A piece from Zeng's Mask series.
"It was sensational to paint this bloody stuff. It wasn't acceptable as graduation work. At first, I handed in a draft sketch of Tibetan scenery as my tutor required, but I fooled him by handing in The Hospital Triptych finally."
Born in Wuhan in 1964, Zeng has a typical chivalrous and vagabond streak about him, much like the city he grew up in, which provided the inspiration for his early creations.
"I lived closed to a meat-processing plant and a hospital where I would go to the washroom every day. Those familiar scenes triggered my desire to paint."
The ongoing exhibition, which comprises more than 60 works, is Zeng's largest solo exhibition to date. It has been running at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing since Sept 19.
The exhibition is called Parcours, after a French word that means to stroll through.
The designer of the exhibit, Japanese architect Tadao Ando, says: "I came up with an idea where the audience can feel the in-depth world of the artist's creation if they see the artwork through a series of windows cut out of several parallel walls."
One of the pieces the audience sees through the windows is the artist's self-portrait.
In the painting, Zeng is seen in a red Buddhist robe sitting on a stool, barefoot, echoing the work of a pair of boots at the entrance of the exhibition.
"That's not a cigarette in my hands－it's a pen, with a line winding in the air. This self-portrait accurately describes my state of mind at that time, tranquil and detached.
"I think I'm doing well in protecting my territory."
