Artist Profiles

Wang Jinsong

Born in Heilongjiang Province in 1963. He graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the elite Beijing Institute of Education. He is a versatile and gifted artist whose acute and witty commentaries on modern Chinese society have been powerfully conveyed in his oil paintings, photographs and video performances and, more recently, in his beautiful brush-and-ink works on rice paper. In his striking explorations into photography, he also examines the fundamental issues of contemporary Chinese society – the one child policy, the destiny of the aged, the wholesale demolition of old buildings and the vexed cultural relationship of modern China with her glorious past. His current interest in traditional ink painting is surprising after his emphatically avant-garde work of previous years. But these beautiful and spontaneous paintings, free of any social content, reveal the breadth of his cultural interests, the connection he feels with the rich legacy of China’s past. His work can be seen in many museums including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, Germany.

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