Wang Guangyi (b. 1956) is best known for his work that explores the Chinese Cultural Revolution through the lenses of propaganda. The Chinese artist knows how to marry a juxtaposing couple, politics with commercial ingenuity, which makes him an eminent figure of the "Political Pop" movement. Guangyi´s main work is “Great Criticism”, a series of paintings that explore commercial society and comment on the invasion operated by imported Western commodities on the traditional Chinese culture.

His oeuvre blends together the aesthetics of revolutionary images and consumer logos and becomes an unmistakable commentary on the narratives of political, economic, and social policies as well as an ideological criticism of globalization. While it is true that Western influence is a reality in contemporary Chinese art, it is equally true that Guangyi´s style keeps an instinctive distance from Western art, whose motives are incorporated while "Chinese". As an artist, he also felt himself to be entrusted with a mission: to bring his country on the international art scene - an ambition that soon made his name part of the history of contemporary Chinese art.

Wang Guangyi

Wang Guangyi repurposes historical Chinese propaganda into paintings that poke fun at the intersection of China’s communist history and the rise of Western influence.

Wang Guangyi is best-known for his work that explores the Chinese Cultural Revolution through the lenses of propaganda - which makes him one of the most eminent representatives of the "Political Pop" movement. The Chinese artist knows how to marry a juxtaposing couple, politics with commercial ingenuity, by incorporating, manipulating and rectifying iconic images into a new visual language.

"Pop-Art" belongs to the set of twenty lithographs from "Wang Gaungyi´s Rhythmical Dichotomy ". This Portfolio comes as a limited edition of 165 rare books, presented in a brushed aluminium case carefully created by Wang. Each one is signed and numbered, as well as accompanied by a poem by renowned poet Fernando Arrabal.

By combining depictions of workers with logos of famous commercial brands, such as Coca-Cola and Rolex (“corrections” of the political slogans he had painted as a youth), this collection of lithographs synthesizes the schematic propaganda of two seemingly opposed systems.

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“ When creating a work of art, one’s head is full of these historical considerations; an encounter with what has been and its entry into the process of rectification. „

—Wang Guangyi