Yue Minjun

 Artnet had this email highlighting YUE MINJUN. His claim to fame is his paintings incorporating the laughing man or smiling man, a face "frozen in a state of hysterical laughter".  Below are some facts about this artist:

Each month, we’re spotlighting an artist we love—and whose work is currently live for bidding on Artnet Auctions. This month: Yue Minjun.

Untitled (Smile-ism No. 17), 2006

 

Est. $4,000–6,000

Untitled (Smile-ism No. 16), 2006

 

Est. $4,000–6,000

"I'm actually trying to make sense of the world. There's nothing cynical or absurd in what I do."

—Yue Minjun

1 

Yue Minjun was born in Daqing, in the Heilongjiang province of China in 1962. 

 

2

He began his arts education at Hebei Normal University in 1983, where he studied oil painting.

 

3

In the 1990s, Minjun joined an artist’s colony in Yuan Ming Yuan, outside Beijing. There he began to solidify his artistic style and imagery, drawing inspiration from the work of Geng Jianyi.

 

4

Minjun uses the same motif in every painting and sculpture he creates: his face, often in a fluorescent tone, frozen in a state of hysterical laughter. Instead of happiness, the wide smile denotes a sense of helplessness.

 

5

The artist is often considered a pioneer of the Cynical Realism movement which emerged in response to the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. While his compositions do align with many aspects of the movement, Minjun rejects this label.

 

6

His art first garnered international attention when he participated in the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999.

 

7

In 2007, Minjun was the only visual artist on the list of nominees for Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.”