Artwork Description

Title: New female body
Artist: Fadong Zhu
Date: 2016
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 57.5 x 39.4 in (146 x 100 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Fadong Zhu’s New female body presents a bold and expressive portrayal of a woman reclining against a background of dynamic green strokes. The composition contrasts detailed attention to the nude form with broad, impasto-like brushwork that captures the immediacy of touch and sensation. The subject’s partial nudity, along with her confident gaze, evokes a narrative of strength, vulnerability, and contemporary identity.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Rendered in vivid brushstrokes, the work exhibits hallmarks of post-impressionism and expressionism, drawing parallels to artists like Lucian Freud and Alice Neel in its psychological intimacy and raw, gestural energy. The interplay of cool and warm tones underscores the dual themes of sensuality and introspection, creating a layered emotional resonance.

3. Historical Context
Painted in 2016, this work engages with ongoing dialogues in contemporary Chinese art around gender, self-representation, and corporeality. Amid global feminist discourses, Zhu’s canvas reasserts the body not as a passive object but as an active site of identity and transformation.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The painting is in very good condition, with no visible signs of wear, damage, or fading. The surface retains its rich texture and color vibrancy.

6. Artistic Significance
New female body is a commanding example of Fadong Zhu’s exploration of the human figure through expressive realism. It offers a direct confrontation with the viewer, challenging perceptions of femininity and artistic tradition, and affirming the emotional power of painterly figuration in contemporary practice.