A Conversation: Michael Govan, Stephen Little and Zeng Fanzhi

On the occasion of the exhibition ‘Zeng Fanzhi: Near and Far/Now and Then’ at Scuola Grande della Misericordia in Venice, Italy, the artist joins co-curators Michael Govan and Stephen Little in conversation. On view in Venice, Italy, concurrently with the 2024 edition of La Biennale di Venezia, Zeng Fanzhi: Near and Far/Now and Then features new works by renowned artist Zeng Fanzhi (b. 1964). With an installation designed by architect Tadao Ando, the exhibition presents the latest breakthroughs in Zeng’s work and sheds light on Zeng’s ambitious practice of redefining the abstract. Zeng Fanzhi: Near and Far/Now and Then premieres two recent bodies of work—oil paintings and works on handmade paper. Emerging from the artist’s decades of research in colour theory, Zeng’s new oil paintings draw on and challenge Impressionist and Pointillist practices, with layers of brushwork creating figurative elements that are readily recognizable from afar but dissolved when viewed up close. Zeng’s works on handmade paper, rendered in ink, graphite, chalk, gold dust, and other mineral pigments, ambitiously combine Christian, Buddhist, and literati iconography, pointing to a new direction in his practice. Learn more about the exhibition: https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/... ‪@lacma‬ ‪@BiennaleChannel‬