Artwork Description

Title: Pine Tree (11)
Artist: Zhang Dali
Date: 2016
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 157.5 x 96.5 in (400 x 245 cm)

Artwork Identification
Pine Tree (11) is a monumental oil painting by acclaimed Chinese artist Zhang Dali, measuring an impressive 400 by 245 cm. Executed on a vast vertical canvas, the painting presents a solitary pine tree rendered with meditative precision and gestural strength. With a striking economy of palette and form, Zhang transforms the tree into a symbol of steadfast endurance, standing as a solitary presence in an undefined space. The composition resonates with quiet gravity, commanding both physical and contemplative attention.

Artistic Style and Influences
Though internationally recognized for his conceptual, graffiti, and photographic work, Zhang Dali's painting practice reveals a profound engagement with symbolic imagery and the traditions of Chinese literati art. In Pine Tree (11), the pine is not merely botanical—it serves as a cultural and philosophical emblem of resilience, moral uprightness, and solitude. The composition draws on the aesthetics of Chinese ink painting while employing the density and materiality of oil, allowing Zhang to merge historical reverence with contemporary form. The tree becomes both a personal totem and a political metaphor, rendered in a restrained, meditative register.

Historical Context
Zhang Dali’s Pine Tree series emerges from a post-industrial, post-socialist China, where urban erasure and transformation serve as the backdrop to his broader artistic inquiries. Unlike the overtly political interventions of his Chinese Offspring or Second History series, the Pine Tree works offer a quiet resistance. The solitary pine stands in opposition to the chaos of modernization—an enduring symbol in a landscape of flux. This painting reflects Zhang’s ongoing dialogue between the contemporary moment and classical Chinese thought, using natural imagery as a metaphor for the resilience of cultural identity and philosophical inquiry.

Provenance and Authenticity
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

Condition and Conservation
The painting is in excellent condition. The oil surface is stable, the canvas taut, and the color palette remains vibrant and true. No conservation interventions are recorded.

Artistic Significance
Pine Tree (11) stands as a major work within Zhang Dali’s introspective Pine Tree series. Stripped of overt political iconography, the painting reflects the artist’s deeper philosophical concerns—memory, endurance, and identity in an age of accelerated transformation. With its monumental format, conceptual depth, and cultural resonance, this piece is a rare and powerful offering from one of China’s most intellectually and aesthetically influential contemporary artists.