"Fang Fang (The Artist's Daughter)" Contemporary Portrait Aquatint by Zhang Biao

Description

Exceptional aquatint etching on paper by master print maker Zhang Biao. His daughter Fang Fang was published on a full … more Exceptional aquatint etching on paper by master print maker Zhang Biao. His daughter Fang Fang was published on a full page in the official catalog of the exhibition. This print received the outstanding prize of the 17th National Printmaking Exhibition - definitely one of the highest awards a printmaker can achieve in China. Signed Zhang Biao 2005 lower right with Chinese characters, title and name. Image, 32" x 20", sheet 47.5 x 37.75. (Overseas shipping, item will be rolled and shipped in a tube.) The artist no longer creates etchings and has moved to oils. A rare and exceptional Master print by a master.

In terms of composition, the picture passes Chinese tradition by with its concept of space. The sitting girl is realistically captured and skillfully placed in the space with attention to perspective. The spatial details are simply restricted to floor space, a nearly immaterial black wall behind the scene and a perspective chair construction. Nevertheless the artists succeeded in suggesting an accessible room in the picture. The light - coming from multiple sources - is not as natural, but rather a stylistic means to vividly and realistically model the girl.

The Aquatint Etching appeared in the official catalog of the 17th National Chinese Printmaking Exhibition in Guiyang. It is the most important exhibition of art prints in China. Only the very best artists and print works are selected out of thousands of prints submitted by hundreds of artists. The exhibition takes place about every two years, each time in a different city.

His daughter was the subject of many examples of the fine print making he produced. Zhang moved into painting in oils after a number of years making the existing examples of his printing skills rare. Without a doubt, printmaker Zhang Biao is one of the most successful artists in China. He has been recognized as the most important artist at national exhibitions and his work mirrors the latest development of the country. After leaving the traditional Chinese schools, he sought a new approach to Western, especially international art, without entirely giving up traditional values. This development can be seen in the two portraits of the artist's daughter, Fang Fang. Zhang Biao is booked out with many major national exhibitions. Fang Fang stands for a whole new generation of Chinese youths that was born during the period of the economic boom and whose education and life-style will be a mixture of Western culture and old Chinese traditions - comparable to the cultural mix in post-war Japan of the 1960s. One can see in Zhang Biao's first aquatint-etching portrait of his daughter that he was still much more closely connected with the Chinese tradition and style of portraits than his later works. Even though the daughter is presented in a natural and realistic picture, there are still strong ties to traditional Chinese notions of art.

The granularity of the surface is clearly recognizable and its form is reminiscent of a painting. But the portrait is close to the traditional Chinese portrait. The child sits in a stern posture with a serious expression, all of which is also felt in the picture's overall heavy note.

There are also Western qualities to be found in the pictures: most apparent is the expressive light-shadow model and the accurate depiction of crinkles in the clothing. For comparison, think about the stereotypical pictures from the Cultural Revolution. Then one will see and appreciate the distinct individualism that can be found in this pictures.
It does not show some standard girl in a school uniform, indistinct from all other girls. Rather Fang Fang is an individual with her own personal traits, including the large loving eyes. She is not staring. She is beholding her observer with curiosity. This different, although small, has a large effect on the overall tone of the picture. less