Oil on canvas

215 × 330.5 cm. 84 5/8 x 130 1/8 in.

Signed in Chinese and English, dated on bottom right
PROVENANCE
ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai
29 Jun 2008, Phillips London Spring Auction, Lot 236
6 Apr 2015, Poly Hong Kong Spring Auction, Lot 159
Important Private collection, Asia

Bold Steps Forward with the Tide of the Times
Self-Portrait (Stroller) — A Magnificent Classic by Zeng Fanzhi in his Chaotic Pen series
“Resting on your laurels is as dangerous as resting when you are walking in the snow.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein
“I have always sought a path that belongs to me completely, not influenced by any great teacher whatsoever.”
— Zeng Fanzhi
In October 2013, in the center of the art world, the works of Zeng Fanzhi were displayed at the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art as part of a major retrospective exhibition of the artist’s life, making him the first living Chinese artist to receive such an opportunity. The next October, his new work, From 1830 till Now (part of his Chaotic Pen series) was displayed at the Louvre Museum as a result of the venue commissioning him to re-create the motif found within French Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix’s famous Liberty Leading the People and offering to set what he made next to the original. Before then, no contemporary artist had ever had the honor of having a piece exhibited in the Louvre in juxtaposition to a renowned master’s work from the museum’s collection.
With that, Zeng Fanzhi received acknowledgement from the most renowned art gallery in the West. This was not only a milestone in his artistic career; it also signified how quickly Chinese contemporary art progressed in the past 30 years, finally putting it on par with the esteem of Western art. Zeng’s works also found favor in the global art market. In October 2013, The Last Supper was sold at auction for 180 million Hong Kong dollars, setting a record for a Chinese artist and making Zeng the Chinese contemporary artist of most note in international art circles. After this, in March 2018, the topline art gallery Hauser & Wirth announced that it, the Chinese art gallery ShangART, and the globally leading Gagosian Gallery would together be the three galleries to represent his works. For contemporary artists, this unprecedented level of international cooperation was an indication of a bright and positive future for both Zeng Fanzhi and the contemporary Chinese art world as a whole.
This acclaim on the international art stage, however, did not come without the artist’s and even an entire Chinese generation’s hard work and determination.
Continuing Personal Breakthrough: the Chaotic Pen Series
Zeng Fanzhi was, without doubt, a leading figure in contemporary Chinese art. He graduated from the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, receiving his degree from the Oil Painting Department, and left Wuhan for Beijing at the onset of the 1990s. His graduate project took the form of his Hospital series, which led him to be accepted by Li Xianting, the father of Chinese contemporary art, as a member within the first art group from China recognized in the international art scene: China’s New Art, Post-1989. Later, his Mask series established Zeng’s iconic image and style, which quickly became the most recognizable symbol in Chinese contemporary art by the end of the century.
Regardless of all he had achieved, however, Zeng Fanzhi was not willing to remain where he was. From the beginning of the new millennium, a preliminary exploration of Abstract Expressionism led him to the most important stylistic turning point of his creative career. In the spring of 2001, the artist injured his right hand and decided to try using his left to paint. Out of this, he unexpectedly developed a new mode of artistic expression — so-called “chaotic” brushstrokes. He would rapidly paint overlaying lines on the canvas, and this constructed a “disorganized grass scene”. The technique redefined his creative style, which later expanded to portraits that changed the mode of conventional portraiture and gave rise to Zeng’s brilliant Chaotic Pen series.
Self-Portrait (Stroller), created in 2006, is one of the works presented here at this auction. As can be inferred by the name, the artist took this unique way of painting to depict himself and instill the piece with profound, insightful meaning, making it a testimony to how important this turning point and breakthrough indeed were for Zeng during this period.
Abstract Lines: from Depictions of Reality to Freehand Expression
It can be seen here that the texture of the brush itself and the gradual merging between white and blue depict a myriad of changes in the sky. In the middle of the image, the artist’s quick brush strokes left wild, rushed lines one after the other as they crisscross in disorder in various forms such as straight lines, curves, and even circles. Although these lines convey an overall disarray, each and every line is subtly different and unique, with not a single one repeated. “I am always fascinated by delicate, subtle elements in things. When I discover some subtle beauty, I always hope to enlarge it in the painting, so I generally choose very large canvases to bring out this fine beauty. I believe many artists are moved by the fine subtlety in things, and artists’ creative inspiration derives from this.” In the untidy strokes, it is not difficult to see an association with Chinese cursive script, Van Gogh’s golden and circular wheat fields, Pollock’s unconscious expression of art via the spilling and splashing of paint, or Kiefer’s “burnt-out aesthetics” in the form of tangled and withered plants.
