours of “Block Party” on Sept. 17. Tours will begin at 9, 10, and 11 a.m., and preregistration is required: https://tiny.cc/greenbergtours.
Zhang is a multidisciplinary artist who blends classically inspired landscapes, ancient games and science with cosmology, physics, alchemy, biology and Chinese philosophy. As W&L’s second artistin- residence, Zhang arrived in Lexington in the summer of 2025 and worked with the Art Museum’s permanent collection, studying I-Hsiung Ju’s artwork and exposing her to a broader collection of Chinese art. She also used historical records and W&L’s natural surroundings to reimagine the poetic line “ 千峰云影万壑 泉声 ”(“Clouds cast shadows across a thousand peaks; spring echoes through ten thousand valleys”) as a way to bridge generations, geographies and cultures.
“ One of the things that resonates for me about Zhang’s practice is how she creates a dialogue between the past and present,” said Emma Steinkraus, visual artist and associate professor of art at W&L. “Her work helps us see historical Chinese paintings as living documents and spaces in which to encounter past minds at play, while also introducing new imagery like Mobius strips, mazes, veins and metronomes that speak to the uncanniness of time.”
During her residency, Zhang created the pieces for “Block Party!” and reflected on the legacy of the late professor of art emeritus I-Hsiung Ju, who is considered a pioneer for his blending of traditional and modern techniques in his landscape paintings. W&L currently houses the largest repository of Ju’s work in the United States, and the feature exhibition “The Legacy of IHsiung Ju” will be on view in the Reeves Museum of Ceramics, highlighting the work that inspired Zhang’s residency and spotlighting Ju’s contributions to and teaching of Chinese art on campus and in the community.
Two W&L students, Katie Lawson ’26 and Sylvia Churchill ’27, participated in Zhang’s residency as apprentices to the artist, learning about Chinese painting, calligraphy and mounting techniques, and developed their own projects under Zhang’s tutelage. Zhang will expand on the pedagogical aspects of her residency and return to campus this fall to co-teach an undergraduate art course with Steinkraus called “Magical Creatures: Chinese and Western Approaches to Painting the Fantastical.”
“Xiaoli is precisely the artist to carry forward Professor Ju’s legacy, introducing his work with adoration to a new generation of students and patrons, while bringing her own distinctive, charming, and playful style to the role,” said Isra El-beshir, director of the Art Museum. “I am thrilled she is joining us this fall to continue engaging our community in Chinese art forms, both on campus and in the Lexington community.”
“Block Party” is guest curated by Daniel Greenberg and is made possible thanks to the support of W&L’s Center for International Education and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
The Reeves Museum and Watson Galleries are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. To learn more about the exhibition, visit the Art Museum’s website: https:// artmuseum.wlu.edu.
