Seeing these smiling men with big mouths, I believe many people recognize that these are all created by Yue Minjun. The artist uses a self-portrait style full of ironic meaning to explore the art world, criticize society. These highly iconic and meaningful works have propelled him to become one of the most famous contemporary artists in China.
Over the past 10 years, we have mostly seen the works of Yue Minjun in museums or large exhibitions. This time, Yue Minjun collaborated with Tang Contemporary Art Center for the first time, bringing a solo exhibition “A Smile of Flowers” to Hong Kong audiences after many years. The exhibition not only presents Yue Minjun’s classic “smiling face” series but also unveils the new “flower” series created since the outbreak of the pandemic.
In Yue Minjun’s artistic world, the characters are all carefree smiles or mocking laughter, behind the iconic yet almost crazy smiles, the artist hopes to express a questioning attitude towards the current social, institutional, and cultural atmosphere. In his “Smiling Face” series, from the works that initially carried symbols of Chinese socialist propaganda paintings, to the parody and appropriation of classic art masterpieces, to the aesthetic patterns that move away from secular life, and then transition to the “daydream” like scenes in this exhibition, behind every smiling face, all reflect the artist’s concern for reality.
In the latest “Smiling Face” series such as “Desolate Water,” “Away,” and “Early Blue,” the artist incorporates the capture of mysterious halos, sensually imagines wandering in the picture, introspective self-examination, seemingly becoming an effective escape from reality. Under the epidemic, the works show the artist’s worries and helplessness about the future of humanity.
In 2020, Yue Minjun lived in the spring city of Yunnan on the southwest border of China for several months. Perhaps it was this city, which produces abundant flowers, that pierced through the haze of the epidemic, bringing inspiration to the artist. Yue Minjun made a significant breakthrough and created a series of “flower” works. The artist replaced the usual smiling faces with extremely colorful flowers, hiding the truth behind the flowers, making people more eager to peek into the emotions of the person behind the flowers.
In this exhibition, we can see that after many years of sedimentation, Yue Minjun’s aesthetic ideals and concerns about real circumstances have been internalized in “flowers”. The works still demonstrate the artist’s unique “youthfulness” and “self-revolution”, making the “flower” series another shared spiritual code of the era.
“Nianhua Yixiao” Yue Minjun Solo Exhibition
Date: March 24 to April 30, 2022 (Visit by appointment only)
Time: 11:00 AM to afternoon (Tuesday to Saturday)
Location: Contemporary Tang Art Center, 10th Floor, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
Image source and learn more: Tang Contemporary Art Center
