Self-Portrait
Zheng Haozhong
郑皓中
Production date
2017
Object Detail
Media
oil and spray paint on canvas
Measurements
120 x 100 cm
Notes
In Zheng Haozhong’s ‘Self -Portrait’, one of a series in which he reveals himself in the act of painting, standing at his easel like an old master, the standing figure of the bearded artist is outlined in green spray paint in an intentionally crude manner. Curved, darker green brush marks create a pattern on the white background. Robert Hughes famously described the late works of Cézanne, one of the artists that Zheng most admires, as paintings of doubt: they represent not ‘This is what I see’ but ‘Is this what I see?’ Zheng Haozhong’s self-examination, similarly, conveys his acute observation and self-study, mixed with anxiety and a palpable sense of ephemerality. The figure of the artist, insubstantial as temporary spray-painted graffiti on an urban wall, seems caught in the act of disappearing.
Accession number
2019.061