Wang Guangyi Art Go

2006

oil on canvas

200*160cm

RMB:600,000-1,600,000

As the most important works of pop politics, Wang guangyi¡¯s Great Criticism did not gain wide recognition of those critics, for the integration of those masthead graphics appeared on small canvas in the period of Cultural revolution and signs of commercial society reduced Oil Painting to the status of being regardless.

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He regarded his Great Criticism as ¡°a group of Post-pop works to solve commercial economic problems¡±. The stimulation brought by the artist¡¯s attention by chance to the graphics of Culture Revolution was moving towards the commodity trends. He just wanted to provide the commodity economy a joke and a mock, but with a comfortable semi-pop intention. However, the Great Criticism consisting of workers, peasants and soldiers reminded people of an uncomfortable. It can easily be associated with the political movement and history of single ideology several years ago.

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Actually, Wang Guangyi has already turned the critics into a game through which the ridiculousness was reduced to the lowest level, while the humours will put to the surface without further explanation. Great Criticism is a way for the artist to get out of art, to avoid seeking for meaning. The artist used simple materials to get rid of metaphysical trap of spirit through the works.

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Wang Guangyi is among the minority of artists who clearly understand the political and strategical side of art in this circle. He understood that there was not art problem in his Great Criticism. Works like it just signs of problems of a period of times. They symbolized a certain times and people¡ªeven though most of them are foreigners¡ªhave much to say about it, even regarding it as one of the keyword in Post-Cold-War period, which enabled Wang Guangyi¡¯s Great Criticism to become an important historical dodument.

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Selected from ¡°Wang Guangyi¡¯s Art problem in 1990s¡± by Lv Peng.

Fang Lijun 2003.3.1

woodblock prints&ink on paper

RMB:1,000,000-1,800,000

Fang Lijun himself is neither cynical nor naughty, but his works were regarded as Cynical Realism at that time, for the ¡°naughty¡± characters appeared in his pictures. Realism is always re-emerging as analysis and judgement of subject to object, always based on certain theories. The relationship between the subject and the object is clear and even opposite. From this point of view, Fang Lijun¡¯s realism blurs the relationship between subject and object, though the skin-deep realism and traditional realism are consistent. Fang Lijun¡¯s realism is introspective, judging from experiences rather than concept. In this aspect, they share similarity with the modern art. Therefore, even in real sense they are paintings with significant realism and college-style, they are still regarded as the avant-garde art. This similarity is self, not expressed in the form of modern art, but images. That is to say, Fang Lijun¡¯s images presented are not real objects, but the embodiment of self.

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The education and trainings on Fang Lijun forced him to deny the form of modern art, for this is neither his experience nor his reality experience. However, we can not say that modern are has no influence on Fang Lijun, which could be reflected in two aspects: one is that he never pursuesthe real space, his realism is only reflected in the images, with relationship among images more like that of forms (this sense may be related to his print experience); another is that the authenticity of experiences enable him to represent images truly and pay attention to visual experiences, which reflected more distinct in his Pose Political Pop works.

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Selected from ¡°An Episode of History¡± by Yi ying.