As Chinese society has opened up and rushed headlong into modernization, many contemporary artists are faced with the dilemma of how to reconcile the past with the present. For many artists of Zeng Fanzhi's generation growing up during the Cultural Revolution has had a profound impact on who they are. Although the Cultural Revolution created turmoil and chaos, the ideologies, beliefs and hopes of the Great Revolution, which preceded it are still a part of every person who grew up at that time. Reconciling those ideals, beliefs and hopes of the past with the present presents major conundrums for contemporary artists. As the chaos and turmoil of the 1960s and early 1970s recedes in memory, and modernization replaces values and ideals with increasing selfishness, individualism and alienation, the ideals, beliefs and hopes of those earlier years may seem a safer, warmer and more attractive option. Many artists include iconic symbols from that time in their works, such as Tiananmen Square, images of Chairman Mao, or Cultural Revolution posters, the great ideals offered cannot be forgotten or thrown away.

"Quotations from Chairman Mao" is an important and magisterial work by Zeng Fanzhi, one of the most complex, inwardly looking and lauded contemporary artists, as he contemplates the recent traumatic past of Modern China. In this magnificent painting, a young Mao Tse-tung in his prime, stands resolute and contemplatively as he gazes at one of his greatest and most famous poems, "The PLA captures Nanjing". It is almost as if one great artist, Zeng, is paying homage and respect to another great artist, Mao. However, Zeng is the least representational of contemporary artists, instead he is much more concerned with portraying the individual and the internal goings on of his mind. He primarily focuses on the emotional and psychological state of the individual, using expressionistic techniques in his paintings to portray the inner workings of the individual mind.

Of all Chinese contemporary artists, Zeng's body of work is the most individual and progressive as he consistently develops great series of works which reflect his psychological state and inner concerns at each point of his life. He also constantly pushes the boundaries of his artistic style and creative processes to create new and arresting methods of expression. Born in Wuhan in 1964, Zeng grew up in the throes of the Cultural Revolution. His introverted nature created in him a sense of alienation and disjointedness. He was deeply traumatized by the irrationality and chaos in the society of his youth. His sense of alienation was further heightened when he was refused the red scarf of the "Red Guards" as he performed badly in school and was constantly in trouble with his teachers. On entering the Hubei Academy of Fine Arts, he discovered German Expressionism and in this he discovered the means of expressing his inner turmoil. At last he had a method to pour forth his introspective thoughts and his sense of alienation.

He produced two series of works while still in Wuhan, his "Meat" series and his "Hospital" series. Both of them are characterized by traumatic imagery, strong colors and existential angst. Uncaring doctors and traumatized patients populate his "Hospital" series, while his "Meat" series depicts people covered in blood sleeping on animal carcasses. Both these series arise from real events the young Zeng saw around him in his daily life. With no bathroom at home, he used the bathroom of the local hospital, witnessing what must have been very impressionable scenes for a young sensitive mind. Likewise, he passed his local butchers on his way to and from school daily where he saw the workers taking naps on the frozen carcasses, the only way to cool down in the interminable heat of summer.

Finding his non-representational expressionistic work unaccepted in Wuhan, he moved to Beijing where he hoped to find approval. Instead what he found was a young urbanite class that was self-obsessed, self-absorbed and disingenuous. Instead of finding a community to belong to, his sense of alienation and angst increased. This led to his great "Mask" series, which first brought him international acclaim and recognition. Each of the individuals in these works wears a mask, hiding his identity, his feelings, his expressions and who he really is. Following the "Mask" series, Zeng began to become more abstract in his technique, which was heavily influenced from traditional Chinese ink and brush painting, and calligraphy. In his "Portrait" series, his individuals are unmasked and their anxiety, puzzlement and bewilderment are etched deeply in their expressions. The paintings lose any background, a technique from Chinese painting, and the figures are unfinished seemingly floating in air. Our present painting "Quotations from Chairman Mao" employs these techniques.

Taking out the background and minimizing details allows Zeng to concentrate on portraying the inner state of the depicted person. Mao's great poem is vaguely indistinct, written on the poster which suggests rather than focusing on the great words we need to focus elsewhere, that being on the person of Mao, the great revolutionary. Zeng has depicted Mao in various ways in a number of series of paintings, almost as if he is struggling how to represent or understand this most enigmatic of men. He has also been influenced by Andy Warhol's depictions of Mao and other famous people. However, Zeng's art is the antithesis of Warhol's. While Warhol is the supreme example of the commercialization of the artist and art, in fact the commercialization and de-personification of the person, Zeng's art deeply explores the individual, the person, their state of being and their psychological processes. In one series of paintings "Great Persons" Zeng portrays Mao in much the same way as the propagandistic Cultural Revolution posters, the fatherly or grandfatherly figure, the great protector and saviour, so beloved by many Chinese people to this day. But this level of depiction never sits quietly with Zeng, he is the great master at looking deep inside the individual.

In "Quotations from Chairman Mao" Zeng's portrayal of Mao is far removed from the Cultural Revolution style of lionizing and deifying Mao. Instead we have the single solitary figure of Mao, dressed in worker's clothes, facing away from us, contemplating his army's great success at Nanjing. His hands are placed on his hips creating a pose that suggests satisfaction, contentment and reflection on great deeds. He is youthful and human, an admirable man who has accomplished a great mission. It is this view of Mao that most Chinese prefer to cherish, the great revolutionary who freed them from the shackles of the Nationalists, rather than on the aberrations of Mao's later life.

Mao's poem celebrates the great victory of the communists over the nationalist in Nanjing, the capital at the time.

Over Zhong Mountain swept a storm, headlong,

Our mighty army, a million strong, has crossed the Great River.

The city, a tiger crouching, a dragon curling, outshining its ancient glory;

In heroic triumph heaven and earth have been overturned.

With power to spare we must pursue the tottering foe

And not ape Xiang Yu the conqueror seeking idle fame.

Were nature sentient, she too would pass from youth to age,

But man's world is mutable, seas become mulberry fields.

The great victory was a major turning point for the communist victory, and Mao's poem is known and treasured by every Chinese person. Zeng portrays Mao, as humble and human standing in front of his great work, a great soldier and great victor. He depicts him as contemplative and reflective, activities needed for true greatness. Zeng's great ability is to draw the viewer into an intimacy with Mao, almost as if we are silent observers of a man caught in a private moment of true reflection. He enables us to share the emotions, the psychology of Mao caught in an intimate moment of unguarded trueness to himself. Instead of the megalomania normally associated with Mao, we are treated to the real person.

The combination of expressionism and the abstractness of traditional Chinese ink and water painting allow Zeng to depict the individual in greater depth. The empty background and almost blurry poem isolate and detach Mao, and draws the viewer to focus on his character and psychological state. Zeng's brushstrokes are also strongly influenced by the strokes of traditional Chinese painting. Large single strokes with wide brushes create an abstract feeling as in Mao's blue jacket and cap while thin brushes are used to create strong, emphatic lines as in those defining the clothes, reminiscent of Chinese calligraphy. The strong expressionistic flesh tones of the face and hands also bring focus to the human being, the flesh and blood of a real person, forcing us to see the person rather than the image we associate with them. Above all Zeng's techniques allow him to individualize Mao as a human being, and not as a mythic creation, allowing the viewer to engage with a real person, and not the view we normally hold of that person. Warhol's images of Mao were always of the grandiose, benevolent, smiling leader, Zeng's image of Mao in this painting is of a simple human being perhaps in awe of his own achievements.

"Quotations from Chairman Mao" is a superb example of Zeng's work, a mature depiction of the individual caught in a moment of aloofness and detachment, which allows us to see the true person.