Art gallery Hauser & Wirth signs Zeng Fanzhi, one of China’s most famous painters, ahead of its Hong Kong opening
The artist who set an auction record for contemporary Chinese art with his US$23 million The Last Supper is one of only two Chinese artists to be represented by the international gallery
International gallery Hauser & Wirth has announced ahead of the opening of its Hong Kong gallery that it has signed Zeng Fanzhi, one of China’s best-known contemporary artists.
Zeng – best known for his “Mask” series and for setting the auction record for contemporary Chinese art when The Last Supper (2001) sold for HK$180.4 million (US$23.3 million) in 2013 – is one of only a handful of Chinese artists to be represented by top Western galleries.
Zhang Enli was the first Chinese artist to be signed to Hauser & Wirth, and Zeng is its second.
The artist, who has been represented by another art-world powerhouse, Gagosian Gallery, since 2011, says he is not switching stables.
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“I will continue to have a relationship with Gagosian Gallery, and in China, I will keep cooperating with ShanghART Gallery. Both of them have travelled with me along the lonely art journey and I appreciate their efforts very much!” he says via email.
