About the artwork
Inspired by Maoist Communist propaganda, Wang Guangyi takes up the portrait of a smiling young worker wearing a cap. Using a palette in the colors of China's flag, the artist takes common scenes from Communist posters and adds a series of numbers. The latter, applied to the figure or around the borders, lend a capitalist dimension to the work.
Expert opinion
Part of the portrait series "The Belief", this lithograph bears the hallmarks of Chinese Communist propaganda and is typical of the artist's political pop work.
About the artist
Born in 1957, Wang Guangyi is a Chinese artist who lives and works in Beijing. After studying oil painting at the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, he drew inspiration from artists such as Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys to develop a singular style somewhere between pop art and Chinese politics. By fusing elements of Western advertising, such as Coca-Cola, Gillette and Chanel, with Maoist propaganda images, he criticizes the publicitarization of Chinese politics and culture. Enjoying growing renown, his works are exhibited at the Essl Museum in Klosterneuburg, the Today Art Museum in Beijing and the Bernardo Museum in Lisbon.
“I was referring to posters from the time of the Cultural Revolution. [...] My Pop art probably included issues related to politics and ideologies. Pop art is defined as popular art about mass culture, but in a country like China, the most "popular" would be politics.”
Additional info
Signed
Framed
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