ZHANG XIAOGANG (B. 1958)

“On the surface the faces in these portraits appear as calm as still water, but underneath there is great emotional turbulence. Within this state of conflict, the propagation of obscure and ambiguous destinies is carried on from generation to generation.”
– Zhang Xiaogang

The iconic portraits of Zhang Xiaogang have become one of the most representative images of Chinese avant-garde painting since the 1990s. His black and white front-facing visages, impassive – in appearance at least – connected by a thin red thread, characteristic of his Bloodline series, serve as a metaphor for a society that is in constant struggle with its own past, present and future.

The young lady depicted in Comrade Series: Woman (Lot 410) is an archetypical portrait that questions identity. Uniforms are the most direct props to indicate the status of a character. During the Cultural Revolution before the economic reform in the 1980s, the revolutionary uniform with its characteristic collar was the national garment. The uniform is considered as an erasure of individuality and an expression of submission