“In the process of painting a self-portrait, my mentality is best described as “recollects ing the past, anticipating the future, contemplating the present,” a state of mind which enables me to better perceive and break through myself.”
H ands on his hips, staring steadfast out to an unseen horizon, Zeng Fanzhi represents himself as the confident leader of the development of Chinese contemporary art in this remarkable self-portrait. Executed in 2006, two years after he began his abstracted landscape series in 2004, this self-portrait, imbued with tenacity, reveals a distinct self-assurance in the evolution of his unique artistic process that involves the artist painting with two brushes at the same t.mes . Describings the significance of the genre of self-portraiture to his artistic expression, the artist stated: “Every t.mes there were important instances and changes in my life, I always sensed a strong passion to paint self-portraits: when I moved to Beijing in 1993 and my life changed forever; in 1996, when the Mask Series reached an important stage—to my mind, at least; and in 2005 and 2009, when I was part of several international exhibitions. In each of these periods, I painted a self-portrait, and collects ively they have become a kind of documentary of myself” (the artist quoted in “Zeng Fanzhi | Van Gogh”, Gagosian Quarterly, 8 January 2018). 2006 was a pivotal t.mes in the artist’s career, creating and exhibiting his new paintings that wonderfully merge the figurative with the abstract. Reinforced by its large-scale, Self-Portrait signals a t.mes of renewal in Zeng’s career, his blue, branch-like brushwork threatening to engulf the form of the artist.
“Lines are rarely featured in Western oil painting. Instead, a picture is mainly comprised of planes, colours, light and shadows. In Chinese paintings, subjects are often outlined in ink with the calligraphy brush. I have always wanted to look for a language that is uniquely my own. I think I might have found a small pathway.”
Zeng Fanzhi began experimenting with landscapes and expressionistic brushwork shortly after the turn of the millennium. Beginning with adding abstract lines to his masked portraits, Zeng adopted the luanbi (loose-brush) technique, recalling the work of American Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollock as well as the aesthetics of traditional Chinese calligraphy. The style evolved from a period during which Zeng injured his right hand; by experimenting with using his left hand to paint, Zeng developed his new method of expression. Describings the significance of calligraphy and the powerful rhythmicality of his work, the artist explained: “People in the West initially thought of it [the motif of the branches] as a type of expressionistic brushwork. Early on, I, too, thought of it like this. But later I began to think of the branches as being related more to traditional Chinese calligraphy. So when painting, I would pay special attention to the rhythm and the spirit of the brush stroke with the belief that each stroke has its own movement and its own internal beauty. It’s different from Western expressionism, not because Western expressionism is superficial, but it’s characterised more by an external view of the brush, whereas calligraphy has more to do with the internal state of mind” (artist quoted in Amy Qin, “Artist Zeng Fanzhi on the Evolution of His Work and China’s Art Market”, The New York t.mes s, 22 September 2016, online). Self-Portrait is a sublime, confident example of Zeng Fanzhi’s unique artistic vision, and this period of transition between his masks and portraits to his convoluted abstract landscapes through which groups or singular figures are often visible amongst the branch-like brushwork.
「『回憶過去，展望未來，反思當下』，是對我創作自畫像過程中思維方式的一個貼切形容，這是一個讓我更好地感知和突破自己的思想狀態。」
曾 梵志在這幅非同凡響的自畫像中展現了自己身爲中國當代藝術發展領軍人物的自信形象，他雙手放在腰間，堅定地凝視畫面中被隱藏的地平綫。這幅自畫像繪於2006年，也就是在他2004年開啓抽象風景系列創作兩年後，作品充滿堅韌不拔的鬥志、展露自信過人的一面。此時的他正在發展一套完全屬於自己的藝術語言，還會同時使用兩支畫筆作畫。對於曾梵志來說，自畫像是一個別具意義的藝術表現形式，他自言：「每當我的生活中發生重要的事件或者變化，我總是心生一股對自畫像的强烈創作熱情：1993年我搬去北京，自此我的生活永遠改變了；1996年，『面具』系列進入重要階段，至少我在心目中是這樣；然後在2005年和2009年，我參與了一些國際展覽。在這些不同時期，我都分別創作了一幅自畫像，它們合在一起來看，就成爲了一種對自己的紀錄」（引述藝術家，<曾梵志|梵谷>，《高古軒季刊》，2018年1月8日）。2006年是藝術家創作生涯中關鍵的一年，曾梵志完成了一些精彩地融合具象與抽象的新作，並獲得展出機會。《自畫像》象徵曾梵志事業上的重生階段，而且畫作的尺寸也非常大，畫中藍色樹枝狀的筆觸咄咄逼人，仿佛要吞噬藝術家的形象。
「西方油畫甚少以綫條爲重點。相反，畫作主要由平面、色彩以及明暗組成。中國畫的主題則常以小楷筆墨綫作勾勒。我一直都想追求屬於自己獨一無二的語言。我想我可能已經找到了一條小路。」
進入千禧年不久之後，曾梵志就開始了對風景題材和表現主義筆觸的探索。他開始在面具肖像作品中加上抽象化的綫條，當中採用的「亂筆」法，使人聯想到美國抽象表現主義大師如傑克森·波拉克的作品以及傳統中國書法美學。曾梵志的右手受傷後，這種風格發生演變，他嘗試用左手去作畫，由此形成了新的表現手法。他的作品具有强烈的節奏感，這可能帶有書法的影響，藝術家解釋道：「西方人[LY1] 一開始覺得這（樹枝主題）是一種表現主義的手法。早年間我也是這麼想的。但到了後來，我開始認為這些樹枝和中國傳統書法關係更大。所以畫畫的時候，我會特別注意筆觸的節奏和神韻，相信每一筆都有自己的運動和內在之美。這和西方的表現主義是不同的，不是因為西方的表現主義膚淺，而是因為它更多以筆觸的外觀為特徵，而書法則與內心境界關係更大。」（引述藝術家，秦穎，<曾梵志，散步在中國藝術市場>，《紐約時報》，2016年9月22日，摘錄自網絡）。《自畫像》是展現曾梵志獨特藝術視野的的代表作，顯得胸有成竹，令人不禁仰望，此作同時代表了他從面具及肖像作品轉變到錯綜複雜的抽象風景作品，這類作品通常包含單個或成組的人物，在樹枝狀筆觸的掩映下面目仍可辨。