Innocent Rehearsal: Ball, Paper, Blade
Group show
HU Yinping, Jaffa LAM, Peter LIVERSIDGE, Moe SATT, Tromarama, Meng ZHANG
Tabula Rasa Gallery, Beijing
14 March – 30 April 2026
Group show
HU Yinping, Jaffa LAM, Peter LIVERSIDGE, Moe SATT, Tromarama, Meng ZHANG
Tabula Rasa Gallery, Beijing
14 March – 30 April 2026
Interview with Meng ZHANG
The following interview is conducted by curator Dr. Penny Dan Xu and artist Meng ZHANG as part of the group exhibition Innocent Rehearsal: Ball, Paper, Blade held at Tabula Rasa Gallery, Beijing.
Penny Dan Xu
In this exhibition, we’re showing new works you created during your residency over the past year at the Jan van Eyck Academy in the Netherlands. I’d love to use these pieces as a starting point to chat about your recent practice and creative state. How was the residency experience for you?
That sounds intense. Your work doesn’t seem to directly engage with those popular theoretical topics. Did that ever make you feel anxious?
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Penny Dan Xu
Once you realised that, were you able to get back to a better creative state?
Penny Dan Xu
The piece in this exhibition is your first tapestry, and you created it during the residency, right?
How does such a complex weaving project actually come together?
That sounds like a huge amount of work.
Penny Dan Xu
How do you even begin to make those decisions?
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Penny Dan Xu
What surprised you most about the process?
Penny Dan Xu
You’ve used weaving and wax in your earlier work as well. What do these materials mean to you?
You’ve lived in many places—Tianjin, Beijing, Germany, the Netherlands and now you’re planning to move to Hangzhou. How has that constant movement affected you?
Penny Dan Xu
Do those reflections feed into your work?
What are you hoping for in Hangzhou?
Interview MENG ZHANG
Click here to download the interview
Image courtesy of the artist and Tabula Rasa Gallery,
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Meng ZHANG (b. 1983, Tianjin, China) attended the Aufbaustudium at the Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe in Germany from 2016-2018, and now she is working in Stuttgart and Beijing. In her depictions of trivial moments and fragments of everyday life, Zhang Meng blends and extends the materials retrieved from dreams, memories, childhood and mythologies. She tries to connect the visual image with her inner world and subconscious, illuminating the fragility of existence, conveying a sense of vulnerability and estrangement.In her recent works, she exploited her spiritual experiences as a language of art, such as the practice of yoga, the connection with inner child, the introspection and healing of trauma, attempting to reach beyond the tangible reality. Her drawings/art become an experimental and expanded record of her spiritual trajectory where reality, spirituality, and the visual communicate. This is also tangible in the media she employs, charcoal, pencil, hot wax, and paper, which are naturally brittle, slippery, and ephemeral, opening countless perceptual possibilities and inviting one to find oneself in the garden of forking paths. In 2025 Zhang Meng completed a residency at the Jan Van Eyck Academie. In 2022-23, Zhang Meng received the Artist Award from the Stiftung Kunstfonds in Germany and completed a residency at Schloss Plüschow in Germany in 2020.
