Hello! I'm Zhang Mao.

I am a self-taught artist and poet from China, and I began creating in 2012. In 2020, during the pandemic, I left my home with only a single bag, beginning a new chapter in the United States that reshaped both my life and my artistic career.

Throughout my life, I have balanced caregiving and professional responsibilities while nurturing my artistic practice. My paintings—often visual extensions of my poems—have been exhibited in a range of shows. Today, I work from my studio in Portland, Oregon, where I continue to explore language, emotion, and the abstractions of daily life, inviting others to join me on a journey of self-discovery and connection.

My work is deeply influenced by the generational stories of my mother, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers. Their voices and experiences form a living thread through my poetry and visual art, where I explore themes of identity, community, and emotional complexity. In 2019, I published The Wild Mint, a book of poems that continues to inspire many of my paintings. My style combines spontaneous expression with refined technique, creating abstract forms filled with layered textures and emotional resonance.

The majority of my works resist rationality, yet within their chaos there is a binding energy. They are like stones flung toward the sky that always return to solid ground. I try to pour new colors, new light, and a touch of mystery into life’s banality.

My techniques are often rough and clumsy, marked by thick brushstrokes and raw gestures. This deliberate simplicity is an attitude toward life itself—an openness that allows the heart to reveal itself more sincerely.

The subjects of my paintings often begin with scenery and gradually expand. Rather than replicating the outside world, I fabricate scenes inspired by what I see, transforming them into a method of painting.

In the end, I believe—deep within my heart—that craving, fear, hope, love, and hate are the threads that connect us all.