Famed auction house Christie’s and the Rockbund Art Museum (Shanghai) present “BEING”, an exhibition featuring 30 iconic pieces by Zeng Fanzhi. Born in 1964, Zeng is known for his expressionist style and provocative imagery. In the words of François Pinault, one of the world’s most prominent and important art collectors, “Whether drawing from abstract or figurative paths, whether resounding in expressionist or meditative tones, works by Zeng Fanzhi derive their exceptional power from a permanent tension between memory and the present, between a strong historical legacy and a contemporary reality that is constantly shifting”.

Sponsored by the François Pinault Foundation, the exhibition focuses on the interaction between people and the environment – a recurrent theme underlying most of Zeng’s artworks. This exhibition will be held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre from 26 to 30 May 2011, coinciding with Christie’s Spring Auctions (27 May to 1 June) at the same venue. Zeng will select one of his works – not the one pictured below – for auction at Christie’s Asian Contemporary Art & Chinese 20th Century Art Evening Sale on 28 May. The piece is estimated at HK$10 million and all proceeds will go to The Nature Conservancy, a leading conservation organization that works to protect ecologically important lands and waters around the world.

Kudos to Lucie Chang Yue for info!