What is Wang Guangyi known for?

Wang Guangyi is known as a leader of the New Art Movement that started in China after 1989 and is one of the central figures of the Political Pop movement. Best known for his Great Criticism Series, Wang creates links between the propaganda aesthetics of the Cultural Revolution and striking imagery of American Pop.

What influenced Wang Guangyi?

(Chinese, born 1957) Influenced by the artists Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys, he was one of the founding members of the Chinese avant-garde Northern Art Group alongside Shu Qun and Ren Jian. “I came to realize that the essence of art is its ancestry, its history,” the artist has said.

What is political pop art?

A term coined by art critic Li Xianting in 1992 to describe art created by a group of 1990s Chinese artists, whose works, executed in the style of 1960s American Pop, juxtaposed Cultural Revolution propaganda imagery, such as a portrait of Mao Zedong, with symbols of globalization like Gucci or Coca-Cola logos.

Who influenced Ah Xian?

“China, China”, 1999 Ah Xian had travelled to Jingdezhen, China and this is where the inspiration for this exhibition originated. The artist was also influenced by his own journey – one that combined his own culture and the ideas of the Western world.

Is pop art a propaganda?

Pop art was originally called Propaganda art. Andy Warhol designed the iconic album artwork for The Velvet Underground’s debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.

Why did Ah Xian leave China?

In 1989, Xian travelled to Australia to visit the University of Tasmania. He briefly returned to Beijing, but did not stay as the Tiananmen Square massacre on 4 June motivated him to leave China. After leaving China, he applied for asylum in Australia.

Where did Ah Xian go to school?

Soon after, he began to go to Sydney College of the Arts, where he worked on a series of porcelain busts by himself. In 1998 he was awarded a New Work Grant from the Australia Council, which allowed him to work with master ceramists and painters.