| Yue Minjun's paintings offer a light-hearted | | | | meaning of Yue Minjun's self-portraits be |
| approach to philosophical enquiry and | | | | categorized as auratic or post-auratic Within |
| contemplation of existence. Drawing | | | | the development of modern art, the search for |
| connotations to the disparate images of the | | | | reality through representation has been fully |
| Laughing Buddha and the inane gap toothed | | | | deter-mined by the relationship between the |
| grin of Alfred E. Newman, Yue's | | | | individual absolute and reality. Yue subverts |
| self-portraits have been describe by theorist | | | | the grandiose aura of art history through his |
| Li Xianting as "a self-ironic response to the | | | | adaptation of pop aesthetics. |
| spiritual vacuum and folly of modern-day | | | | |
| China. The Paintings, sculptures and | | | | Selected Exhibitions- |
| installations of Yue Minjun always feature | | | | |
| uniform laughing faces. And if these laughing | | | | 2004 |
| faces are observed carefully, it will be | | | | |
| noticed that these faces are the face of Yue | | | | • Yue Minjun: Sculptures And Paintings, |
| Minjun. | | | | Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong |
| | | | |
| The acidic tones and commercialized vacuity | | | | 2003 |
| of his works are used to underscore the | | | | |
| insincerity of his figures' mirth. As both | | | | • Yue Minjun: Beijing Ironicals, |
| antagonists and anti-heroes, Yue's hysterical | | | | Prüss & Ochs Gallery, Berlin, Germany |
| cohorts equally bully the viewer and stand as | | | | |
| subjects of ridicule. Using laughter as a | | | | • Yue Minjun, Meile Gallery, |
| denotation of violence and vulnerability, | | | | Switzerland |
| Yue's paintings balance a zeitgeist of modern | | | | |
| day anxiety with an Eastern philosophical | | | | 2002 |
| ethos, positing the response to the true | | | | |
| nature of reality as an endless cynical | | | | • Soaking In Silly Laughter: One Of Art |
| guffaw.Yue Minjun presents various realities | | | | Singapore 2002, Soobin Art Gallery, Singapore |
| that emerge as the background behind the | | | | |
| laughing visages. These realities emerge | | | | • Yue Minjun: Handling, One World Art |
| through various easy to recognize symbols, | | | | Center, China |
| metaphors and signs, or through depictions of | | | | |
| daily life. The laughing faces and the | | | | 2000 |
| representations of reality in Yue Minjun's | | | | |
| works are closely related. And this | | | | • Red Ocean: Yue Minjun, Chinese |
| relationship shows Yue Minjun's fairly easy | | | | Contemporary, London, Uk |
| to read cynicism in confrontation with | | | | |
| reality. | | | | Conclusions: |
| | | | |
| Can the works of Yue Minjun be said to be | | | | Yue Minjun's paintings offer a light-hearted |
| self-portraits? Does his artwork present any | | | | approach to philosophical enquiry and |
| insight into the conflict between | | | | contemplation of existence. The laughing |
| individuality and collectivism? Does his work | | | | faces and the representations of reality in |
| indicate self-identification that represents | | | | Yue Minjun's works are closely related |
| the pressing of the self-identity into a | | | | |
| collective existence? Of the many questions | | | | What to Do Next... |
| that arise, this is The mose basic: Can the | | | | |