HENNESSY X ZHANG ENLI

HENNESSY X ZHANG ENLI

HENNESSY X ZHANG ENLI

FEATURE STORY

HENNESSY X ZHANG ENLI

The Maison Hennessy ushers in the festive season around Chinese New Year with a dreamlike work of art by one of China’s most important contemporary artists, Zhang Enli.

CNY22 masterpiece
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ARTIST

Inspired by the surroundings

Zhang Enli’s lyrical works are often inspired by seemingly ordinary objects, which can range from cardboard boxes to pieces of string, or aspects of everyday life, such as urban structures or landscape features.

CNY22 masterpiece

Creation rooted in tradition

"I drew on the essence of traditional Chinese ink painting, which is the means our ancestors used to dialogue with the world, keeping the spirit and translating it into my own artistic language."

CNY22 masterpiece - Artist

Echoing the love of nature

Zhang Enli's distinctive style - fluid, spontaneous and gestural - draws on both Eastern and Western painterly traditions, reflecting his love of nature. "What moved me most about Hennessy is that it comes from nature."

CNY22 masterpiece - Artist

COLLABORATION

HENNESSY X ZHANG ENLI
CNY22 Artist Collaboration page

'Poetry and Wine Welcome The Tiger'

Zhang Enli created a vibrant artwork – 'Poetry and Wine Welcome The Tiger' – to celebrate the poetry, optimism, and vitality of the Chinese New Year. Coming after a time of challenge and loss, the Tiger represents hope and augurs renewed energy and vitality.
Following a visit to Hennessy’s historic seat in Cognac, Zhang Enli transposed his impressions into a fluid, dreamlike composition in which sprays of water droplets surge up and reconverge into a tiger prowling in the night. A yellow and gold palette channels empowerment and refinement, with crystalline amber tones recalling the depth of Hennessy’s blends, and touches of red call to mind the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year.

CNY22 Artist Collaboration page

After the artist visited Cognac he was moved by the Maison's constant quest for perfection within a traditional, artisanal framework as well as the brand's profound connection with nature.
"This painting is different from traditional tiger-themed paintings; it’s through the colours and the dark stripes that one imagines a tiger, it’s the “spirit of a tiger” rather than a figurative form. The painting very naturally brings together the Year of the Tiger and Hennessy’s eaux-de-vie. I hope that in each section the public will be able to sense that eaux-de-vie and the shape of the tiger are transformed even in the tiniest details."

CNY22 Artist Collaboration page - DESIGN
CNY22 masterpiece
CNY22 Zhang Enli - Artist

DESIGN