Month: March 2008

Liang Haopeng’s works are mostly paintings of unruly beheavior, chaotic gatherings often depicting verbal and physical arguments. He deliberately paints the figures in his canvases with oblique lighting and rimmed in red, so they appear violent and sinister. By capturing his subjects in peak action ”what the renowned photographer Henri Cartier- Bresson called the decisive … Read More

The paintings of Li Jia, whose work has been exhibited in the United Kingdom and the United States as well as in Shanghai and Beijing, are highly regarded in Chinese art circles: the “2007 Chinese Contemporary Art Document” gives her a full three pages and includes four half-page color illustrations. Two of the paintings shown in … Read More

The enigmatic brides-to-be in paintings by Cui Jin seemed wrapped in crinkled cellophane, like gifts that have been opened, crumpled, and re-packaged. Two full-page color illustrations of her work are included in the definitive catalog, “2007 Chinese Contemporary Art Document.” Their elbow- length lace gloves as well as the fringed shawl covering their heads traditionally … Read More

Born in Handan, Hebei Province in 1974, Wang Limin has participated in 15 group exhibitions in China, Japan and Korea as well as a solo show at the Pickled Art Centre in Beijing. Two of his large-scale portraits of attractive young women dressed in military-style uniforms of the Mao Zedong era from the “Under the … Read More

According to Liu Qi Ming, “Art is rooted in life, but from the very beginning of the history of civilization, what influences our life most is politics, from which we can never escape! The politics of our society keep us dangling above a mysterious future, leaving us all at the mercy of the hands that … Read More

Zhu Yan, represented by two 57-inch-square oils, paints in the style of China’s “new cartoon movement” that began in the 1980s as a spinoff from the internationally popular animated Japanese comics. His paintings of groups of identical, emotionless male performers on a stage appear devoid of ulterior content until viewers read their exquisitely sarcastic titles: … Read More

Born and educated in Sichuan, Liao Zhenwu often paints the ubiquitous motorcycles of his mountainous homeland. With a backdrop of winter’s gray skies, his gritty black-and-white paintings capture the smoky atmosphere of hordes of motorcyclists with their innumerable passengers. According to critic Gao Ling, Liao’s recent series of paintings reflect his impressions of the interactive … Read More

Considered a quintessential Chinese artist, He Zubin is among the leading artists cataloged in the prestigious “2007 Chinese Contemporary Art Document.” His stylized figures, gracefully curved like the subjects of Thomas Hart Benton, suggest the relationship between the characters portrayed. In “Bad Guess,” an older girl, possibly a sibling, holds her hands as if playing … Read More