"Woman" is from Zeng's "Portrait Series" which followed on closely to his 'Mask Series'. As Zeng is an internally driven artist whose works are highly subjective and personal, and involve intense self-expression, "Woman" takes on huge importance as it is one of Zeng's very few and special depictions of a female. In the "Portrait Series" he portrays males with a rawness, ferocity, and frailness that is a reflection of his own deep pain and angst. He has said that 'Painting is a painful process; it forces the human figures in my painting into a state of pain and anxiety. I paint images of people in tragic situations, and they express everything that I want to express' (Zeng in V.C. Doran, China's New Art, Post-1989, exh. cat., Hanart/TZ Gallery, Hong Kong, p. 148.) In "Woman" we have a very rare chance to view Zeng's depiction of the emotional and psychological plight of a female in contemporary society.

Zeng has become most famous for his "Mask Series" from the 1990s where the male protagonists hide their true selves behind white, flat and sterile masks. On moving to Beijing in 1993, Zeng was shocked to see the hypocrisy and boredom between members of the middle-classes. However, there is a heavy price and burden to pay for wearing a mask of social conformity and frivolity, as human beings we need sustaining relationships with others, without them we become perplexed, lost and distressed. Zeng successfully conveys this agony of the young urbanites as we detect their fear and paranoia behind their masks. In his "Figurative Series" Zeng is much less concerned with the frivolous nature of social personae and the masks people wear, instead focusing directly and with a new openness on the fragility and vulnerability of a person's psyche in an alienating and disconnected world.

The young Zeng, growing up under the Cultural Revolution, was deeply disturbed by the chaotic and brutal events taking place around him. To make matters worse, he wasn't a clever student and had constant problems with teachers. The most important symbol of success and social inclusion was denied him, the red scarf of the red guards, further adding to his sense of dejection and alienation. Art was his only solace, and he drew constantly as a youth as a way of escaping his demons and demoralization. He discovered and became obsessed with European Expressionism at the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts. Expressionism was to become the outlet for his raw and powerful emotions allowing him to figuratively portray the vivid, jarring and dynamic workings of his psyche.

Zeng readily embraced the methods of expressionism. His figures are distorted and exaggerated for emotional effect often with peculiar features such as over sized hands. In the "Figure Series" in particular he uses elements of primitivism, such as unfinished and elongated bodies. He uses intense colors especially fleshy hues applied with agitated brushstrokes. The figures are suspended in disjointed space and backgrounds where they seem to be floating in emptiness. The light focused on the portrait is almost religious in its intensity, reminiscent of European medieval religious depictions, a major influence on the expressionists. Zeng found that the expressionism allowed him to examine the deepest recesses of his mind and his works are inextricably based on his personal memories and relationships. He delves deep into his inner world to tap into his subjective emotions and responses aroused by the objects and events around him.

"Woman" is a magnificent depiction of the exposed inner mental state of a female. Her vacant, staring eyes are suggestive of hidden angst and pain, while the raw, fleshy exposed skin is suggestive of hurt and wounds. However, the portrait is not one of wretchedness and despair. The pose is strong and forthright, although seemingly seated, the hand on the hip suggests strength and authority, the shoulders are held back in a defiant manner, and the head is held high and aloft. The tight black jacket adds to the sense of defiance and authority. There is little softness or femininity in the painting, instead the overwhelming feeling is of a woman in control, who can overcome her fears and anxieties.

The picture is almost masculine in its rendition, a tribute to the inner strength and fortitude of the female protagonist, traits usually missing from Zeng's male figures. The woman seems at ease with her womanhood, sparingly dressed, exposing her femininity. This is also in great contrast to Zeng's male protagonists who are usually buttoned up, wearing long overcoats as if fearing exposure. The fragility and sadness of the male portraits is missing here, as the redemptive qualities of the female dominate.

Zeng, of any Chinese contemporary painter, is the most personal and subjective. Whereas most contemporary artists are content to explore socio-political themes, Zeng has focused exclusively on the inner world of vulnerability and fragility. He has created a body of work which documents his own journey and growing processes, indicative of the upheavals and personal angst experienced by the most recent generations of Chinese society as they move interminably into modern times.