By Duan Zhaonan
Located in Carmel, CA
Duan Zhaonan (Chinese, born 1955)
"Untitled" 2022
Oil paint on canvas, stretcher bars
The artist signed the bottom right corner of the painting.
This untitled work by Duan Zhaonan is a powerful example of the artist’s psychologically charged portraiture. The face emerges through dense, layered brushwork, built from muted grays, earthen browns, and flashes of raw white that feel scraped and reworked over time. The eyes are heavy and inward, the mouth marked with a deep, rusted red, giving the figure a sense of gravity and lived experience. Rather than aiming for likeness, Duan constructs presence. The portrait feels weathered, contemplative, and unresolved, inviting prolonged looking.
About the Artist:
Duan Z. was born in Yunnan, China, and is now a renowned figure in Chinese Opera, Specializing as a Painter, Educator, Playwright, and Producer. He serves as Director of the Chinese Dramatic Literature Society and Chairman of the American Chinese Culture Artists Association. Since 1986, Duan has been writing about in more than twenty regular columns under the title “Duan’s Opera Figure...
Category
2010s Expressionist Art by Medium: Stretcher Bars
MaterialsCanvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
