Author Description

"This monograph is a confirmation of the artist Yongbo Zhao's standing, being one of the most fascinating contemporary artists to have emerged from China. Born in Manchuria in 1964, Zhao's artistic talent was recognised at an early age. Following his first taste of success as a schoolboy and after studying art in the provincial capital, he went on to receive national acclaim in China." "While working as a teacher in his late twenties, he became acquainted with the Western European artistic tradition and succumbed to its fascination. From that time onwards he rejected the Social Realist style that had dominated the art of late twentieth-century China, emigrated to Germany and over a period of four years, occupied himself with the art of the Old Masters and the techniques of their paintings and graphic works." "Only once he had mastered the Classical painterly style and had an immense number of ideas for his pictures did he dare to display his talents to the public once again. He began by paraphrasing his own motifs and those of others, combining them to create provocative and often subversive works. In doing so, he repeatedly confronted the myths and idols of the West with those of China's standardized mass society, radically questioning both sides at the same time."--Jacket.