Untitled No. 2

Zeng Fanzhi's notable artistic career has always been tied to his personal experiences within China's contemporary society: his Meat and Hospital series from his time in Wuhan in the early years of 1990s, his Mask series after his move to Beijing in the mid- 1990s... Now, his more recent works mark a significant shift in hiss artistic practices and visionary outlook. Instead of focusing on the formal representations of the existential discomfort experienceds in contemporary society as the Mask Series compositions did, in 2000s, Zeng turned towards an exploration of the abstract and thes unexplored.

One of the earliest works in Zeng Fanzhi's experiment in abstraction, Untitled No. 2 (Lot 142) delivers a despotic impression more complete in detail than other similar works in this period. The tones of pink quickly remind viewers of the color that Zeng used in depictions of skinned flesh and raw meat within his Meat series. For Zeng, amongst the swirling, chaotic but rhythmic strokes is this
idea of vulnerability and insecurity, like that of his subject's exposed raw skin. These abstract works, unlike the Western expressionism
artworks they are often compared to, reveal Zeng's internal state and sentiments of mind through the rhythm and spirit of his composition. They are constantly evolving and creating new impressions to the audience.