Zeng Fanzhi Untitled 2002 Oil on linen. 97 3/8 x 67 3/4 in. (247.3 x 172.1 cm). Signed and dated “Zeng Fanzhi [in Chinese and English] 2002” along central right edge.
Provenance ShangArt Gallery, Shanghai Exhibited Shanghai Art Museum, I/We 1991-2003The Painting of Zeng Fanzhi March 8 - 18, 2003 Literature Pi, L. and He, L. eds., I/We 1991-2003 The Painting of Zeng Fanzhi Hubei, 2003, pp. 148-149 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay Portraiture, and its psychological dimensions as conveyed through paint, is the dominant theme in Zeng Fanzhi’s work. The artist first rose to international fame with his Mask series, in which a variety of Chinese Everymen were depicted wearing masks symbolizing their socially constructed identities. Pursuant to the Mask series, Zeng embarked on paintings in which themasked are stripped of their facades, falling free through the canvas as theirpainted disguises dissolve to reveal true faces. “Removing the masks indicates only a willingness to face the void, not a conquering of it. Now that the masks are off, the frail egos exposed seem lost and uncertain…. the protagonists are utterly alone, stripped to raw flesh and dissolving. Having abandoned pretense, can they now rebuild a sense of self?” (B. Erickson,“Zeng Fanzhi: Raw Beneath the Mask,” October 2001, at www.shanghart.com) The present lot is highly unusual for Zeng’s work in that it depicts two figures instead of one; it is one of Zeng’s first works in which multiple characters are portrayed in symbiotic relationships of strength. Previously, pairs or groups of figures in his Mask and Hospital series only reinforced a mood of alienation and cruelty. In the “unmasking” series, when we finally encounter the willingness to face truth, Zeng’s characters frequently appear alone, apprehensive but courageous.The viewer is fully immersed in the individual’s process of discovery behind the mask, as if such unraveling and reconstruction of identity was so intensely personal that it could only be portrayed as metaphorical introspection. In comparison, in the current lot the more powerful anterior figure firmly grips the man in front of him as if guiding him through their shared fall. There is a clear, positive sense of mentorship or brotherhood in this relationship, at least for a moment on the canvas, even as the characters face their unknown journey ahead. Read More
Zeng Fanzhi Untitled 2002 Oil on linen. 97 3/8 x 67 3/4 in. (247.3 x 172.1 cm). Signed and dated “Zeng Fanzhi [in Chinese and English] 2002” along central right edge.
Provenance ShangArt Gallery, Shanghai Exhibited Shanghai Art Museum, I/We 1991-2003The Painting of Zeng Fanzhi March 8 - 18, 2003 Literature Pi, L. and He, L. eds., I/We 1991-2003 The Painting of Zeng Fanzhi Hubei, 2003, pp. 148-149 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay Portraiture, and its psychological dimensions as conveyed through paint, is the dominant theme in Zeng Fanzhi’s work. The artist first rose to international fame with his Mask series, in which a variety of Chinese Everymen were depicted wearing masks symbolizing their socially constructed identities. Pursuant to the Mask series, Zeng embarked on paintings in which themasked are stripped of their facades, falling free through the canvas as theirpainted disguises dissolve to reveal true faces. “Removing the masks indicates only a willingness to face the void, not a conquering of it. Now that the masks are off, the frail egos exposed seem lost and uncertain…. the protagonists are utterly alone, stripped to raw flesh and dissolving. Having abandoned pretense, can they now rebuild a sense of self?” (B. Erickson,“Zeng Fanzhi: Raw Beneath the Mask,” October 2001, at www.shanghart.com) The present lot is highly unusual for Zeng’s work in that it depicts two figures instead of one; it is one of Zeng’s first works in which multiple characters are portrayed in symbiotic relationships of strength. Previously, pairs or groups of figures in his Mask and Hospital series only reinforced a mood of alienation and cruelty. In the “unmasking” series, when we finally encounter the willingness to face truth, Zeng’s characters frequently appear alone, apprehensive but courageous.The viewer is fully immersed in the individual’s process of discovery behind the mask, as if such unraveling and reconstruction of identity was so intensely personal that it could only be portrayed as metaphorical introspection. In comparison, in the current lot the more powerful anterior figure firmly grips the man in front of him as if guiding him through their shared fall. There is a clear, positive sense of mentorship or brotherhood in this relationship, at least for a moment on the canvas, even as the characters face their unknown journey ahead. Read More
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
