Feng Zhengjie

Feng Zhengjie was born on 1968 in Sichuan Province, China he lives and works in Beijing, China. When Zeng Fanzhi was at school (1987-91), he particularly liked the work of the German Expressionist painters. In the third year of his studies, he put Soviet Realism aside and began to explore expressionistic approaches to painting. His works of this period have further echoes of another of his favorite artists, Beckman, but when it came to creating work for his degree show, the Xiehe series, Zeng Fanzhi had already established his own style and the impact of the work had won him a strong reputation in Chinese art circles... Feng Zhengjie paints striking contemporary women. With their colored hair, richly hued clothes and luscious, expressive lips, the women appear irresistibly dazzling. And yet, the wandering expressions in their eyes render them elusive and enigmatic.

These strange, unknowable eyes have become Feng's signature style. Feng studied to MA level at the Fine Art education department of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Art between 1988 and 1995. After 1989, Feng rejected both socialist realism and Western academic art, turning instead to the questions raised by China's emerging contemporary art scene. He developed a more critical outlook with regards to society.

In response to the new issues confronting China, Feng Zhengjie decided to take inspiration from the popular images he had grown up with in rural Sichuan. Critics are unanimous in placing Feng's paintings in the realm of the critique of contemporary consumer society; this was especially clear in the "Romantic Trip" series, which pictured young couples in the expensive wedding ceremonies now fashionable amongst certain sections of Chinese society. EXHIBITIONS-

2004 * Kitsch as A Face of Chinese Society, Vanessa Art House, Jakarta, Indonesia * Soobin Art Gallery, Singapore the Beautiful Poison, Suka Art Space, Korea 2003 * Regards vers l'Est, Regards vers l"oust, Albert Benamou Gallery, Paris, France 2002 * Paintings of Feng Zhengjie, M.K. Ciurlionis National Museum of Art, Kaunas, Lithuania Packaging, Xin Dong CHENG's Space for International Contemporary Art, Beijing, China 2001 * Coolness, Common Ground Art Gallery, Windsor, Canada

1996 * Recounting of Skin, Art Museum of Capital Normal University, Beijing, China

Conclusions: Feng Zhengjie had already established his own style and the impact of the work had won him a strong reputation in Chinese art circles.

About the Author:

Feng Zhengjie was born on 1968 in Sichuan Province, China he lives and works in Beijing, China. When Zeng Fanzhi was at school (1987-91), he particularly liked the work of the German Expressionist painters. In the third year of his studies, he put Soviet Realism aside and began to explore expressionistic approaches to painting.