News, interviews, and reviews
Using discarded newspapers and magazines, the artist cuts recycled printed matter into strips and weaves them using traditional grass-mat techniques.
By: Xu Yisheng (Xinmin Evening News)
The "Continuation & Fabrication — Kangjun Zhong Art Practice" exhibition is on view at the Meibo Art Museum in Shanghai. Among the 25 works on display, many are created using an ancient weaving technique reimagined for contemporary art.
The "Weaving" series uses discarded newspapers and magazines. The artist cuts these recycled printed materials into strips and weaves them together using traditional grass-mat techniques. Looking closely, fragmented text and broken strokes reform into a chaotic tapestry of everyday information. Newspapers and magazines from different years bring subtle variations in yellowed tones, creating an almost imperceptible rhythm of color across the woven surface.
Each piece undergoes countless hours of repetitive hand-weaving. Large-scale works take over a month to complete, leading Zhong to call himself an "artistic laborer."
Born in 1984 in a village in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, Zhong's father was a mason and his mother an expert weaver. In the gallery, one work titled Kangjun Zhong's Mother and Her Weavings sits alongside his father's weathered masonry tools. "I borrowed my mother's craft technique and applied it to new materials," Zhong explains.
His well-known sculpture series City uses recycled metal from urban demolition. Zhong calls these "recycled landscapes": "They are historical traces left behind by urban development, discarded by technological progress."
记者：徐翌晟
"续·编——钟康君艺术实践"展正在上海美博美术馆举办。25件作品中，有一部分用古老的编织手法创作的当代艺术作品。
每一件作品都经过无数次漫长、不断重复的手工编织动作，大尺幅作品所耗费的时间达一个月以上，因此，钟康君把自己定义为一名"艺术劳动者"。
1984年，钟康君出生于广东湛江的乡村，父亲是泥水匠，母亲有一双擅长编织的手。展厅中有一件作品名为《钟康君的母亲和编织品》，一边还摆放着泥瓦匠父亲砌水泥墙时用过的工具。
钟康君知名的雕塑作品《城》采用的是城市里回收的金属材料，他将这些称为"回收风景"——"它们是一座城市发展遗留下来的历史痕迹，也是科技发展被淘汰的产物，而我想赋予它们新的生命。"
Through meticulous craftsmanship, Zhong transforms discarded newspapers into abstract surfaces, a silent resistance against the speed of the information age.
His creative process follows two parallel lines: the "Endless" series uses naturally yellowed old newspapers to construct abstract planes; a new series integrates magazine color pages and news images through layered weaving.
The repetitive hand-weaving — tens of thousands of movements per piece — constitutes a silent resistance against "information fast-consumption." The finished work becomes a "fabric of time."
钟康君在广东湛江乡村长大，父母均为手工艺人。创作沿两条线索演进：《无尽》系列仅用自然泛黄旧报纸；新系列整合杂志彩页、新闻图像与生活符号，通过分层编织技术形成复合视觉结构。
冗长的手工劳作本身即是对"信息快消"的静默抵抗。完成后的作品不再是任何具体的新闻，而是一块"时间的织物"或记忆的"地质层"。
The artist discusses his systematic approach to material selection, the logic behind using ballpoint pens, and how moving from Zhanjiang to Shanghai transformed his practice.
Kangjun Zhong elaborates on his systematic approach to material selection — deconstructing newspapers into images, text, and headlines as independent elements for classification. He discusses the differences between paper versus bamboo weaving, his logic behind using ballpoint pens, and how relocating from Zhanjiang to Shanghai transformed his creative vision.
注：此篇为微信公众号文章，以下为摘要内容。
在此深度访谈中，钟康君详细阐述了：材料筛选的系统性方法、纸质材料与竹条编织的工艺差异、圆珠笔在创作中的使用逻辑、手绘色彩与网格结构的视觉关系、从湛江到上海的地域变化对创作视野的影响。
A dialogue across paper: discarded newspapers meet Korean hanji, labor memories converge with philosophical inquiry.
This duo exhibition at EY PROJECTS (June 14 — August 9, 2025) brings together Kangjun Zhong and Korean artist Hyunhee Doh. Zhong's works include the "Endless" series (III, IV), "Eternity," and "Behind the Texture" series (I, II).
2025年6月14日至8月9日，上海EY PROJECTS举办了钟康君与韩国艺术家都玹希的双人展《瞬逝与永驻》。钟康君展出了《无尽》系列（III、IV）、《永恒》、《纹理的背后》系列等作品。
A deep look into the artist's month-long repetitive weaving process and how he transforms discarded newspapers into spiritual expression.
Kangjun Zhong spends over a month on large-scale works, engaging in repetitive hand-weaving that he describes as spiritual expression through physical labor.
