Zeng Shanqing 曾善庆

Born in 1932 in Beijing, Zeng Shanqing was part of the ill-fated generation of intellectuals that was to suffer under the depredations of Maoist excesses during the Cultural Revolution. However, as a very young artist his promise was swiftly recognized and he graduated from the elite Central Academy in Beijing in 1950. Zeng has consistently explored two main themes in his work, horses and figures, and largely draws his inspiration from the simple, nomadic life of the Tibetan high plateau. It was in Tibet that Zeng began to develop the pictorial breadth and vitality of color that provide the vehicle for his humanistic sympathies. Zeng Shanqing's work has been collected in many institutions around the world.