 ditorial Note:Acquavella Galleries will present the first U.S. solo exhibition of Chinese contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi from April 2 – May 15, 2009. Most of the approximately 20 oil on canvas works in the exhibition, featuring Fanzhi’s newest landscapes and recent portraits, will be shown publicly for the first time. The following interview talks about Fanzhi's new works, his inspirations of making art and how he looks at the western and Chinese contemporary art.
Michael Findlay: The panoramic landscapes seem mysterious. Do you see them this way? Is there a narrative?
 Zeng Fanzhi: They are not real landscape. They are rather about an experience of miao wu (marvelous revelation). Miao wu does not fall into the common categories of cognitive process. Neither has it anything to do with Reason. Miao wu is a kind of revelation. Instead of making something obvious Miao wu brought about an unmarked world, which underlies the deep strata of life, both novel and familiar. In this respect, the miao wu type of revelation concerns a disclosure of what is already embedded in the artistic ego – the revealed world is there, but it is unfamiliar and amazing. Miao wu constitutes a restless journey of discovery.
Michael Findlay: What inspires you more--what you see or what you feel?
Zeng Fanzhi: My inspiration comes from every aspects of life, such as my childhood memory, my life experience as well as their sounds and smells. They made for me a variety of mental images. These experiences are kind of Miao wu experience, which consists of two different conditions – the “objecthood” of the subject matter and the “equilibrium” of an artistic ego. The “objecthood” comes both before and after the “equilibrium.” The “equilibrium” thus ends up being less abstract contemplations than tangible images. Although a subject could throw its projection onto the artistic ego it nonetheless becomes the later – the artistic ego and the subject matter are distinct from each other. The subject is merely a trigger for the desires and calculations of the ego. It can only prefect itself through the imposition of the strong  artistic ego upon the subject. The subject and the artistic ego belong to two different realms of the external and of the internal.
Michael Findlay: What has been the biggest change in your work over the last ten years?
Zeng Fanzhi: In the recent decade I became increasingly relying on an introspective representation. My sentimental fluctuation leads to the periodical difference among my works.
Michael Findlay: Have any particular historical works of art motivated or challenged your development?
Zeng Fanzhi: I have been consistently studying masters’ pieces that are art historically important. I embraced different masters, ranging from Jan Van Eyck to Pablo Picasso, in varied periods of my life.
Michael Findlay: Do you see any conflict between the different traditions of Chinese painting and Western art in technique, meaning or spirit?
Zeng Fanzhi: Su Shi, the well-known poet of the eleventh century, states that “only children would judge a painting  with its faithfulness to nature; one who is only able to compose the poem must not be a real poet.” He means that if a painting becomes a dull duplication of reality it would be considered only as primitive. A painting has to capture the essence of its topic. A principle central to Chinese art is about the uncertain status of “likeness of form(s).” If a representation gets too close to its prototype it may look rigid. On the contrary, if it goes too distanced from its life model it becomes a fake. The perfection swings, then, between the “like” and the “not-like,” the abstract and the concrete, the full and the empty. The key issue is not so much about the “like”-“not-like” as about how to approach the issue of “formation.” It is the responsibility of an artist to regulate the form with his spirit and to have the meanings embodied in the form, to an extent that the spirit and the form are perfectly combined and complement each other. “Should you not be lavish in the moonlight but rather enjoy the subtle fragrance?” The verse tells the secret of classical Chinese art that strives for a spirit to transcend its physical constraints. The traditional Chinese painting employs only very basic materials and devices, such as light paper, soft brushes, plain ink and simplistic lines, for an extraordinarily rich mindscape of literati. In comparison, Western painting reveals strong curiosities about the craftsmanship. It relies on  heavy canvas, metal knives, opaque oil paints and elaborated palettes for spectacular Chiaroscuro type of contrasts, vivid perspectives and analytic knowledge.
Michael Findlay: You have been grouped with Chinese contemporary figurative artists. Do you feel any affinity with their work? Do you consider yourself part of an ethnic, national or generational Movement?
Zeng Fanzhi: I am interested in their works, but tend not to be judgmental.
I was born in the 1960s and witnessed the change of the country in each crucial decade. I am more concerned with ordinary people’s life experiences. In my works, the natural revelation of contemporary thoughts and sentiments is far more important than those articulated Chinese icons and iconographies.
Michael Findlay: Some artists enjoy working alone, others in a busy studio with assistants. What is your ideal work environment?
Zeng Fanzhi: I got used to working alone while listening to music.
 Michael Findlay: You are now one of the pre-eminent artists of your generation in China , your work is bought by major museums and collectors world-wide and has sold for extremely high prices at auction. How do you measure success for yourself and what type of success would you like to achieve in the next ten years?
Zeng Fanzhi: The auction records were out of my expectation. I was not even aware that my works are marketable in my college. At the time I only wished to paint with my heart. Painting is part of my life.
In future, I hope that people will not be so concerned with the price of my work as with its interpretations. I wish that my works would be able to make senses to different nations and people. And their influences would be endurable.
Michael Findlay: In the past you have painted images of Mao Zedong and your prototypical "man" image appears to allude to a fusion of Asian and Western stereotypes. Do you see your work as political and/or cultural critique?
 Zeng Fanzhi: As a Chinese artist, the socialist discourse and education is an intrinsic part of our life. It has made a deep impact on our artistic endeavors. The socialist realist way of doing art unfolds our journey as young artists. Meanwhile it is also a departing point for our future pursuits. This is a matter of fact and should not be bypassed. Regarding historic reforms and artistic expressions, we choose to face the reality and be true to our feelings that the reality brought about. This concerns both our primary trainings and a potential way to get out of it. The unique social circumstances and ideologies enrich the artistic spectrum of contemporary China. While more and more artists pay attentions to societal and political issues, there are also some people who are more concerned with the life experiences of ordinary persons. The former may help remind the observers of the existence of a “Chinese Art,” or “Chinese Contemporary Art,” as in their capital forms. But I am certainly prone to the latter. I have a deep concern with the substantial life experiences of ordinary people.
Michael Findlay: If you could choose to be an artist working in any milieu in any country at any period in history other than today, what would that milieu be?
Zeng Fanzhi: I would like to find myself in the early 20th century France, sitting with Paul Cezanne, doing still life stuff with him.
Below are part of the works by the artist:
Porrait 08-7-7，2008
Porrait 08-2-1，2008
Porrait 08-4-1，2008
Porrait 08-7-2，2008
Porrait 08-12-1，2008
Porrait 08-7-6，2008
Untitled 08-3-2，2008
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