2901 | ZHANG ENLI Painted in 1997 SMOKER

SMOKER

Author: ZHANG ENLI 张恩利

Size: 170×150cm

Signed and dated: Painted in 1997

Estimate:

Final Price: RMB 5,100,000

LITERATURE
1999 Leap 5th issue / P70 / Leap Magazine
2000 Zhang Enli / P15 / ShanghART
signed in Pinyin and dated 1997
EXHIBITED
2000 Dance-Zhang Enli Solo Exhibition, ShanghART Gallery, Shanghai

Zhang Enli expresses a sincere concern for the common people and everyday life. The lower middle-class makes up the greatest part of society and these people are most often the themes for his work. He observes and expresses the countless nameless people, their troubles, joys and sorrows; confusions, helplessness and awkwardness, their tenacity, wisdom, humor and shrewdness. A simple and unaffected ideology has allowed his works to clearly reflect his compassion for mankind. From the relatively early
"Sadness", a gloomy and sorrowful atmosphere permeated his works; later works such as "Butcher", "Two Jin of Beef", "Strong Labor", "Men in the Meat Market", "The Bar", "Dining Together" and "Smokers" further expressed the real sentiments of the common people and their stubborn strength of character. The bulging muscles, cold and expressionless faces, rough and powerful bodies, and wet and scarlet blood all combine to shock the eyes. This highly contagious coexistence of material objects and the human body are a vivid testimony to the state of life, and a silent protest on behalf of the anonymous. A city caricature style of composition combined with the suffocating pressure to survive creates a vivid and lively flavor.
—Canto in Tenebris By Li Xu