.jpg?w=1)
拍品專文
'The image of the mask is a theme I have worked on for several years... [these paintings] focus on life in the modern environment and, due to the distrust, jealousy and misunderstandings between people, a state of mind that is unavoidably forced upon them. In today's society, masks can be found in every place. It doesn't matter if you are after protecting yourself, or you desire to deceive others, the true self will always be concealed' (Zeng Fanzhi cited in L. Pi, Zeng Fanzhi 1993-1998, Beijing, 1998, p. 84).
Chinese art undertook a number of substantial changes in the 1980s and 1990s, a period during which many artists executed some of their most iconic and significant works. As the impact of rapid modernization continued to re-shape Chinese life, the optimism associated with the first era of reforms vanished and artists increasingly took a critical view of the world around them. It was during this time that the painter Zeng Fanzhi emerged as one of the most important, critical voices of his generation. Increasingly, Zeng developed an interest in the psychological states of contemporary life, and especially the social anxiety and alienation felt by aspiring urban elites forced to perform new kinds of social roles.
Zeng Fanzhi's earliest works displayed the influence of Francis Bacon, Max Beckman, and German expressionism, and the first seeds of the artist's own investigation into the cruelty and physical pain of every day life. These paintings featured figures whose flesh appeared raw and exposed, literally and metaphorically as if they were without a skin to protect themselves. Zeng relied heavily on the use of palette knives to manipulate the paint, further underscoring Zeng's dark themes.
With the Mask series, the rawness of the early works is reduced and contrasted with other elements in the painting. Mask Series 1999 No. 5 is a fine example from this seminal series. Typical of the works from the series, the painting is meticulously executed. Like traditional portraitists, Zeng gives special attention to the figure's hands and facial features. But encased behind his seamless and impenetrable mask, the figure's expression reveals nothing, and his hands hang awkwardly and self-consciously, knotted with anxiety. In this particular example, the palette has evolved beyond the subdued, near monochromatic hues of the earlier works, and instead the artist employs excessively cheerful, pop colors. Zeng has stated that this shift in palette was made in order to further heighten the sense of illusion. The background is absurdly bright and slightly out of focus, as if the figure has been dropped into a fantasy world.
This more elaborated, theatrical backdrop reflects a shift in Zeng's own assessment of his contemporaries' consciousness. The severity and loneliness of the early works spoke to a crisis in consciousness newly discovered. But here the figure exists in relative harmony with his environment. His features reveal nothing about his interior life, and the environment is an impossible dream-like setting. It is as if the painful gap between ideology and reality that plagued Chinese artists in the 1980s and early 1990s are no longer a compelling concern for contemporary cosmopolitans - new elites who are more than willing to live with the deferred, illusory promises of China's furious path to modernization.
Chinese art undertook a number of substantial changes in the 1980s and 1990s, a period during which many artists executed some of their most iconic and significant works. As the impact of rapid modernization continued to re-shape Chinese life, the optimism associated with the first era of reforms vanished and artists increasingly took a critical view of the world around them. It was during this time that the painter Zeng Fanzhi emerged as one of the most important, critical voices of his generation. Increasingly, Zeng developed an interest in the psychological states of contemporary life, and especially the social anxiety and alienation felt by aspiring urban elites forced to perform new kinds of social roles.
Zeng Fanzhi's earliest works displayed the influence of Francis Bacon, Max Beckman, and German expressionism, and the first seeds of the artist's own investigation into the cruelty and physical pain of every day life. These paintings featured figures whose flesh appeared raw and exposed, literally and metaphorically as if they were without a skin to protect themselves. Zeng relied heavily on the use of palette knives to manipulate the paint, further underscoring Zeng's dark themes.
With the Mask series, the rawness of the early works is reduced and contrasted with other elements in the painting. Mask Series 1999 No. 5 is a fine example from this seminal series. Typical of the works from the series, the painting is meticulously executed. Like traditional portraitists, Zeng gives special attention to the figure's hands and facial features. But encased behind his seamless and impenetrable mask, the figure's expression reveals nothing, and his hands hang awkwardly and self-consciously, knotted with anxiety. In this particular example, the palette has evolved beyond the subdued, near monochromatic hues of the earlier works, and instead the artist employs excessively cheerful, pop colors. Zeng has stated that this shift in palette was made in order to further heighten the sense of illusion. The background is absurdly bright and slightly out of focus, as if the figure has been dropped into a fantasy world.
This more elaborated, theatrical backdrop reflects a shift in Zeng's own assessment of his contemporaries' consciousness. The severity and loneliness of the early works spoke to a crisis in consciousness newly discovered. But here the figure exists in relative harmony with his environment. His features reveal nothing about his interior life, and the environment is an impossible dream-like setting. It is as if the painful gap between ideology and reality that plagued Chinese artists in the 1980s and early 1990s are no longer a compelling concern for contemporary cosmopolitans - new elites who are more than willing to live with the deferred, illusory promises of China's furious path to modernization.