We all know artists
Want to be famous
It must stand the test of time
Let's take a look back today
Those artists who were a little famous in the 90s
How's it going?
1
Chen Danqing
Chen Danqing - Chengdu, October 1995
Chen Danqing was born in an ordinary family in Shanghai in 1953, and his parents were ordinary salarymen at that time. In 1978, he was admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the first work that made Chen Danqing famous was "Tibet Paintings", which was divided into 7 paintings and completed in Lhasa.
Sketch of Tibetan Paintings: Shepherds, 1980
In 2023, Chen Danqing's masterpiece "Tibetan Group Paintings: Shepherds" will change hands at a sky-high price of RMB161 million. Today, he is not only a painter, but also a cultural critic and educator. His artworks have a unique style, and their brushstrokes are full of deep insight into the times and society. His paintings are not only a visual pleasure, but also an enlightenment of thought.
Sheep Farmer, 78.6×52.3cm Oil painting on board 1980
2
Mao Yan
Mao Yan - Nanjing, February 1993
Mao Yan, born in Xiangtan, Hunan Province in 1968, graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and now lives in Nanjing, where he teaches in the Fine Arts Department of Nanjing University of the Arts and serves as a director of the China Oil Painting Society.
Self-portrait, 49.5×44cm, oil on canvas, 1989
On June 4, 2020, Mao Yan ranked 72nd in the 2020 Hurun Chinese Art List with a total turnover of RMB 5.06 million in the 2019 public auction market.
Mao Yan focuses on creating portraits that are somewhat alienated from contemporary times, and even painted a figure back and forth for nearly 20 years. His genius, that is, pure, "pure to the extreme, makes sense." ”
Mao Yan has always attracted the attention of the world with his conceptual portrait paintings. The extreme technicalist tendencies in the work come from the author's intricate sensibility, and this talent is the basis of the painter's expressive portrayal.
The delicate depiction of nerve endings shows the realm of the integration of form and spirit, which is the embodiment of perfection in portrait art. Mao Yan's mature concept and style appeared in the mid-90s, representing a new height of Chinese realistic painting.
Round Screen and Man in Trench Coat, 150×100cm, oil on canvas, 2023
3
Fang Lijun
Fang Lijun - Beijing, September 1993
Fang Lijun, born in Handan, Hebei Province in 1963, graduated from Hebei Light Industry School in 1983 with a major in ceramic art, and graduated from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1989.
On June 4, 2020, Fang Lijun ranked 26th in the 2020 Hurun Chinese Art List with a total turnover of RMB 27.18 million in the 2019 public auction market.
At 7 p.m. on June 28, 2022, China Guardian opened the first night show of 20th Century and Contemporary Art in the Mainland this year. Fang Lijun's Series 2 (4) sold for 63.825 million yuan, setting a record for the artist's highest auction time.
Series 2 (4), 1992, Oil on canvas, 200×200cm
However, the latest news about Fang Lijun is a rather controversial work, in September 2022, at the Xi'an Art Museum, a small painting exhibition was held to commemorate Yuan Lao's birthday, and many people found such a work in the exhibition, which seems to pay tribute to the work, but it looks very grotesque and bizarre, not only changing Yuan Lao's hair to a bald head, but also adding a few small holes on his face, and an unknown "little braid" behind the head.
Such an "overplay" immediately caused a comprehensive dissatisfaction among netizens, most netizens believe that for great people, painting should conform to basic respect and can be played moderately, but it cannot be absurd and distorted, let alone ugly.
It can be seen that Fang Lijun's works have been successful in terms of price, but there are still many people who find it difficult to accept his painting style.
"What do I get if I don't do things according to this one and only standard? It turned out that if I didn't want this standard, I would have the whole world. —— Fang Lijun
Cover of The New York Times Weekly, 1993
4
Liu Xiaodong and Yu Hong
Liu Xiaodong and Yu Hong - Beijing, February 1993
Liu Xiaodong and Yu Hong are recognized as "Condor Heroes" in the industry.
