Zeng Fanzhi has always been preoccupied with themes of suffering and redemption, of loneliness and fear. Even in his early Hospital and Meat series, his sensitivity towards the strained relationship of modern society and spirituality is evident. The expressive, almost chaotic technique found in Untitled No. 10 clearly marks the artist’s venting of frustration. Painted with multiple brushes simultaneously, this landscape is transformed into a nearly abstract field. Zeng’s unruly arrangement of lines and colour emphasizes the naturalistic element in painting, with searing brushstrokes suggesting the influence of Chinese calligraphy. They also create a hypnotic effect that, provocatively, hints at sensations of aggression and alienation; as if, by liberating himself in violent abstraction, Zeng achieves a kind of release. The picture, seemingly filled with anxiety, is thus a powerful statement of solitary, poetic feeling.