Artwork Description

Title: Phantom 1
Artist: Zhao Nengzhi
Date: 2007
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 90.5 × 70.9 in (230 × 180 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Phantom 1 is a striking oil painting by Chinese artist Zhao Nengzhi, executed in 2007. The work portrays a distorted and spectral male bust in profile, rendered in a visceral blend of fleshy pinks, reds, and cool grays. The paint is applied with sweeping, forceful gestures, giving the figure a sense of psychic fragmentation and emotional turbulence. The artist’s expressionist handling of oil imbues the portrait with a haunting corporeality, evoking both pain and resilience.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Zhao Nengzhi is best known for his psychologically intense portraiture, and Phantom 1 exemplifies his continued exploration of the human face as a site of vulnerability, alienation, and transformation. His work is closely aligned with Post-Socialist Realism, incorporating expressionist influences that recall the angst-laden canvases of Francis Bacon and the textured urgency of Anselm Kiefer. Zhao eschews anatomical clarity in favor of emotional suggestion, using smudges, scars, and gashes of paint to convey internal states.

3. Historical Context
Emerging in the 1990s after the cultural thaw of the post-Tiananmen era, Zhao Nengzhi is part of a generation that sought new avenues of artistic expression amidst China's rapid modernization. Trained at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, his generation responded to both local sociopolitical upheavals and the influx of global contemporary art. In this environment, Zhao developed a visual language that probes the fractured Chinese psyche in a time of accelerated change. His work navigates the collapse of collectivist identity and the rise of individual existential inquiry.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
This work is in very good condition. The canvas is taut and structurally stable, with no visible signs of deterioration, cracking, or pigment loss. The surface retains its rich texture and vibrant tonality, with no evidence of prior restoration. Professional conservation is not currently necessary.

6. Artistic Significance
Zhao Nengzhi is regarded as a significant voice in Chinese contemporary painting, particularly in his interrogation of human identity and emotion. Phantom 1 belongs to a critically acclaimed body of work that has been exhibited internationally, including at institutions such as Kunstmuseum Bern, the Shanghai Art Museum, and the Montpellier Biennale. The painting’s raw, almost sculptural presence makes it a compelling acquisition for collectors interested in Chinese Neo-Expressionism and psychological portraiture. This piece testifies to Zhao’s mastery of gesture and mood, situating him within the lineage of artists who confront the human condition with unflinching intensity.