Her works are featured in several museum and gallery exhibitions such as: I thought, I had lost half a soul here, Meyer Riegger (Berlin, 2025); Paris Internationale 2024 (solo, Paris, 2024)； In Harmony With The Way, ShanghART (Shanghai, 2024); Xinkang Restaurant, Blunt Society (Shanghai, 2024); On a Sentimental Moon, Tabula Rasa Gallery (solo, Beijing, 2023); Forest-Stift, Luis Leu (Germany, 2023); Karls Ruhe, AroundSpace Gallery (solo, Shanghai, 2022); Fragmentation is Abstraction, C-space (Berlin, 2022); Reigionale 23—We are so many here, Kunsthalle Basel (Basel, 2022); Works on Paper, Stevenson Gallery (Cape Town, 2021); LISTE Art Fair Basel 2021 (dual solo, Basel, 2021); Tones and Toes, Tabula Rasa Gallery (solo, London, 2021); Ich Singe, Nordheimer Scheune (solo, Nordheim, 2021); Let Painter Talk, Taikang Space, (Beijing, 2021); NINININI PENG, neewhom, Gebäude im Passagehof 24 (Karlsruhe, 2019); Regionale 19, Kunsthalle Palazzo (Liestal, 2018), among others.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Dr. Penny Dan XU is a London-based independent curator with over 13 years of experience across the globe’s major cultural hubs, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Milan, and Brussels. Holding a PhD in Art History, she is the founder of Across Platform, a non-profit community dedicated to scholarly research and independent knowledge production. In addition to her curatorial practice, she serves as an advisor to the art organization Baopu FELT. Her curatorial practice champions multi-layered collaborations between researchers, artists, and curators, fostering a dynamic synergy of diverse intellectual backgrounds. By navigating the intersections of disparate media and geographies, she seeks to ignite profound dialogues that transcend boundaries. She is the recipient of the 2025 Hyundai Blue Prize.
The following interview is conducted by curator Dr. Penny Dan Xu and artist Meng ZHANG as part of the group exhibition Innocent Rehearsal: Ball, Paper, Blade held at Tabula Rasa Gallery, Beijing.
Penny Dan Xu
In this exhibition, we’re showing new works you created during your residency over the past year at the Jan van Eyck Academy in the Netherlands. I’d love to use these pieces as a starting point to chat about your recent practice and creative state. How was the residency experience for you?
Meng Zhang
It was quite long and incredibly intense—almost overwhelmingly so. There were about forty artists in the program, all working in completely different directions. It was my first time living and working so closely with such a diverse group. From the very first week, everyone had to give a ten-minute presentation, and later there were weekly half-hour presentations by two artists at a time. People were constantly discussing topics like postcolonialism, environmental issues, and the Global South. For me, it felt like an intensive crash course that really expanded my thinking.
It was quite long and incredibly intense—almost overwhelmingly so. There were about forty artists in the program, all working in completely different directions. It was my first time living and working so closely with such a diverse group. From the very first week, everyone had to give a ten-minute presentation, and later there were weekly half-hour presentations by two artists at a time. People were constantly discussing topics like postcolonialism, environmental issues, and the Global South. For me, it felt like an intensive crash course that really expanded my thinking.
That said, my work isn’t very theory-driven, and I’m not great at long academic presentations, so I opted out of the longer talks later on. Besides that, we also had weekly communal dinners, three people cooking for forty or fifty others. I did it once. I had to make tomato-and-egg stir-fry in eight batches.
Penny Dan XuThat sounds intense. Your work doesn’t seem to directly engage with those popular theoretical topics. Did that ever make you feel anxious?
Meng Zhang
At first, yes, I was quite confused. It felt like everyone was talking about postcolonialism all the time, as if your work wouldn’t get shown unless it addressed those themes. I couldn’t really follow those discussions, and I even started questioning why I had been selected for the residency. Later, I spoke with some curators who told me that, from their perspective, they actually long to see artists who are different. I asked them what to do if my work doesn’t fit into those frameworks, and they said, “Then don’t force it—Your way of making art is different.” That relaxed me a lot. I realized I didn’t need to label my work just to fit in. Everyone can just do their own thing.
At first, yes, I was quite confused. It felt like everyone was talking about postcolonialism all the time, as if your work wouldn’t get shown unless it addressed those themes. I couldn’t really follow those discussions, and I even started questioning why I had been selected for the residency. Later, I spoke with some curators who told me that, from their perspective, they actually long to see artists who are different. I asked them what to do if my work doesn’t fit into those frameworks, and they said, “Then don’t force it—Your way of making art is different.” That relaxed me a lot. I realized I didn’t need to label my work just to fit in. Everyone can just do their own thing.
I Went Through the Park and Met the Death, Knitted tapestry, collaboration with Textile Museum Tilburg, wool, transparent yarn, 160 x 210 cm, 2025
Penny Dan Xu
Once you realised that, were you able to get back to a better creative state?
