Grain not only feeds the body, but can also awaken the mind

The new solo exhibition Cognition of Grain by Chinese artist Zhang Jietao recently opened in Beijing ahead of the 9th Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival on September 23, the autumn equinox.

Trained in oil painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and a veteran film production designer, Zhang creates abstract mixed-media works by sealing wheat grains in resin on canvas.

Rooted in a rigorous, labor-intensive process that mirrors traditional farming rituals, his practice frames humans and grain as mutually shaping forces: while people sow and tend the land, the natural rhythm of wheat returns to temper the human spirit.

"Each piece preserves a strong, tangible connection to the material heritage of easel painting, while turning everyday agricultural produce into a quiet, meditative vehicle for artistic self-reflection," one art critic commented during the exhibition’s opening ceremony.

The exhibition is open to the public until October 18, 2026.