The enthusiasm of the Chinese art market for Zeng Fanzhi reached a peak from 2008 to 2013. A self portrait was sold for HK$ 37.6M including premium at Christie's on May 28, 2011, lot 1024, but did not reach its reserve price at Sotheby's in October 2015 with a lower estimate at HK$ 25M.
It is now estimated £ 1,5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on June 28, lot 45, the last but one lot of the evening sale. I paste below my 2011 discussion slightly increased in 2015.
The series of the Masks by Zeng Fanzhi, begun in 1994, are constituting a favorite set within the contemporary Chinese painting. His characters hide their personality for reasons that are probably their own. Relations between humans are artificial.
In 1996, at the time of the full development of his Masks, Zeng painted a life size self portrait, oil on canvas 200 x 169 cm.
Zeng provides an image of himself without a mask. He is a young artist of 32 whose face is too serious, whose hands are too large and jacket too narrow. He is dressed cool but in western fashion, and for sure he questions if such a modernism betrays the Chinese tradition. The wall behind him is covered with some unreadable calligraphy.
The catalogues by Sotheby's include an interesting comment on a possible influence of Max Beckmann's self portraits on Zeng. The scattered watermelons may be a symbol for the commonplace garbage in Western and Eastern modern life.
On May 24, 2008, Christie's had sold for HK $ 75M including premium a Mask of the same year, 1996, 200 x 360 cm, on which eight aligned characters smile without reason, like for a family or team sport photo.
SOLD for £ 2.05M including premium
It is now estimated £ 1,5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on June 28, lot 45, the last but one lot of the evening sale. I paste below my 2011 discussion slightly increased in 2015.
The series of the Masks by Zeng Fanzhi, begun in 1994, are constituting a favorite set within the contemporary Chinese painting. His characters hide their personality for reasons that are probably their own. Relations between humans are artificial.
In 1996, at the time of the full development of his Masks, Zeng painted a life size self portrait, oil on canvas 200 x 169 cm.
Zeng provides an image of himself without a mask. He is a young artist of 32 whose face is too serious, whose hands are too large and jacket too narrow. He is dressed cool but in western fashion, and for sure he questions if such a modernism betrays the Chinese tradition. The wall behind him is covered with some unreadable calligraphy.
The catalogues by Sotheby's include an interesting comment on a possible influence of Max Beckmann's self portraits on Zeng. The scattered watermelons may be a symbol for the commonplace garbage in Western and Eastern modern life.
On May 24, 2008, Christie's had sold for HK $ 75M including premium a Mask of the same year, 1996, 200 x 360 cm, on which eight aligned characters smile without reason, like for a family or team sport photo.
SOLD for £ 2.05M including premium
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