survey_28 — new figurative painting of the 2000s
1. Jia Aili — 贾蔼力 (Dandong, Liaoning, 1979)
Painting as catastrophe and cosmos: huge canvases where the figure dissolves into mist and light.
- Path — born in 1979 in Dandong (Liaoning); in 2004 he graduated from the “new figurativism” studio of the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, where he then taught; he lives and works in Beijing.
- Works — “The Wasteland” (2007), “Divine State” (2011–12), “The Memory of North Liucao Island I” (2013–14), “Geometry in the Sky” (2017–18), “The Cap Donning Man” (2018).
- Theme — loneliness, memory and technology as conditions of human existence; since 2018 he has kept a studio in New York.
2. Liu Wei — 刘韡 (Beijing, 1972)
The city as material: painting, object and installation made from the debris of a growing metropolis.
- Path — born in 1972 in Beijing; in 1996 he graduated from the painting faculty of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou; he lives and works in Beijing.
- Works — “Love It, Bite It”, “New Beijing” (2001), “Just a Mistake” (2009–2012), “Purple Air” (2011–12), “Microworld”, “Crucifixion” (2015).
- Theme — the architecture, growth and decay of the city; the geometric grid and found objects as a way of speaking about order and chaos.
3. Chen Fei — 陈飞 (Hongtong, Shanxi, 1983)
Comics and cinema on canvas: a hyperrealist scene in which the everyday turns unsettling.
- Path — born in 1983 in Hongtong county (Shanxi); in 2005 he graduated from the fine arts faculty of the Beijing Film Academy; he lives and works in Beijing.
- Works — “Deep in the Sea of Happiness” (2006), “Xiong Xiong’s Ambition” (2009), “Ping” and “Pong” (2010), “North” (2012), “The Day Is Yet Long” (2015).
- Method — “flat” painting with an almost mechanical line and bright colour; a film still and autobiography instead of direct narration.
4. Wang Xingwei — 王兴伟 (Shenyang, Liaoning, 1969)
Irony and quotation: he rewrites art history and everyday life in scenes with a double bottom.
- Path — born in 1969 in Shenyang (Liaoning); in 1990 he graduated from the fine arts faculty of Shenyang Normal University; he lives and works in Beijing.
- Works — “My Beautiful Life” (1993–95), “The Decadence and Emptiness of Capitalism No. 2” (2000), “New Beijing” (2001), “The Legend of the White Snake” (2006), “Lunch Break” (2017–2019).
- Theme — portrait, ideology and memory; recognisable images and compositional schemes are transferred into foreign contexts.
5. Duan Jianyu — 段建宇 (Zhengzhou, Henan, 1970)
Painting on the border between the naive and the ironic: village, city and globalisation on a single canvas.
- Path — born in 1970 in Zhengzhou (Henan); in 1995 she graduated from the painting faculty of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts; she lives in Guangzhou.
- Works — “Hey, Hello, Hi” (2000), “Art Chicken” (2003–04), “Sister” (2005), “Sharp, Sharp, Smart” (2014–15).
- Method — she combines Chinese and Western pictorial traditions, working with deliberately banal subjects and “bad” painting.
6. Mao Yan — 毛焰 (Xiangtan, Hunan, 1968)
Portrait as exercise: the same person painted dozens of times, and painting that speaks about painting.
- Path — born in 1968 in Xiangtan (Hunan); in 1991 he graduated from the painting faculty of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing; he teaches at Nanjing University of the Arts.
- Works — “Portrait of Xiao Shan” (1992), the Thomas portrait series (from 1999), “Small Portrait of Thomas” (2005), “Thomas on the Chair” (2009), “Huihui” (2012), “Madam” (2022).
- Method — a restrained palette of grey and blue, sfumato; the subject is not a “portrait” but “portrait painting”.