Meng Zhang
Definitely. Before that, I felt overwhelmed by all the knowledge being thrown around, and I wondered whether I needed to master those theories to keep making work. But eventually I understood that while it’s important to know what peers are doing, there’s no need to force yourself into unfamiliar discourses. Just witnessing forty completely different approaches coexisting already broadened my understanding of what art can be.
Definitely. Before that, I felt overwhelmed by all the knowledge being thrown around, and I wondered whether I needed to master those theories to keep making work. But eventually I understood that while it’s important to know what peers are doing, there’s no need to force yourself into unfamiliar discourses. Just witnessing forty completely different approaches coexisting already broadened my understanding of what art can be.
Penny Dan Xu
The piece in this exhibition is your first tapestry, and you created it during the residency, right?
Meng Zhang
Yes, it’s probably the most important work I made in this period Near the residency, there’s a well-known textile museum in Tilburg with an incredible lab and highly skilled team—they’ve worked with major institutions like MoMA and the Met. A colleague told me I could apply to collaborate with them. I applied twice—heard nothing the first time, but got accepted on the second. After that, I spent about six months working in their lab, and we ended up producing three tapestries.
Penny Dan Xu Yes, it’s probably the most important work I made in this period Near the residency, there’s a well-known textile museum in Tilburg with an incredible lab and highly skilled team—they’ve worked with major institutions like MoMA and the Met. A colleague told me I could apply to collaborate with them. I applied twice—heard nothing the first time, but got accepted on the second. After that, I spent about six months working in their lab, and we ended up producing three tapestries.
How does such a complex weaving project actually come together?
Meng Zhang
All my tapestries are based on my paintings. The museum’s designers translate my images into a language that weaving machines can understand, but that translation is far from straightforward. At first, they were concerned that my drawings were “too rough”—the weaving process requires vectorized precision, while my lines often have irregular, frayed edges. I had to spend a lot of time refining the images, deciding what imperfections to keep and what to remove, down to a very precise level. After that, I still needed to decide how many colors to use, how many threads in each section, and what materials to choose.
Penny Dan XuAll my tapestries are based on my paintings. The museum’s designers translate my images into a language that weaving machines can understand, but that translation is far from straightforward. At first, they were concerned that my drawings were “too rough”—the weaving process requires vectorized precision, while my lines often have irregular, frayed edges. I had to spend a lot of time refining the images, deciding what imperfections to keep and what to remove, down to a very precise level. After that, I still needed to decide how many colors to use, how many threads in each section, and what materials to choose.
That sounds like a huge amount of work.
Meng Zhang
It really is. I personally selected every type of yarn from their archive, which is astonishingly extensive. Just for white, there were hundreds of variations: cotton white, linen white, acrylic white, mohair white, all in different textures and thicknesses.
It really is. I personally selected every type of yarn from their archive, which is astonishingly extensive. Just for white, there were hundreds of variations: cotton white, linen white, acrylic white, mohair white, all in different textures and thicknesses.
Penny Dan Xu
How do you even begin to make those decisions?
Meng Zhang
You can produce small samples. For example, weaving a small section of the tapestry using different types of white to compare. But even then, samples don’t fully reveal the final effect. Unlike painting, tapestries have multiple layers, and the end result often differs from what you imagine. These are things you can only learn through experience. When ten threads intertwine, the texture, whether dense, fluffy, or something more unusual, has to be anticipated in advance. Some artists even spin their own yarn or incorporate metal threads, making the process highly experimental.
You can produce small samples. For example, weaving a small section of the tapestry using different types of white to compare. But even then, samples don’t fully reveal the final effect. Unlike painting, tapestries have multiple layers, and the end result often differs from what you imagine. These are things you can only learn through experience. When ten threads intertwine, the texture, whether dense, fluffy, or something more unusual, has to be anticipated in advance. Some artists even spin their own yarn or incorporate metal threads, making the process highly experimental.
