Zeng Fanzhi (Chinese, born 1964), 曾梵志Mask Series
1996

signed and dated 96
oil on canvas

54 x 44 cm (21 1/4 x 17 5/16 in)注脚Provenance
Sale: Christie's, Hong Kong, Asian Contemporary Art, 26 May 2013, Lot 226
Acquired from the above by the present owner

曾梵志
面具系列
油彩畫布
1996年作

簽名: 96 曾梵志

來源
拍賣: 香港佳士得,「亞洲當代藝術」, 2013年5月26日, 拍品編號226
現藏家購自上述拍賣

Zeng Fanzhi, born in Wuhan in 1964, is the most representative figure of Chinese contemporary art. He is adept at observing the environment and the human mental condition, and then projecting his keen insights onto the canvas, seeking out questions with his brush and pondering the ways in which our environment impacts us on a psychological and spiritual level. Since Xiehe Hospital and Meat from the early 1990s, he has focused his attention on suffering and authority, describing the collective fate of the people in objective and even tones. In the Mask series, he began to develop new themes of life and power. The people in these paintings have raised their social standing through commercial activities, with the protagonists turning into suit-wearing members of the white collar class, or adults wearing the red bandanas of schoolchildren.

This current lot was created in the 1990s, during the artist's mask period, but differs in that the protagonist has taken off his mask. The white mask seems to have left some pieces of itself on his face. Without the mask, the protagonist reveals the spiritual condition of the times. The intentionally exaggerated eyes and slightly furrowed brow convey confusion or contemplation. A disproportionate hand points to his mouth, and his head is slightly askew, as if he is hesitating about what to say. The protagonist's body language foreshadows spontaneous movements that subconsciously arise under pressure. Zeng Fanzhi has deftly grasped human nature and the facial expressions of moments of emotion, and presents a state of anxiety and unease to the viewer.

Human nature has always been a major theme of exploration for Zeng Fanzhi. Who we are when the mask comes off, what defines us, is perhaps what he wants the viewer to ponder. The mask is a symbol for self-defense mechanisms. At the moment it comes off, the momentary sense of disorientation gets people thinking about their orientation and changing roles, but the problems still persist just as before. For this painting, Zeng Fanzhi thought deeply about that distorted mental state from the moment the mask comes off, and he also tossed the question over to the viewer, making us aware of the need for masks that inevitably arises from social pressure, while also giving us a profound experience of being forced by one's environment to do a mask, and that sense of helplessness after it comes off.

曾梵志1964年生於武漢，是中國當代藝術最具代表性的藝術家。他善於觀察環境和人性的心理狀態，並將敏銳的觀察力投射在畫布上，透過畫筆來找尋問題，思考我們所存在的環境對心理和精神層面的影響。從90年初的《協和醫院》、《肉》，他關注在苦難和權力上， 客觀平述的方式來描繪人民的集體命運。在《面具》系列，他則開始對生命和強權下的主題開啟了新發展。畫中的人物經商業行為提升了社會地位，主角轉換為穿西裝的白領階層或戴著紅領巾的成人。

本次的拍品是繪於90年代面具系列的創作期， 但不同的是，主角在此畫中被去掉了面具。白色的面具似乎還殘留在臉龐上。沒有了面具，主角真實流露出當下的精神狀態。刻意誇大的雙眼，眉頭深鎖，傳達主角疑惑的思慮。超出正常比例的大手指著嘴巴，頭微微傾斜地，似乎暗示主角猶豫自己該說的話。畫中人物的肢體表達顯示了人在壓力下時無意識的自發動作。曾梵志巧妙的掌握了人性及情感瞬間的神情，將焦慮和內心不安的心境呈現給觀者。

人性一直是曾梵志探討的題目，面具拿下時，我們是誰，什麼定義我們，也許是曾梵志要觀者思考的問題。面具是自我保衛機制的象徵，卸下的那刻，頓時的錯亂感使人們思考自己的定位和角色轉換，但問題依舊是存在的。曾梵志在此副畫作深刻表達卸下面具後扭曲的心理狀態，他也將問題丟回觀者，讓我們意識到在社會壓力下而自然產生的面具需求，也深刻感受因環境而被迫帶上面具和卸下面具後的無奈感。