Liu Xiaodong, born in Liaoning Province in 1963, received a bachelor's degree in oil painting from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1988. From 1998 to 1999, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of Complutense, Madrid, Spain; Since 1994, he has been studying at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Yu Hong, a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, was born in 1966. In 1980, he entered the High School Affiliated to the Central Academy of Fine Arts, in 1988 he entered the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1995 he graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts for a master's degree. He is currently teaching in the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Yu Hong and Liu Xiaodong when they were young
In the early eighties, with the opening of the country, a group of oil painters began to study in the West. At that time, due to the invention of photography, Western oil painting was transitioning from classicism to modernism, and most of the Chinese who came into contact with oil painting for the first time, like those who learned from the West, were classicist paintings that had been canonized as classics.
In 1980, Yu Hong was just a freshman and was assigned to paint a "David", she spent four weeks creating a plaster portrait of "David", which was praised by Jin Shangyi as "the best "David" in the history of CAFA, and in 1981 appeared on the cover of the national art sketch textbook.
Plaster portrait of Yu Hong's "David".
In the vigorous 80s, the love between Yu Hong and Liu Xiaodong was a legend of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, because the two were very different: one was tall, beautiful and elegant, grew up in Beijing, and his parents were high-level intellectuals; The other is not tall and not good-looking, born in Jinzhou, and his parents are both workers.
Two very different people came together because of art, and in the end, Yu Hong experienced love, marriage, family, and finally became a mother.
Yu Hong "Witness Growth Series"
On June 4, 2020, Liu Xiaodong ranked 10th in the 2020 Hurun Chinese Art List with a total turnover of 68.41 million yuan in the 2019 public auction market.
Ai Weiwei (a world-renowned artist, ranked 13th on the 2010 World Art Influence List) commented that Liu Xiaodong's works show a country's wounds and an artist's silent stance with great power.
Liu Xiaodong, Yu Hong, 2021
5
He Duoling
He Ta Yuan - February 1993 Chengdu
He Duoling, born in Chengdu in May 1948, is a representative of contemporary Chinese lyrical realist oil painters and a representative of "scar art". He graduated from the graduate class of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in 1982 and now lives in Chengdu, where he is a professor and master's tutor of the Oil Painting Department of Chengdu Academy of Fine Arts.
In the early 80s of the 20th century, He Duoling became a sensation with works such as "The Spring Breeze Has Awakened" and "Youth".
Spring Breeze Has Awakened, 95×129cm, oil on canvas, 1982
In 1994, he participated in the Art Critics Annual Nomination Exhibition, and in 1996, he participated in the Shanghai Art Biennale. His works have been collected by art institutions and collectors at home and abroad, such as the National Art Museum of China and the Fukuoka Museum of Art.
On June 4, 2020, He Duoling ranked 43rd in the 2020 Hurun Chinese Art List with a total turnover of RMB 13.29 million in the 2019 public auction market.
"Youth" in the early 80s of the 20th century
In recent years, he has frequently changed the subject matter of his work, from animals and uninhabited landscapes to very small figure paintings, and has tried all kinds of themes except still life. It is also freer, more abstract, and more ethereal than the original.
A painter should embody all the changes in his life on the picture and present them to the audience without reservation, which is a kind of sincerity. Every transformation is natural and traceable. Such changes are age-related. He respects the theory of evolution, and his outlook on life and creative ideas are always changing, but change has nothing to do with progress, it is not a value judgment. He sees the world with an increasingly tolerant, essential eye.
"Birds Fly"
400×450cm 布面油画 2020
Grass on the Plain, No.3, 200x150cm, Oil on canvas, 2021
6
Zeng Fanzhi
Zeng Fanzhi - Wuhan, August 1991
Zeng Fanzhi, born in 1964 in Wuhan, Hubei, is a contemporary Chinese painter who graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts in 1991.
Zeng Fanzhi was born in an ordinary family in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and his parents were workers in a printing factory. Due to his obsession with "graffiti", Zeng Fanzhi dropped out of middle school. At the age of 17, he traveled with some friends who loved art, and came into contact with the works of Western modern painters in Beijing and Shanghai. It was not until the fifth college entrance examination in 1987 that he was admitted to the Oil Painting Department of Hubei Academy of Fine Arts.