A Hand Woven Piece from Spring, Hand weaving, wool, cotton, 75 x 77 cm, 2025
Penny Dan Xu
What surprised you most about the process?
Meng Zhang
Even though you make countless decisions and seem to have total control, there’s still a lot of unpredictability when working with machines. You might choose ten types of thread, but the final woven result can still exceed your expectations, it has this sense of “creation” with an element of chance. During this process, I also taught myself hand weaving, working thread by thread. It’s incredibly slow—completely different from how I usually work. My paintings are fast, intuitive, and spontaneous. I don’t sketch beforehand; I just start. That immediacy feels like a direct way to reach something essential. If I’m not in the right state, I simply don’t paint. Weaving, on the other hand, is hundreds of times slower. One piece can take two or three months. Often, you don’t even know what you’re doing. You’re just adding one thread at a time. But it’s precisely this slow accumulation that brings unexpected surprises. Each thread can shift the outcome, but the results reveal themselves very gradually—the opposite of painting’s immediacy.
Even though you make countless decisions and seem to have total control, there’s still a lot of unpredictability when working with machines. You might choose ten types of thread, but the final woven result can still exceed your expectations, it has this sense of “creation” with an element of chance. During this process, I also taught myself hand weaving, working thread by thread. It’s incredibly slow—completely different from how I usually work. My paintings are fast, intuitive, and spontaneous. I don’t sketch beforehand; I just start. That immediacy feels like a direct way to reach something essential. If I’m not in the right state, I simply don’t paint. Weaving, on the other hand, is hundreds of times slower. One piece can take two or three months. Often, you don’t even know what you’re doing. You’re just adding one thread at a time. But it’s precisely this slow accumulation that brings unexpected surprises. Each thread can shift the outcome, but the results reveal themselves very gradually—the opposite of painting’s immediacy.
Penny Dan Xu
You’ve used weaving and wax in your earlier work as well. What do these materials mean to you?
Meng Zhang
Wax has been central to my past work, it carries a kind of spiritual or almost religious quality for me. When I worked with translucent paper before, I was drawn to its dreamlike, memory-like quality. Even though tapestry is a new medium, the feeling I’m searching for remains the same. Choosing cotton, linen, or wool threads follows the same logic as choosing wax or paper.
Penny Dan XuWax has been central to my past work, it carries a kind of spiritual or almost religious quality for me. When I worked with translucent paper before, I was drawn to its dreamlike, memory-like quality. Even though tapestry is a new medium, the feeling I’m searching for remains the same. Choosing cotton, linen, or wool threads follows the same logic as choosing wax or paper.
You’ve lived in many places—Tianjin, Beijing, Germany, the Netherlands and now you’re planning to move to Hangzhou. How has that constant movement affected you?
Meng Zhang
Moving feels almost like a ritual to me. When I was younger, packing took forever, I would mentally revisit the story behind every object. Now I’m more efficient, but I still find myself pausing, reflecting: what does this object mean? Have I made peace with that part of my life? So moving often brings up a flood of emotions and suddenly, these big existential questions appear: where is life heading?
Moving feels almost like a ritual to me. When I was younger, packing took forever, I would mentally revisit the story behind every object. Now I’m more efficient, but I still find myself pausing, reflecting: what does this object mean? Have I made peace with that part of my life? So moving often brings up a flood of emotions and suddenly, these big existential questions appear: where is life heading?
Penny Dan Xu
Do those reflections feed into your work?
Meng Zhang
Interestingly, no. When I create, I need to enter a state that’s almost childlike. Before I start, I do yoga and meditation to reach a calm mental state. If I feel anxious or angry, I simply can’t paint. Daily life tends to make us overthink, but in my work, I want lightness and intuition. One of the biggest changes in recent years has been moving away from anxiety caused by information overload, toward accepting my own rhythm, no longer forcing theory onto my work or competing blindly, but finding my own way.