钟康君将耗时月余的重复手工编织升华为精神表达，自称为"艺术劳动者"。以废旧报纸、杂志为媒介，挪用母亲的手艺结合匠人技术，将传统工艺与当代社会问题结合。
At the Meibo Art Museum, artworks created with ancient weaving techniques are astonishing visitors — each large piece taking over a month of repetitive handwork.
By: Xu Yisheng
Zhong was the only son among six children. At 15, he left home to study at an art vocational school. His father told him: "If you learn to paint, you must also learn calligraphy." He entered the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts at 19, and his calligraphy earned him membership in the Shanghai Calligraphers Association.
His well-known sculpture City uses recycled metal — materials as overlooked as old newspapers. Zhong calls these "recycled landscapes."
记者：徐翌晟
钟康君是家里六个孩子中唯一的男孩。15岁离家去80公里外读美术职高，19岁考入广州美术学院雕塑系。早期雕塑入选全国美展，亦以书法创作被吸纳为上海书法家协会会员。
他将创作过程称为"回收风景"："它们是一座城市发展遗留下来的历史痕迹，也是科技发展被淘汰的产物。"
Sohu News reports on the opening of the duo exhibition at Beijing 798, featuring over 50 works.
Kangjun Zhong collects discarded materials carrying social information, deconstructs and reassembles them into abstract yet figurative visual texts.
Curator: Li Yujun
Zhong's works are not merely material reassembly but a reflection of the human spirit. He brings craftsmanship and critical awareness into social reality, weakening the readability of text to guide us toward truth and falsehood in life.
策展人：李裕君
钟康君善于动手和发现身边废弃的物品，将其转化为具有深刻内涵的艺术作品。他通过消弱文字的阅读功能性，引导我们面对现实生活和社会上的真与假。作品不只是简单的物质重组，更是对现代人精神和情感的一种映射。
One of only three Chinese artists selected internationally. Artsy praised his work for its "subtle layering of color and purity of form."
A dual exhibition at Limai Gallery featuring Zhong's woven newspaper works.
A dual exhibition featuring Kangjun Zhong and Lyu Yifeng opened at Limai Art Gallery on August 26, 2023.
2023年8月26日，里美艺术画廊举办了钟康君与吕逸峰的双展开幕。
Zhong "recycles Chinese characters" from expired newspapers, weaving text into abstract and figurative imagery.
Kangjun Zhong's solo exhibition "Irrevocable" was held at Limai Art Gallery, Shanghai in April-May 2023.
2023年4月23日至5月，钟康君在上海里美艺术画廊举办个展「不可撤销」，从过期报纸中"回收汉字"进行编织重组。
"I'm a person living on the edge of art." Zhong discusses his creative philosophy and traditional weaving techniques.
Kangjun Zhong shares his creative philosophy: using waste materials, employing traditional Guangdong straw-mat weaving. "I'm a person living on the edge of art," he says, adding that he enjoys cooking and keeping cats.
钟康君分享创作理念：使用杂志、报纸等废旧材料，挪用广东凉席的民间编织手法。他形容自己是"生活在艺术边缘的人"，喜欢做饭、养猫。
"Do your own work, don't lose yourself." Zhong on creation, material, and staying true.
Zhong discusses how he chooses discarded materials because they have life force, and his approach of "going with the flow" rather than following any school.
钟康君表示选废旧材料是因材料本身有生命力，创作应"顺其自然"，艺术家应"做好自己，别走丢"。
Zhong's calligraphy awarded Excellent Work, also selected for the 12th Shanghai Calligraphy Exhibition.
Kangjun Zhong's calligraphy was recognized with an Excellence Award at the 7th Shanghai Grass Script Exhibition (2022), and selected for the 12th Shanghai Calligraphy and Seal Carving Exhibition.
钟康君以书法创作多次入围大展，被吸纳为上海书法家协会会员。2022年在上海市第七届草书作品展获优秀奖，并入选上海市第十二届书法篆刻大展。
A retrospective selection of works since 2008, including the City series, the Weaving series, and My Utopia.
Venue: Shanghai Art Museum
Dates: June 1 — July 21, 2021
Zhong's first solo exhibition presented works since 2008, including the City series (corroded metal), the Weaving series, and the My Utopia series.
地点：上海艺术馆
展期：2021年6月1日—7月21日
钟康君首次个展，呈现了从2008年开始的精选创作，包括《城》系列、《编织》系列、《我的乌托邦》系列等。
"I'm an artistic laborer quietly striving." Zhong discusses his journey from sculpture to weaving, and how lack of funding led him to discarded newspapers.
A conversation about Zhong's early sculpture series City, exhibited at MOCA Shanghai in 2009.