Fang Lijun

(Chinese, born 1963)

Fang Lijun is a contemporary Chinese painter and printmaker best known for his politically driven paintings which reflect on the history of 20th-century China. The artist is recognized for his contribution to the China’s Cynical Realist movement, a group of artists critical of the Chinese Communist Party which also included artists Liu Wei and Zhang Xiaogang. His work tackles the issues of human rights, morality, and political oppression through colorful, surrealistic imagery. Many of his paintings feature a shaven head motif, representative of the apathetic followers of the communist government. In his painting 30th Mary, he depicts bald figures wearing colorful school uniforms floating through a tunnel of clouds, in a composition that evokes European religious paintings. Born in 1963 in Handan, China, he received his formal training at the Fine Art Academy of Beijing where he studied printmaking. The artist has exhibited his work at the China Art Museum in Beijing, the Today Art Museum in Beijing, and the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, among others. Fang lives and works in Beijing, China.