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Zeng Fanzhi’s evocative and emotionally direct paintings capture the dissonance of modern life with stunning psychological acuity. While his figures are often rendered against empty or abstracted backgrounds, Zeng suggests as much about his subjects’ wider social and political contexts as their inner worlds. With a unique synthesis of Eastern and Western reference points—from lively brushwork and enlarged features recalling German Expressionism to ironic appropriations of Communist-era social realist tropes – Zeng has become a preeminent chronicler of the rapidly globalizing face of contemporary China.

Beijing