Zhang Xiaogang’s “amnesia” is the space of creative play where past and present, remembering and forgetting, the “me” and “not me” come together.  In these new paintings, he frees us to enjoy the illusions that make us whole rather than dispelling them into a disintegratingly all too real present.  He shows us a nurturing use of the past and affirms our capacity to be alone in our search for the lacunae of our experience.  Here we can acquire our individuality as we simultaneously separate ourselves from and yet remain in the embrace of our past.