Zeng Fanzhi won his fame with his expressionistic "Xiehe Hospital" series in 1991, and became known throughout the world in 1994 with various works of art such as "Mask" and "View". He is recognized and known by his tremendously individualized style of expression.

Zeng Fanzhi's paintings always have a strong sense of narration, where abundant details are unfolded in a grand epic. The seemingly simple picture displays a mysterious and abstruse sense of space. "Zeng's recent works are overspread with fresh, substantial and vigorous images which have imitative features and are unfixed and abstract. These primitive and straightforward images continuously arouse illusional feelings, and there is no way for observers to clearly identify or orient them, whether analyzed through design methods or perceived in narrative aspects. It is the two changing elements: image and structure in Zeng's paintings that would make people feel that his design strategy is quite similar to that of deconstruction" (Refer to Idealism of Zeng Fanzhi, Singapore Art Museum, Page, 83)

With the masks removed, and with twisted postures and misted eyes, the half-length figures look isolated and helpless in the "Portrait" series. The black, white and red colors serve as a foil to each other and clearly divide the picture into various layers. The unmasked faces, however, conspicuously show horror, perplexity and helplessness.