Lot 7

Work is in very good condition with no apparent faults. Well framed with minor wear to edges, 94 x 77cm.


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Shangart, Shanghai
Nellie Castan Gallery, Melbourne
Private collection, Melbourne

Zeng Fanzhi's portraits are globally celebrated for his use of expressionist representational techniques that document a prolific period of social and economic development in Chinese history. With an artistic career stretching across 30 years, Zeng Fanzhi has continuously sought to infuse western theories, calligraphy and social realism developing a body of work with symbolically rich and emotive images that have been universally lauded.
Based in Beijing, China, Zeng Fanzhi was born in Wuhan in 1964. Growing up during the later years of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, his parents who were printmakers were avid supporters of his creative interests, even when the family struggled to make ends meet. At 16 he travelled solo to Shanghai after learning of a travelling exhibition of French art. The show, 250 Years in France, surveyed paintings from every stage of French art history. The show left a lasting impression on Zeng Fanzhi and would influence his art in the years to come. Honing the technical skills of social realist painting, Zeng Fanzhi studied Fine Arts at the Hubei Academy of Fine Arts from 1987 to 1991. Frustrated with the restrictive teaching methods, he trudged through his studies feeling uninspired as the curriculum consisted only of communist-approved art training, far from the colourful expressionist works he witnessed in Shanghai as a 16-year-old.
- Lucy Foster, Fine Art Specialist