How artist Zeng Fanzhi has put his life in frame through his work
Chinese artist displays oil paintings and two sculptures in New York’s Gagosian Gallery
He may be one of the most expensive living artists in Asia but Beijing-based artist Zeng Fanzhi insists his international success in the market has not interfered with his artistic process.
“When my generation of artists started out, there was no art market in China. We couldn’t even conceive of one back then. So the intentions behind our art were very pure,” the 51-year-old painter explains during an interview at the Gagosian Gallery in New York, where his latest exhibition “Paintings, Drawings, and Two Sculptures” is showing.
“The market came into being for us in the early 21st century, and the whole value system changed,” Zeng says. “But the artists themselves don’t have any influence over that. All we can do is continue to devote ourselves to our art – keep on practising, keep on studying, and keep on creating works that spring from our purest intentions. If we stick to that, I don’t think our art will be changed by external forces like the market.”
Zeng’s solo show features 25 works, of which the majority are in oil, his favourite medium. But two untitled branch-like works at the Gagosian are sculptures, as well as mixed-media pictures that echo Abstract Expressionism.
