Yue Mingjun was part of the artistic community at Yuan Ming Yuan. This area on the outskirts of Beijing is a large park where young artists from all over China rented cheap housing from the local farmers. Apart from the low rents, the place had the great advantage of being for from the attentive eye of the authority. Eventually, the increasing reputation of the place did bring it to the attention of the police and, after a series of raids, the Yuan Ming Yuan community was broken up. Yue Minjun is a leading figure in what became to be known as Cynical Realism. The famous man figure in his art is probably the most well known and representative icon of this early 1990's art movement.



EDUCATION:

1985

? Studied in the Oil Painting Department of Hebei Normal University, China.

1962

? Born in the town of Daqing in the province of Hei Long Jiang, China.

Yue Minjun's art has been exhibited all over the world and has been a major force in sparking the great international interest in Contemporary Chinese art

Art Experiences

1. IN 2004 Dreaming of the Dragon's Nation: Contemporary Art Exhibition from China, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland.

2. Shanghai Biennale 2004, China.

3. Guangju Biennale 2004, Korea.

4. Art on the Beach: Sculptures, Enrico Navarra Gallery, Paris, France.

5. 20 Years of Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong Art Center, China.

6. China, the Body Everywhere, Maseille Museum of Contemporary Art, France.

AND MANY MORE......

As one of China's leading artists, the 44-year-old Beijing-based artist's works are instantly recognizable by his trademark laughing figures, actually the artist himself in various guises.Yue's trademark smile appears superficial, mindless and even ridiculous, but it is also deeply revealing and compelling.His works combine basic elements of propaganda posters from the "Cultural Revolution" (1966-1976) with those of modern advertising.

In Yue Minjun very recent series life (1999), the artist has broken the previous compositions down into smaller canvasses. There is a paradoxical relation between title and work, which only serves to heighten the sense of the absurd. Again these are self-portraits, but this time the focus is on the posing of the body, shown in forced, impractical attitudes. The skin tone has changed and become yellowish (which is more what one would expect of a Chinese portrait) - but the color is that of someone caught in a glaring headlight. Hence the light is as artificial as the expression on the face and the posture of the body. The effect of depth is achieved through the use of shadow, whilst, as already mentioned, the actual painting technique tends to render the surface of the work very flat.

Find More about Yue Minjun Paintings and Exhibitions at Saatchi-Gallery

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/yue_minjun.htm