Rockbund Art Museum 上海外滩美术馆

The single work in oil by the entrance of gallery provides the opening sonata of this symphony. It is a painting that creates a huge visual impact: the massive body of a just-slaughtered bull lies flayed and still bleeding. The rapid and unruly brushwork reveal the artist’s agitation and absorption. This prelude work serves two purposes here: first, creating suspense and firing visitors’ interest and imagination for what they are about to see inside the exhibition; and second - since in terms of image and concept the painting recalls Zeng’s earlier works, in particular the ‘Meat Series’ (1992) and ‘Human Being and Meat’ (1993) – establishing a dialogue across time and space, implicitly suggesting the historic dimension of this exhibition.