China's New Generation: Xiong Lijun's Flamboyant Young Women

November 7, 2007Gallery Artists

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

Kang Can's Infants in Peril Represent an Emerging Nation

November 6, 2007Gallery Artists

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

November 5, 2007Gallery Artists

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

November 4, 2007Gallery Artists

“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

November 3, 2007Gallery Artists

“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

Richard Woldendorp's Award-winning Aerial Art

July 3, 2007Gallery Artists

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

July 2, 2007Gallery Artists

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

June 25, 2007Gallery Artists

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