Conversations
A conversation between Zeng Fanzhi and Fiona Römer
Zeng Fanzhi, Untitled, 2018 © Zeng Fanzhi
- 14 January 2019
In her capacity as Senior Director, Asia, Fiona Römer has oversight of the gallery’s development in the region, and is based in Hong Kong. Fiona has worked very closely with Zeng Fanzhi since he joined the gallery last year, and was responsible for coordinating his three concurrent exhibitions across London, Zurich, and Hong Kong.
Fiona Römer: This work is part of a new body of abstract landscape paintings. I am fascinated by your constantly evolving style in painting. It is even part of your practice to work on multiple artworks in different styles simultaneously, which is quite unique. Why do you challenge yourself constantly?
Zeng Fanzhi: My practice of working concurrently on different types of paintings, such as landscape, portraiture or still life, allows me to refine the figurative through the exercises of the abstract, and vice versa. It is my way to blur the boundaries of paintings. When I gradually become skillful in mastering new techniques and methods through this process, I also need to be cautious not to fall down the slippery slope of familiarity. A very skilled painting could lack vitality, so I constantly need that sense of breaking fresh ground. I consider each creation as an experiment in order to make breakthroughs.
FR: Your in-depth exploration of abstract painting began in 2002. In the early abstract paintings we see scenes of nature and figures. In this new work, the realistic subject matter is gone and you are using more vivid colors than in your previous work. How did this shift in interest come about? What is your inspiration for this new body of work?
ZF: This was more or less a transition from the external to the internal. I’ve been painting the abstract landscape works since 2002. Earlier, I was painting figurative in an abstract way, but now I am turning to further abstraction—even beyond any narrative and figuration. Besides, over the past two years, I deliberately made some changes to my palette, paying more attention to the contrast between different hues, brightness, etc. I have made lots of bold experiments, using color and line to express my personal feelings and spirit. This shift is like a meditation—seemingly a repetitive daily practice—but I continuously evolve toward a new direction until I find consciousness through unconsciousness.
‘My ultimate quest is always for an aesthetic that blends multiple cultures to form a unity.’
Zeng Fanzhi in his studio. Photo: Oliver Helbig
FR: Can you tell us more about your painting method and process in these abstract landscape paintings?
ZF: It is like a game of breaking the rules and reestablishing the order. Before I paint, I draw something similar to a color coverage layout. During the painting process that follows, I encounter many impromptu changes, which bring increasing challenges toward the end, as the color relations between different layers and sections become more complex. Also, how the brush touches the canvas and how each stroke moves are both crucial; one misleading line can spoil the entire painting. So the process requires a balance between skilled control and some kind of spontaneity. It is not successful each time and it involves luck.
FR: Having visited your studio multiple times over the course of the past two years, I believe one can only start to understand you as an artist after having witnessed your passion for the arts and culture. You are interested in different periods within art history, in Asian and Western art. Do you feel that your passion for masterpieces throughout different decades influences your work?
ZF: Painting provides me a gateway to stay in contact with the world. I observe arts from the East and the West; from antiquity to modernity—arts spanning diverse times and cultures. Though with a shifting focus in my research at different stages, my ultimate quest is always for an aesthetic that blends multiple cultures to form a unity. Even the music I listen to daily, the films that I watch—all accumulate in my visual and sensory experiences, to be reflected in and to permeate my work.
Hauser & Wirth’s presentation is on view at Art Basel, from 13 – 16 June 2019.