According to a review in the “Guangdong Province News,” Xiong Lijun is an outstanding example of the generation of artists born around the 1980s. “Hoo Girl Girl Girl,” a 62-by-78-inch painting done in 2003, is typical of her work–three dancing young women, decked out in very trendy clothes and shoes, their orange hair contrasting sharply … Read More
Gallery Artists
Kang Can's Infants in Peril Represent an Emerging Nation
This 25-year-old Chinese artist clearly sees his swiftly evolving nation and its soaring economy as in its infancy, its traditions coming under the influence–not always for the better–of the decadent United States, with its icons of Coca Cola, cigarettes, hamburgers and orange juice. Coming at a time when China’s widespread industrial and manufacturing abuses are … Read More
Yang Na's Sexy Dolls: Penultimate Portraits of 'Big Face' School
One of the more unusual developments in postwar contemporary Chinese art is the so-called “big face” school, with exaggerated heads and doll-like eyes and expressions inspired by Japanese comics. Yang Na, 25, grew up during a period when these comics, known as manga, and their animated versions, or anime, became extremely popular throughout the world. … Read More
Lu Peng's Colorful, Animated Commentary on Past Culture
“Artists who grew up in Beijing tend to have a deep relationship with traditional Chinese culture, as well as a subtle and accurate understanding of everyday political life. Both of these are seen clearly in Lu Peng’s art…(he) has been deeply affected by traditional drama, martial arts fiction, electronic games, and Hollywood films…His works enable … Read More
Liu Yan Merges Chinese Traditional Art with Western Imagery
“Liu Yan’s works combine the materials and techniques of traditional Chinese painting with Western representational modes and imagery,” according to Dr. Lydia Thompson of Thompson & Martinez Fine Art Appraisals, Inc. In creating “a collage-like painting surface from China’s cultural detritus,” the artist’s “pastiche of imagery and icons from traditional China and contemporary international popular … Read More
Spiritual Canvases of Heriberto Mora Stimulate Imagination
Picture it in your mind: thousands of multihued dabs of paint filling two-thirds of a four-foot canvas, fading into pale oblivion at its top. In the right corner, a bevelled window opening into bright light that flows through the window onto an artist’s palette furnished with an array of colors. Framed in the window opening … Read More
Dreamy 'Mindscapes' of Guillermo Londoño Stretch Mental Horizons
Fans of the dreamy imaginary landscapes of Colombian painter Guillermo Londoño are in for a treat: the gallery just received seven handsome new canvases. Londoño’s work reflects his travels and international education. After studying art in Colombia and receiving a degree in fine art from the University of California, Berkeley, Londoño was one of several … Read More
Richard Woldendorp's Award-winning Aerial Art
Born in the Netherlands in 1927, Woldendorp decided to emigrate to Australia after spending three years in Indonesia while serving in the Dutch army. He had studied art and painting as a young man in Holland, and when he acquired his first camera in 1955 he saw its artistic potential at once. After honing his … Read More
Impressionistic Nudes and Portraits by Maria Gato
Among the recent arrivals are figurative works by Maria Gato, a Spanish painter whose warm palette and broad, impressionistic strokes evoke a romantic ambience around her portraits of various women, a conductor, a surgeon and several reclining nudes. Born in Brazil, the artist has exhibited widely in Europe, Latin America, the United States, and recently … Read More
Ld Lawrence Links Our Common Ancient Origins With Contemporary Life
Appearing like graffiti superimposed over a background of runic and hieroglyphic inscriptions, paintings of Ld Lawrence are as unique as the artist’s name. Like poetry, they define explication, but somehow they suceed in symbolically linking our common ancient origins with contemporary urban life. “Her sources,” according to art critic Eleanor Heartney, include “…that class of … Read More