Artwork Description

Title: Celebrity 10-1
Artist: Fadong Zhu
Date: 2010
Medium: Parchment Drawing
Dimensions: 51.2 × 35.4 in (130 × 90 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
This work by Fadong Zhu, Title:d Celebrity 10-1, is a large parchment drawing measuring 130 × 90 cm. The composition features a stylized portrait overlaid with an architectural structure, rendered in a blue monochromatic palette. The interplay of figure and structure suggests a conceptual exploration of identity within constructed environments, emphasizing form and spatial tension.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
The aesthetic combines elements of expressionism and abstraction with a conceptual approach that recalls the formal strategies of contemporary Chinese avant-garde. The monochrome blue palette evokes a sense of cool detachment, while the layered imagery references the intersections of human presence and urban transformation, possibly drawing from influences such as Political Pop and Social Commentary Art in China.

3. Historical Context
Created during a period when Chinese artists were actively engaging with themes of modernization, nostalgia, and cultural identity, this piece reflects Zhu’s interrogation of architectural symbolism and its relation to personal and collective memory. The juxtaposition of portraiture and structural motifs highlights a discourse prevalent in post-2000 Chinese art, where urban development and individuality often collide.

4. Provenance and Authenticity
Please contact the gallery directly for provenance information and authenticity certification.

5. Condition and Conservation
The work is reported to be in excellent condition with no visible signs of wear or damage. Archival framing and environmental controls are recommended to preserve pigment intensity and parchment stability.

6. Artistic Significance
Celebrity 10-1 demonstrates Fadong Zhu’s innovative engagement with portraiture as a site of socio-cultural critique. By incorporating architectural forms, the artist elevates the discussion to broader questions of power, progress, and the built environment’s influence on identity, situating the work within the contemporary canon of Chinese conceptual art.