Dialogues
Dominic Ng in Conversation with Zeng Fanzhi, Chinese Contemporary Artist
Dominic Ng and Zeng Fanzhi in Hong Kong ahead of Art Basel, 2025.
(Photo by East West Bank.)
Art has long served as a cultural bridge—bringing people together and helping them see the world through different perspectives. My good friend Zeng Fanzhi is one of the most renowned figures in Chinese contemporary art—perhaps best known for his bold painting, “The Last Supper,” which set an auction record at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. Years ago, I helped the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) acquire his striking abstract painting “Untitled 2018,” a step toward introducing his work to broader audiences in the West. Most recently, Fanzhi’s new abstract paintings and works on paper were featured concurrently with the Venice Biennale in a centuries-old building and presented in an installation designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando. While at Art Basel Hong Kong this past March, I had a wonderful time speaking with Fanzhi to discuss his artistic journey—a meaningful exchange that underscored how art continues to connect people across cultures.
Dominic Ng visiting the grounds of Zeng Fanzhi’s studio in Beijing.
(Photo by East West Bank.)
Dominic Ng: Your artistic journey has transitioned from the Hospital Series to the Mask Series, and later your abstract artworks. What has guided these evolutions in your art?
Zeng Fanzhi: The Hospital Series emerged from my direct experiences in the 1980s and 1990s in China, documenting what I witnessed in the human tragedy of so many people seeking medical treatment in uncaring conditions. The transition to the Mask Series in the 1990s through early 2000s reflected growing social complexities as China opened to global influences. The masks symbolized the tension between presentation and authenticity in a rapidly changing society. When I started doing my abstract paintings from 2002 on, I wasn’t abandoning the early figurative portraiture work, but was naturally expanding the themes and visual expressions in my art. I maintain emotional intensity in all my artworks, and abstract painting gives me freedom of expression.
“Zeng Fanzhi: Near and Far/Now and Then” exhibition concurrent with the Venice Biennale, 2024.
(Photo credit Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich. Courtesy of Zeng Fanzhi.)
Dominic Ng: You’ve spoken about the importance of creating opportunities for cultural dialogue. LACMA has been expanding its programming and collection to showcase a broader range of artistic voices, including a deeper focus on Chinese contemporary art. What did it mean to have your work introduced at LACMA?
Zeng Fanzhi: I had a special time at the opening and seeing my artwork so positively accepted in the West. Having my painting in such a revered museum provides important context and legitimacy, and most meaningfully, it creates opportunities for genuine cultural exchange. I saw it and felt it when observing how you and others were engaging with the painting. Having Chinese contemporary art in Western museums helps audiences understand a fuller range of Chinese artistic expression. That expanded reach places Chinese contemporary painters in the global art historical dialogue where they belong. I hope Western audiences approach my work with both openness and engagement.
Dominic Ng views Zeng Fanzhi’s Untitled 2018 at LACMA, 2019.
(Photo by East West Bank.)
Dominic Ng: Your latest artworks feature new and interesting techniques and materials. What do these choices say about your current artistic perspective?
Zeng Fanzhi: This range of materials including oil paints, handmade papers, ink, graphite and even gold dust—creates a productive tension—like the relationship between East and West, past and present. My new abstract paintings evolve from decades studying Western art history, while the works on handmade paper connect to Chinese artistic traditions that have influenced generations of Chinese painters. I'm interested in how different materials and techniques demand different forms of engagement from viewers. This mirrors how we navigate cultural differences—requiring varying sensitivities and approaches. The diversity and contrast in materials capture both change and continuity in the span of my artworks over the years.
Dominic Ng: How has your relationship with your audience changed as your work has evolved?
Zeng Fanzhi: As I have expressed my emotions onto canvases and paper, I invite the audience to engage with the artwork with their own introspection and interpretations. Early in my career, during the Hospital Series and Mask Series, there was perhaps a more direct bold and stirring social commentary that audiences could access. As my work has evolved, I've sought to create more open spaces for interpretation—not to obscure meaning, but to invite deeper engagement. I've become increasingly interested in the circumstantial encounter between viewer and artwork. For several exhibits now, I’ve been able to work with a dear friend, Tadao Ando. He designs with light and negative space in a way that allows you to move through and experience an exhibit with a tremendous levity and expansiveness. This helps you feel my artwork more holistically. The three-dimensionality of paint, the scale of the work, the exhibition environment—these elements shape how emotions and ideas are transmitted. This is why I appreciate thoughtful institutional presentations of my work.
Zeng Fanzhi paintings and Tadao Ando design concurrent with Venice Biennale, 2024.
(Photo credit Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich. Courtesy of Zeng Fanzhi.)
A new chapter in a global dialogue
As Fanzhi continues to push the boundaries of technique and meaning in his art, global audiences are finding new ways to engage with his work. That spirit is captured in his forthcoming book, “Zeng Fanzhi: Near and Far/Now and Then,” publishing in July 2025. The nearly 300-page volume highlights his 2024 exhibition concurrent with Venice Biennale and includes commentary from LACMA’s Michael Govan and Stephen Little, and Tadao Ando.
Zeng Fanzhi: Near and Far/ Now and Then,
co-published by the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art
and DelMonico Books, D. A. P. New York, 2025.