Fang Lijun 方力钧

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Fang Lijun is a Chinese painter and printmaker living in Beijing. A member of the Cynical Realism movement of the early 1990s, some consider him one of the most influential artists working in China today. His works aim to be vivid and ironic expressions of disillusionment and alienation, which he regards as the lot of humankind in an oppressive cultural environment.

Fang Lijun in front of his painting at the exhibition Endlessness of Life, Taipei Fine Arts Museum (2009)

Date & Place of Birth

Fang was born on December 4, 1963, in the city of Handan in Hebei province.

Childhood & Family

Growing up during the Cultural Revolution, Fang was ostracized by many of his peers because of his landholding family’s wealth and social status. Encouraged by his father and instructors, Fang dealt with his isolation by applying his drawing skills to the officially-sanctioned "criticism" of figures such as the philosopher Confucius and Mao's ally-turned-adversary, Lin Biao.

Education & Development

While attending the local Children’s Cultural Palace—where he met the future critic and curator Li Xianting—Fang received his first instruction in the use of oil paints, ink, and watercolors.

In 1980, Fang abandoned his high school education to begin a three-year course studying ceramics at the Hebei Light Industry Technical College. At the time, ceramics was the only department accepting new students. On completion of his course work, Fang accepted a prominent position producing billboards for a Handan advertising agency.

Fang Lijun, No. 1 (1993)

After working at the advertising agency for just a year, Fang grew bored with the art of promoting locally produced goods. He decided to give up the intellectually stultifying job and instead prepared for the entrance exams at the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, where he began his studies in 1985.

Although enrolled in the printmaking department at CAFA, Fang chose to exhibit a series of oil paintings for his graduate project in 1988. Showing paintings, rather than prints, was a public statement of Fang’s dissatisfaction with the quality of the instruction he received in the printmaking department. In these oils, including III (1988), Fang introduced the bald-headed figures who would become the familiar protagonists in many of his canvases.

Art

In 1993, water became a frequent subject in Fang’s work, in many instances replacing the dreamlike settings of his earlier compositions. He also replaced his limited palette with a range of colors. Despite his transformations, both the setting and figures retain the ambiguity of No. 1 (1993), in which each figure appears to be waiting for something unspecified but significant to occur.

In 1995, Fang returned to wood block printing, creating monumental, monochromatic and multicolored prints such as No.17 (triptych) (1996). This medium offered an efficient means to create multiple, large-scale versions of his images, which are also potentially more raw and im

Fang Lijun, Series 2, No. 2, "Howl" (1991 - 1992)

mediate than his compositions on canvas.

Emergence & Reception

Fang Lijun’s first opportunity to exhibit works in a nationally significant venue occurred in 1989. With the help of his childhood friend, the critic Li Xiantang, Fang’s paintings were shown in the China/Avant Garde exhibition, alongside the work of other emerging artists who had come of age during the Cultural Revolution. Following the exhibition, Fang’s career took off, in part thanks to the efforts of Li , who introduced Fang's work to prominent gallery owners and art dealers.

In 1993, Fang's work Series 2, No.2 (1991-1992), commonly referred to as “The Yawn” or “The Howl,” graced the cover of the New York Times Magazine. Along with his inclusion in another attention-getting exhibition of Chinese contemporary art, at the 45th Venice Biennale, Fang entered the upper-most ranks of Chinese contemporary artists on the global stage.

Secondary Activities

In 2003, Fang appeared in a supporting role in the film Green Tea, which was adapted from Jin Renshun’s novel Adiliya by the River, and directed by prominent filmmaker Zhang Yuan. He became a visiting Professor at the Jilin College School of Visual Arts in Changchun in 2004 and a part-time Professor at the Hebei Training University Art College in 2005.

Exhibitions

Fang Lijun's first solo show, Human Images in an Uncertain Age, was presented in Tokyo in 1996 by the Japan Foundation Asia Center, making Fang one of the first contemporary Chinese artists accorded a major one-person exhibition abroad. The artist’s work has been selected twice for inclusion in the Venice Biennale, once in 1993 and again in 1999. Fang has recently exhibited his work in numerous important group exhibitions of contemporary Chinese art, including the China - Facing Reality exhibition held in 2007 at the MUMOK, Vienna.

For Fang Lijun's CV click here.

Gallery Affiliations

For Fang's current gallery affiliations, click here

Acquisitions & Auctions

Fang's work has been acquired by major institutions including the Fukuoka Art Museum in Japan, the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art, the Shanghai Art Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

For a list of collections containing works by Fang Lijun, click here

Many of the artists' works have reached prices above (USD) one million at auction. On November 14, 2007 Fang Lijun's Series 2, no. 6 (1991-1992) was auctioned for slightly more than (USD) 4 million, a record resale price for his work.

For Fang Lijun's Resale Record, click here