Artwork Description

Title:Fan Series – Ma Yechi
Artist: Chi Zhang
Date: 2007–2008
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 51.2 x 63 in (130 x 160 cm)

Artwork Identification
Fan Series – Ma Yechi by Chi Zhang is a monumental oil on canvas measuring 130 by 160 centimeters. The painting immerses the viewer in a surrealist tableau: a seated blue figure dominates the composition, from whose head a horse’s head emerges, suspended on a spring-like extension. The figure clasps a barren tree branch animated by ghostly white, bird-like forms, while to its right a Rubik’s Cube levitates enigmatically. The background unfolds in theatrical planes of color—a luminous yellow sky stippled with clouds, crimson mountains, and a foreground patterned in rhythmic geometries—establishing a world that oscillates between dream and allegory.

Artistic Style and Influences
Executed in a style indebted to Surrealism’s disjunctive logic, the painting integrates both Western and Eastern symbolic registers into an idiosyncratic visual language. The metamorphic figure and levitating objects recall the psychological theater of Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, yet Chi Zhang infuses the imagery with an Asian sensibility through ornamental surfaces and mythic resonances. The juxtaposition of absurdity and order—epitomized by the Rubik’s Cube—signals an inquiry into human identity, reason, and the subconscious.

Historical Context
Produced during 2007–2008, this work aligns with a period of vigorous experimentation in Chinese contemporary art, when artists were synthesizing global avant-garde strategies with indigenous narratives. The dreamlike architecture of the painting, suffused with cultural hybridity, reflects broader conversations about individuality, modernity, and the destabilization of fixed meaning in a globalized art discourse.

Provenance and Authenticity
Please contact the gallery directly for provenance details and certificates of authenticity.

Condition and Conservation
The painting is in excellent condition, exhibiting a well-preserved surface with no evidence of structural compromise, discoloration, or prior restoration. Protective measures—such as UV-filter glazing and controlled lighting—are recommended to ensure chromatic stability.

Artistic Significance
Fan Series – Ma Yechi occupies a pivotal place within Chi Zhang’s oeuvre, exemplifying his sustained interrogation of surrealist methodologies and symbolic fragmentation. This work’s monumental scale, technical sophistication, and layered iconography underscore its scholarly and market relevance, offering collectors a piece that bridges visionary imagery with intellectual rigor.