Yue Minjun at the Queens Museum of Art

Chinese artist Fang Lijun broke ground in the US with his first major solo show right here in Denver at the Lab, and fellow countryman, artist (and Radarian) Yue Minjun will also be having his first solo US exhibit this year, but a little farther from the Lab, at the Queens Museum of Art, NYC (Yin Minjun and the Symbolic Smile, October 14, 2007 - January 6, 2008). - KLH

From the press release:

One of the self-styled, Beijing-based artists who emerged in the early 1990’s, Yue Minjun has since gained international recognition. Yue Minjun has successfully parlayed his iconic smiling self-portrait into his signature motif, and is widely considered a pioneering figure in Chinese contemporary art. Yue’s laughing faces are at once exuberant and eerie. Placed against various recognizable backdrops, the tirelessly optimistic faces compel the viewer to question the larger social context portrayed in each painting.

Yue Minjun began his career as a founding member of the “Cynical Realism” school. This group emerged in the early 1990’s, in the wake of the Tiananmen Square incident and the subsequent crackdown on artistic freedom imposed by the Chinese government. From the founding of the PRC in 1949, through the decade long Cultural Revolution that ended in 1976 with the death of Chairman Mao Zedong, art was solely created to promote Communist Party ideology. All of China’s artistic production was framed by a system of government-imposed directives.

In the current art world, Yue Minjun and his renowned contemporaries, including artists Zhang Xiaogang and Fang Lijun, are making artworks that reflect a social consciousness relevant to China’s changing political and economic climate. China’s avant-garde artists, many of whom are based in Beijing’s booming art scene, enjoy a surprising degree of creative liberty in utilizing parody and critique to comment on the state of their country. The attention these artists have received from the West also makes them less vulnerable to censorship by the central government.

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QUEENS, NY.- Yue Minjun’s first museum show in the U.S. will open at the Queens Museum of Art on October 14, 2007. One of the self-styled, Beijing-based artists who emerged in the early 1990’s, Yue Minjun has since gained international recognition. Yue Minjun has successfully parlayed his iconic smiling self-portrait into his signature motif, and is widely considered a pioneering figure in Chinese contemporary art. Yue’s laughing faces are at once exuberant and eerie. Placed against various recognizable backdrops, the tirelessly optimistic faces compel the viewer to question the larger social context portrayed in each painting.

Yue Minjun began his career as a founding member of the “Cynical Realism” school. This group emerged in the early 1990’s, in the wake of the Tiananmen Square incident and the subsequent crackdown on artistic freedom imposed by the Chinese government. From the founding of the PRC in 1949, through the decade long Cultural Revolution that ended in 1976 with the death of Chairman Mao Zedong, art was solely created to promote Communist Party ideology. All of China’s artistic production was framed by a system of government-imposed directives.

In the current art world, Yue Minjun and his renowned contemporaries, including artists Zhang Xiaogang and Fang Lijun, are making artworks that reflect a social consciousness relevant to China’s changing political and economic climate. China’s avant-garde artists, many of whom are based in Beijing’s booming art scene, enjoy a surprising degree of creative liberty in utilizing parody and critique to comment on the state of their country. The attention these artists have received from the West also makes them less vulnerable to censorship by the central government.

Yue Minjun’s laughing faces convey the paradox of present-day China. The jubilant expressions depicted on the hearty faces of cloned figures make us wonder about the reality under the toothsome smile. The backgrounds depicted, from a stoic Tiananmen Square to a teeming nuclear mushroom cloud, also allude to the shifting realities of contemporary China. The seemingly cheerful demeanor of these figures suggests an attempt to cope with the country’s complexities. Yue Minjun’s work begs the question: what is truly joyful?

The key to decoding these enigmatic portrayals may lie in the rich cultural tradition that has influenced this artist from the Mainland. Yue’s laughing faces recall the “Buddha of the Future,” a welcoming figure located at the entrance of countless Buddhist temples throughout China. While his beaming faces bespeak contemporary concerns, they also implore an optimistic future.

Yue Minjun and the Symbolic Smile at the Queens Museum of Art will include bronze and polychrome sculptures, paintings and drawings and will be on view from October 14, 2007-January 6, 2008. The show will be accompanied by a smaller-scale exhibition of the artist’s watercolors entitled, YUE MINJUN “I Love Laughing,” at the Asia Society. The 6 watercolors that present a softer side of the artist’s oeuvre will be on display at the Asia Society in New York City June 18, 2007 through January 2, 2008.

The Queens Museum of art is housed in the New York City Building, which is owned by the City of New York. With the assistance of the Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and the New York City Council, the Museum is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature. Major funding is also provided by corporate and foundation supporters, QMA’s Board of Directors and members.
Written by Ken Hamel