Three cheers for Zeng Fanzhi

Hauser & Wirth will host concurrent exhibitions of the Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi this autumn in Zurich, London and Hong Kong. It is the first time the gallery has mounted an exhibition of one artist across three locations. Zeng was signed by Hauser & Wirth in March, just as the gallery opened in Hong Kong, but Gagosian and ShanghART continue to co-represent him. He is best known for his Mask series of paintings depicting figures wearing white masks. In 2013, Zeng’s painting The Last Supper (2001) made $23.3m at auction, a record for a contemporary Asian artist. Choosing one of China’s best known contemporary artists for its first multi-venue global show appears a statement of intent by the gallery. But Iwan Wirth, the co-president of the gallery, says: “Working with Zeng on this major presentation is not a strategic move but something that came about organically and from the heart.”