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Lot Essay
Yue Minjun is one of the key figures of the Cynical Realist group that emerged in China. Best known for his signature stylized portraits in the Idol Series, Yue's work is a powerful satire on the disillusionment with society, politics and reality felt by the post-1989 generation.
'Modern Chinese art devotes most of its attention to reality. And as almost every artist reaches out his antennae for what is most familiar to him and what he had his most important experiences with, one can easily identify a strong existential awareness in present-day Chinese art. This art is not inflated, not fantastic, but decidedly real. This generation of Chinese artists lives with the experience of previous repression and subsequent confrontation with the onslaught of another culture.' (Yue Minjun quoted in Bernhard Fibicher and Matthias Frehner, Mahjong: Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection, Bern 2005, p.54).
'Modern Chinese art devotes most of its attention to reality. And as almost every artist reaches out his antennae for what is most familiar to him and what he had his most important experiences with, one can easily identify a strong existential awareness in present-day Chinese art. This art is not inflated, not fantastic, but decidedly real. This generation of Chinese artists lives with the experience of previous repression and subsequent confrontation with the onslaught of another culture.' (Yue Minjun quoted in Bernhard Fibicher and Matthias Frehner, Mahjong: Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection, Bern 2005, p.54).