Artist Profiles

Wang Guangyi

Wang Guangyi was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province in 1956 into a family stricken by poverty. The People's Republic of China was preparing for the Great Leap Forward (1958) which would accelerate China's industrial and agricultural production to the levels of a modern nation. The Leap was initiated by The Communist Party of China's Chairman Mao Zedong and carried out by The Communist Party from 1958 to 1962. The Leap was a disaster and by 1968 a campaign known as The Cultural Revolution spread across the country to promote the image of Chairman Mao Zedong at the level of a god-like status in order for Chairman Mao to regain his loss of power. One form of propagating The Cultural Revolution was through the use of Dazibao or “big character poster”. As a young child Wang Guangyi and his classmates were asked to paint replicas of these Dazibao in respect to Chairman Mao. These sessions were intensely competitive and Wang Guangyi found he was able to use his talent in! painting at a young age to put himself in the limelight of students. Now he is best known for being the leader of the New Art Movement circles that erupted out of China after 1989 and most famous for his Great Criticism series of paintings. Using the images of propaganda from the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and contemporary brand names from western advertising, Wang Guangyi was the founder of Political Pop Art in China. He currently lives and works in Beijing, China.

Other Works By This Artist [ click to view larger images ]