Cheng Conglin is one of the foremost representatives of the Chinese Scar Art period. After the Cultural Revolution, Chinese artists were no longer bound by its standardized painting styles. They began to focus more on the land and its people, developing the unique Scar Art style to express genuine emotions and feelings, especially the psychological traumas suffered by the people during the Cultural Revolution. Through a sincere artistic language. Cheng's Scar Art language is of a non-pretentious, humble and realistic style, illustrating the artist's observations of the lives and strong spiritual strength of society's underprivileged.
Woman Dressing Up (Lot 122) has a balanced structure and serious yet simple colour scheme. Overall, a rather dark tones were used, heightening the psychological and physical elements of the figure portrayed. Cheng, with a nod to Fauvism, uses blue, green and red to create shading and layering on the female figure's arms and face. The figure tilts her head slightly as she dresses. There is a tribal totem on the carpet hanging in the background and the accessories, as well as the figure's clothing, demonstrate a strong tribal element. Cheng is an expert in expressing personal feelings through his figures. Though the painting is called Woman Dressing Up, upon more detailed examination, the female figure appears to be engaged in deep thought with both of her hands on her head. In addition, the bruises on her left cheek, her focus on the ground and her hardened facial expression, sadly indicate that she may not be dressing up to please herself. Every detail in the painting is not only accurately depicted, but also a deftly crafted symbol. Although the negative space in the right and the bottom left corner somehow lightens the serious atmosphere of the painting, it more importantly signifies the loneliness and emptiness of the female figure.