In the portraits of Zeng Fanzhi’s early period, lines would generally appear as a supporting role of sorts. For example, in the early part of his Meat series, the artist drew blood-red lines on the red carcass of an animal; later on in the Mask series, lines would be used to add to the roughness of one’s hands and the tension of tendons. Themes would be various and ranged widely, but Zeng was consistent in his exploration of the esthetic significance and expressive power of lines. In Self-Portrait (Stroller), however, lines become the main role and are more spontaneously expressive than in Zeng’s earlier works. The artist uses indigo, golden yellow, and black lines to construct grass on both sides of the road, and he also depicts white light reflecting off the grass itself. This technique not only emphasizes the volume of the thick grass, but also leaves gaps in the dense composition, building a kind of visual balance, and further alternation between light and shadow is clear upon further inspection.
The thick, chaotic growth of grass, which became a recurring symbol after Zeng’s Mask series, represents the various practical problems that people must overcome throughout the journey of life. It stands for inner disturbance and agitation, for they have blocked the tranquil heart and the active brain. Under the clumps of grass, a fleshy pink runs across the entirety of the painting, superimposed upon the contour of the road. This expands the meaning conveyed by Zeng Fanzhi’s characteristic “flesh-colored people” trying to say, “Roads are for those making their way out.” Zeng previously created the Mask series with the ultimate aim of explaining various forms of falsehood and dissecting people’s inner worlds. Similarly, in this work, hidden in the disarray of the grass, the long and silent road stands for the artist’s hope of endlessly exploring his own true inner heart.
Reflecting on the Present as a Leader for the Era:
A Self-portrait of One Strolling
“Self-portraiture is the magical Fifth Element, first among equals with the four traditional genres (histories, portraits, landscapes and still lifes). Depending on who you talk to, it is an inspiring symbol of artistic freedom or a symptom of what has been dubbed ‘the culture of narcissism’.”
—James Hall, The Self-Portrait: A Cultural History
Zeng Fanzhi was deeply aware that success could make someone self-satisfied and that self-satisfaction would make someone insensitive, unable to correctly know the self. This is why he, at different periods, would create self-portraits and use them to get a good look at himself. Among his works, this type of self-portrait is quite rare, and as such, each is clearly especially valuable. He once said, “The self-portrait, as far as I am concerned, is a very important theme in painting. At every important stage in life, I have had a strong desire to create a self-portrait, as if it were a record. Painting a self-portrait, I am in a state of thinking of ‘recalling the past, looking forward to the future, and reflecting on the present’. We can more clearly understand the self and break through to it.”
Most self-portraits depict the artist sitting; Self-Portrait (Stroller), on the other hand, shows the highly uncommon image of the painter walking. Here, the “self” is at the center, looking directly at the viewer without a hint of shyness or a desire to escape. The subject’s eyes are both bright and spirited, and his glance reveals resolve and tranquility. His clothing is neat and fashionable, with a natural and self-confident style. With a leader’s poise, he strides ahead, his right leg pacing forward, his left arm swinging ahead, symbols of an artist who not only accepts his present situation but also looksvv forward to a brighter future.
The work was created in 2006, when China’s contemporary art market was developing explosively and Zeng Fanzhi’s artworks were yielding excellent results. China was in a “pre-Olympic” period, with rapid economic and infrastructural development taking place as far as the eye could see. This is why the painting shows the artist full of self-confidence, and the image of a person with clear aims not only represented the artist himself, but even more the devoted efforts of all who called themselves Chinese. Through painting, Zeng gained self-understanding and self-communication. He later changed his image to that of a historical symbol hiding under the grass. In Self-Portrait (Stroller), he did not put on a mask for people but deliberately chose to make a rare full-length portrait, creating a grand narrative as in Courbet’s portrait The Meeting and thereby conveying a historical sense of mission. The artist externalized his inner reflection and — through affirmation of his own situation — paid tribute to the continually advancing Chinese people and nation, the significance expressed in the work bearing a certain resemblance to Chairman Mao Goes to Anyuan. That being said, when Zeng was creating this work of highly individual style, he went through a sequence of three stages: knowing himself, rejecting the self he once knew, and shaping a new self-knowledge.
It can be said that Zeng Fanzhi’s artistic career was a miniature version of the 30 years of development of Chinese contemporary art. He certainly not only matured together with it but could be said to be one of the creators, if not the creator, of Chinese contemporary painting itself. Zeng was someone who was not influenced by certain negative influences seeping through the contemporary art scene at the time; rather, he stood firm as one who continually sought a new direction for his own artistic direction and who earnestly strove for the artistic development of an entire era.

Price estimate:
HKD: 10,000,000 - 15,000,000
USD: 1,282,100 - 1,923,100

Auction Result:
HKD: --