Face and Pore
by Bao Dong
Zhao Yanbin’s paintings are filled with expression. This does not mean that his works frequently depict human figures—though their faces and postures certainly convey strong emotional language—more importantly, his paintings always convey a theatrical quality. There is exaggeration in both content and mood: vast scenes, crowds of people, stark contrasts, at times bordering on the absurd. There is also a sly sense of timing—he often captures a moment just after something has happened or right before it occurs, producing a humor that invites a knowing smile from the observer. A painting with expression means that the artist’s subjective intent permeates the entire picture; he must command the whole to generate an internal organic unity—what we might call spiritual resonance, or in Western terms, classicality.
In this sense, Zhao Yanbin’s paintings resemble carefully staged scenes from a narrative film, portraying his observations and experiences drawn from grassroots Chinese society: collective oath-taking assemblies on school playgrounds; an abandoned village classroom repurposed as a chicken shed; lovers meeting inside a park boat while children spy from behind. He also expresses the feelings and thoughts of ordinary young people in the face of life’s circumstances—sometimes despondent, sometimes passionate. These subjects carry touches of comedy drawn from everyday life and the folk imagination. Zhao employs a visual language rooted in New Year picture aesthetics: outlined figures filled with colors, animated and vivid—much like the tone of a storytelling performer.
On the other hand, just as in the chapter-based structure of traditional ping-shu (Chinese storytelling), Zhao’s paintings possess a rigorous “internal structure.” While the figures may appear highly exaggerated, the lines and colors must remain concise and controlled. In reality, these seemingly “alive” images often result from strict procedural planning. Take, for instance, the work depicting a high-school entrance-exam pledge rally: beneath what appears to be a simple composition of strong contrasts and massive repetition lies a coordinated system accounting for tens of thousands of figures—their scale, density, formation, gestures, faces, shoes, and colors are all meticulously arranged. This whole process resembles the production methods of the animation industry.
It is precisely in his relentless pursuit of detail that Zhao Yanbin’s painting reveals a naturalistic “pore” feature. In works where he portrays the nude back of his own body, the smallest details of the skin are rendered without omission. But “pores” here signify more than mere skin texture—they refer to painting’s resolution and pixelation. The myriad details of the painting—narrative, symbolic, painterly, chromatic—and even the artist’s own subtle intentions all function as “pores” through which the painting becomes vibrantly “alive.”
In the piece titled Ten Thousand Individuals' Tomorrow, depicting the examination-pledge rally, the students’ gestures are standardized and their uniforms identical; yet upon close inspection, no two faces or pairs of shoes are the same. Through these faces and shoes, we can discern these students’ personalities and even infer their rough social status. This reveals Zhao’s keen, bodily-felt understanding of the social fabric. In this sense, his art may be called “Pore Realism”—a realism that is somewhat “cynical”, a bit “grass-roots,” with an intensity that approaches photo-realism. Yet it exceeds the retinal reception, instead reaching for a truth on an existential level. *Translated from Chinese by He Xiao.
October 26, 2025
About the Artist
Zhao Yanbin, born in 1991 in Xinye, Henan Province, graduated from CAFA School of Experimental Art in 2014. Currently lives and works in Beijing.
About the Curator
Bao Dong, born in Anhui in 1979, graduated from the Art History Department of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in 2006. He is an active art critic and curator of the new generation in China, co-founder and artistic director of Beijing Contemporary Art Fair.
