In a recent article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, the American painter John Currin is quoted as saying, "I know Andy Warhol is a great artist, but I don't like him. It's the kind of art that advertises he knows the doorman at the club." The Chinese pop artists may have taken some late inspiration from Warhol, but we rather doubt they know the doorman at the club.
Lin Baomin was born in 1968 in Xi'an City, Shanxi Province. He graduated from Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts in 1999 and showed at Capital Arts Exposition held in Beijing that same year. There his work won First Prize for
"Group Stars Award". In 2001 he was
in a group exhibition at Wan Fung Gallery in Beijing. His works were shown in Shanghai in 2002 at the Arts Exposition and in 2003 at the Old Bailey Gallery and the Third China Oil Painting Exhibition held in Beijing.
Yin Kun was born in 1969 in Deyang City, Sichuan Province. In 1992 he graduated from the Sichuan ARBA Normal College with a degree in oil painting. Currently he lives and works in Beijing. From 1999 to 2003 his oil works have been exhibited in Beijing, Singapore and Germany. His works can be found in corporate and private collections internationally. Today, Yin Kun is recognized as one of China's most talented artists.
Huang Yan was born in 1966 in Changchun. He lives and works in Changchun and Beijing. Like a number of artists in the Chinese avant garde, Huang Yan uses the traditional ink and color painting in his work. His tattoo-like imagery, lacy scrolls on busts or photographs of men, called "Tattoo" recall not only the finished product but something that cannot be easily removed. Bodies become landscape, and in the words of the artist, "a release for my Buddhist ideas. I am a man who paints landscapes…I believe in intuition; I believe in landscape, I while the time away with these landscapes…" Huang Yan has shown in Beijing, Milan, Berlin, Hamburg, and Shanghai among other cities.
Sheng Qi was born in 1965 in Anhui Province. He graduated from the Central Academy of Art and Design in Beijing in 1988. He moved to Italy and studied there for three years. He also graduated from Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design in London. He currently exhibits at Red Gate Gallery in Beijing.
Yin Kun and Liu Baomin
Wan Fung Gallery
No. 136 Nanchizi Street
Dongcheng District, Beijing www.wanfung.com.cn
Images of Liu Baomin and Yin Kun courtesy of Wan Fung Gallery, Beijing
Sheng Qi and Huang Yan
Red Gate Gallery
Dongbianmen Watchtower
Chongwenmen, Beijing www.redgategallery.com
Images of Sheng Qi and Huang Yan courtesy of Red Gate
Gallery, Beijing
