Artwork Description

Title: Slogan Series
Artist: Zhang Dali
Date: 2010
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 38.4 x 31.1 in (97.5 x 79 cm)

Artwork Identification:
This arresting work from Zhang Dali’s Slogan Series reveals a blurred, almost ghostlike visage rendered through a calculated matrix of red grid patterns and painted textural interventions. The image emerges from a seemingly abstract field, evoking the tension between individual identity and collective messaging. Its layered visual language mirrors the layered realities of history and propaganda.

Artistic Style and Influences:
Combining photorealism with conceptual abstraction, Zhang Dali employs a meticulous crosshatch technique that dissolves facial features into visual codes. The Slogan Series reflects Zhang’s ongoing interrogation of identity, censorship, and erasure, merging influences from Western conceptualism and Chinese propaganda aesthetics. His signature approach fuses street art, political critique, and portraiture into a distinct visual lexicon.

Historical Context:
Zhang Dali (b. 1963) is widely regarded as one of the most influential contemporary Chinese artists, particularly for his pioneering role in introducing graffiti and urban intervention art to post-Mao Beijing. Having studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and later absorbed European influences during his exile in Italy, Zhang returned to China with a sharp visual critique of its shifting urban and political landscapes. His Slogan Series continues this trajectory, challenging state narratives and exploring themes of collective amnesia and visual control.

Provenance:
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

Condition and Conservation:
The painting is in very good condition, with no visible damage or restoration. The canvas remains taut, and the surface presents rich pigment and fine detail.

Artistic Significance:
Slogan Series is emblematic of Zhang Dali’s commitment to reconfiguring the visual language of authority. As one of China’s foremost conceptual artists, Zhang transcends portraiture, offering a haunting commentary on surveillance, conformity, and the power of imagery. This work is a rare and important example from a pivotal phase of his practice, situated at the intersection of socio-political critique and aesthetic innovation.