Penny Dan XuInterestingly, no. When I create, I need to enter a state that’s almost childlike. Before I start, I do yoga and meditation to reach a calm mental state. If I feel anxious or angry, I simply can’t paint. Daily life tends to make us overthink, but in my work, I want lightness and intuition. One of the biggest changes in recent years has been moving away from anxiety caused by information overload, toward accepting my own rhythm, no longer forcing theory onto my work or competing blindly, but finding my own way.
What are you hoping for in Hangzhou?
Meng Zhang
I think the city’s climate and natural environment might bring new changes. I’m hoping to explore new materials and directions in my work.
I think the city’s climate and natural environment might bring new changes. I’m hoping to explore new materials and directions in my work.
Interview MENG ZHANG
Click here to download the interview
Image courtesy of the artist and Tabula Rasa Gallery,
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Meng ZHANG (b. 1983, Tianjin, China) attended the Aufbaustudium at the Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe in Germany from 2016-2018, and now she is working in Stuttgart and Beijing. In her depictions of trivial moments and fragments of everyday life, Zhang Meng blends and extends the materials retrieved from dreams, memories, childhood and mythologies. She tries to connect the visual image with her inner world and subconscious, illuminating the fragility of existence, conveying a sense of vulnerability and estrangement.In her recent works, she exploited her spiritual experiences as a language of art, such as the practice of yoga, the connection with inner child, the introspection and healing of trauma, attempting to reach beyond the tangible reality. Her drawings/art become an experimental and expanded record of her spiritual trajectory where reality, spirituality, and the visual communicate. This is also tangible in the media she employs, charcoal, pencil, hot wax, and paper, which are naturally brittle, slippery, and ephemeral, opening countless perceptual possibilities and inviting one to find oneself in the garden of forking paths. In 2025 Zhang Meng completed a residency at the Jan Van Eyck Academie. In 2022-23, Zhang Meng received the Artist Award from the Stiftung Kunstfonds in Germany and completed a residency at Schloss Plüschow in Germany in 2020.
Her works are featured in several museum and gallery exhibitions such as: I thought, I had lost half a soul here, Meyer Riegger (Berlin, 2025); Paris Internationale 2024 (solo, Paris, 2024)； In Harmony With The Way, ShanghART (Shanghai, 2024); Xinkang Restaurant, Blunt Society (Shanghai, 2024); On a Sentimental Moon, Tabula Rasa Gallery (solo, Beijing, 2023); Forest-Stift, Luis Leu (Germany, 2023); Karls Ruhe, AroundSpace Gallery (solo, Shanghai, 2022); Fragmentation is Abstraction, C-space (Berlin, 2022); Reigionale 23—We are so many here, Kunsthalle Basel (Basel, 2022); Works on Paper, Stevenson Gallery (Cape Town, 2021); LISTE Art Fair Basel 2021 (dual solo, Basel, 2021); Tones and Toes, Tabula Rasa Gallery (solo, London, 2021); Ich Singe, Nordheimer Scheune (solo, Nordheim, 2021); Let Painter Talk, Taikang Space, (Beijing, 2021); NINININI PENG, neewhom, Gebäude im Passagehof 24 (Karlsruhe, 2019); Regionale 19, Kunsthalle Palazzo (Liestal, 2018), among others.
ABOUT THE CURATOR
Dr. Penny Dan XU is a London-based independent curator with over 13 years of experience across the globe’s major cultural hubs, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Milan, and Brussels. Holding a PhD in Art History, she is the founder of Across Platform, a non-profit community dedicated to scholarly research and independent knowledge production. In addition to her curatorial practice, she serves as an advisor to the art organization Baopu FELT. Her curatorial practice champions multi-layered collaborations between researchers, artists, and curators, fostering a dynamic synergy of diverse intellectual backgrounds. By navigating the intersections of disparate media and geographies, she seeks to ignite profound dialogues that transcend boundaries. She is the recipient of the 2025 Hyundai Blue Prize.
Tabula Rasa Gallery (London)
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Hoxton, London
N1 6AQ
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N1 6AQ
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