Melancholy Man, oil on canvas, 1990
Since the 90s of the 20th century, Zeng Fanzhi has slowly entered the public eye, and his creations have been widely praised by critics for their unique language style and keen social criticism.
His works are rigorous and unique, the symbol of the "mask", against the background of simplicity and calm, shows people's mental state, with irritability, although there is a sense of ridicule, but it makes people look at it with a sense of heaviness, and the symbolic expressionist technique has left a clear impression on people, and has also received continuous attention from the public.
Mask Series No. 11, oil on canvas, 1994
In 2001, after the completion of "The Last Supper", it was immediately collected by the wealthy Belgian businessmen and collectors Mr. and Mrs. Ullens. Twelve years later, in 2013, the work appeared in the "Sotheby's Hong Kong 40th Anniversary Evening Auction", starting at HK$70 million, and after more than a dozen rounds of bidding, it was finally sold at a sky-high price of HK$181 million, far exceeding the pre-auction estimate of HK$80 million.
This price made Zeng Fanzhi the most expensive artist in Asia, and the world was stunned by the fact that it was the first Asian contemporary art work to sell for more than 100 million yuan, and it also set a new record for the highest auction of Asian contemporary art.
The Last Supper, oil on canvas, 2001
Untitled, oil on canvas, 2022
Zeng Fanzhi has been shortlisted for 15 consecutive years on the Hurun Chinese Art List, and the Hurun Evergreen Chinese Artists List, ranking first in 2014.
"In the 15 years since the establishment of our art list, Zeng Fanzhi is the only artist who has never left the top 10 of the list, which also shows that collectors recognize the value of his works," Hurun said. "In 2022, Zeng Fanzhi's turnover will increase by 26% to 340 million yuan, ranking second for a second consecutive year.
Flickering Painting - Light III, 2019-2023, Oil on canvas, 480 x 400 cm
7
Luo Zhongli
Luo Zhongli - Chongqing, June 1994
Luo Zhongli, born in 1948 in the suburbs of Chongqing, took the initiative to live in the countryside of Daba Mountain for 10 years after graduating from the High School Affiliated to Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in 1968. At the age of 17, he was successfully admitted to the High School Affiliated to Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. In March 1978, Luo Zhongli became a freshman in the Oil Painting Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute.
In 1980, he created the oil painting "Father", which showed the image of a peasant for the first time, and with its creative thinking and profound connotation, it not only shook the art world, but also affected the society, and caused a discussion on the authenticity and typicality, form and aesthetics of the image.
Father, 1980, Oil on canvas, 215×150cm
Not long after the creation of "Father", Luo Zhongli used the same technique to portray a silkworm-raising "mother" in the sister chapter "Spring Silkworm", but the difference is that the latter concealed the portrayal of the character's face, and through the silver-white hair and knobly knotted hands, he used "Spring silkworm to the end of the silkworm" as a metaphor for the years when rural women worked hard for their livelihood.
It is worth mentioning that in June 2017, "Spring Silkworm", created in 1982, was sold for 49.45 million yuan in China Guardian Spring Auction, becoming the most expensive work in Luo Zhongli's secondary market.
Spring Silkworm, oil on canvas, 1982
In recent years, Luo Zhongli's painting style has changed greatly, some people say that this is the only way for the artist, others say that it is a regression of technology, no matter what, Luo Zhongli's works have left a name in the history of Chinese art.
In fact, the content of his paintings has not changed, and they are still the labor, life and love of the peasants in his "Daba Mountain Universe", but they use extremely brilliant colors and casual and bold lines, as well as stone carving, wood carving, dyeing and other techniques drawn from Chinese folk art. He also used this self-created painting language to repaint many famous works in the history of art, including works by Cézanne, Van Gogh and Courbet.
Thundershower, oil on canvas, 2001
Father's Metamorphosis No. 2, oil on paper, 2003
Rereading Art History - Courbet Double Body, oil on canvas, 2015