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Entwined figures of love, lust and desperation
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A large sculpture depicts a man and woman locked in a passionate embrace — while with one hand the woman holds onto another man, a presumably flying “dream lover” who hovers nearby.
Another large sculpture depicts a woman desperately clinging to the leg of a man who appears to be ready to float away.
Yet another depicts a pot-bellied coarse-looking “boss” attended by a beautiful young woman.
These fiberglass sculptures, some a meter and a half high, are the works of Zheng Baocheng in an exhibition titled “Spirit and Devil” at Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art in Hongkou District. They are a clear commentary on the state of relations between men and women in China today, and the power of materialism.
It runs through September 10.
Zheng, in his mid-40s, is a self-taught sculpture who combines romanticism, realism and surrealism in works of stone, fiberglass, copper and wood.
The son of a fisherman, he was born in a small village near Yueqing, Zhejiang Province. He started out as a traditional wood-carving artist, studying with a master.
“I often went with my father to the river. Maybe that’s why some people say there’s a kind of grassroots spirit in my contemporary sculpture,” Zheng says.
At first he carved wood with traditional Chinese elements with auspicious meanings, such as bats and bottle gourds. But he gave that up because he thought those works were stereotyped and superficial.
He went on to study Western sculpture, ink-wash painting and watercolor painting, all on his own.
“I am a man with a rebellious spirit,” Zheng says. “I want to make signature artwork. I would hate to be limited by stereotyped subjects that sell well but have nothing to do with today’s urban life or urban people.
“Don’t you think those traditional works are shallow and cliched? I don’t want to create something that is empty and cheap.”
Speaking of his human figures, especially the men and women, Zheng says: “In this series I try to reflect the relationship between men and women in this fast, high-pressure society. Everyone wants love, but few get it, and the reason is simple. We ask too much from our partner.”
Referring to the woman who holds on to a flying “dream lover,” Zheng says, “I would say this is the true state of most married women. They marry a man who gives them a family, but dream of another man who can fill their spiritual needs.”
Referring to the crude man of wealth and power and his beautiful young mistress, he observes, “These are the figures we are familiar with in life. But when viewers suddenly encounter them at this exhibition, they might make people ask, ‘What’s wrong with our society?’ ‘Is desire endless’?”
Zheng conveys the same message in another way, through a 1.36-meter-high Buddha’s head. The face is tranquil and serene, but around the head is covered with coins, jewelry, death’s heads, a clenched fist, and a woman’s back and hips. The face of a demon encroaches on Buddha’s face.
“Material success and loss of religion, the human nature and the evil touch. The Buddha sees these things, but even the Buddha is powerless to wipe these away from his head.”
“Seldom does a traditional folk craftsman successfully make the move to contemporary art, but Zheng made it,” says Zhu Qi, a leading art critic and curator of the exhibition.
Date: Through September 10, 10am-4pm
Address: 27 Duolun Rd
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