Zeng Hao

Zeng Hao, born in Kunming Yunnan, China; studied at the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts Middle School and graduated with a degree in oil painting from the China Academy of Art. Zeng Hao's first public showing was at the 1st Guangzhou Biennial in 1992. His works has been shown at the University of Chicago Museum in 1999, the Milan Center for Contemporary Art in 2000, and the Sao Paulo Biennale in 2002. As an internationally known contemporary Chinese artist, Zeng Hao's work has been shown internationally, including exhibitions in Hong Kong, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul and San Francisco. He will also be presented in New York at the Frederick and Freiser gallery this October.

Zeng Hao depicts domestic interiors, with male and female residents and simple furnishings. He draws minimized objects like lamps, sofas, tables and chairs in the house with a special meaning. The common home things reflect the publicity of society and have characters of individuality and privacy. The space presented by the artist could be a real space or a psychological space. Moreover, he gives a narrative of the social situation he lives in. He creates a silent insight scene throughout a relationship between object and human being.

The latest paintings of Zeng Hao are based on the artist's observation of the growth period of the market economy in China. Objects like furniture, chairs, buildings, sofas, or vehicles are floating on the surface of a metropolitan landscape. Furthermore a portrait of a modern human being is drawn in the middle as if he is involved with these objects.

The artist explains how his works were made from the objects in his everyday life, saying: "We are always used to the life in our houses, and that's why we were not conscious of all the objects that are surrounded by us, for example, the white wall, lamp, table, desk, chairs and etc. But when we confront a hard period of time, one realizes that common subjects that come in our lives could be seen as an important way".

The artist's gaze extends over his room onto the scenery outside of his window, that is, towards a bigger spatial horizon. A human being, who could not predict his own destiny, frequently crosses diverse time and space but the background of this kind of movement lies in the globalization of the Chinese economic market. In another point of view, the artist talks about how the material consumption culture dominates our life and society and insinuate the phenomena of human turning from ownership to flaunting.