Modern Chinese Artists: Josephine Do, Liu Xiaodong, Qi Baishi
NYT - Bringing a Woman's Touch to Chinese Art Scene
In some numbers now, female artists are forging images and voices.
"Sea Level" by the artist Josephine Do.
See Kaixin's - Women in China
WSJ - A Chinese 'Hometown Boy' Makes Good
Liu Xiaodong, a star of the contemporary-art market, returns to the factory town of his childhood
Liu Xiaodong makes intimate portraits to convey big stories about China.
In recent years, Mr. Liu has become a star of the contemporary-art market, where his vivid portraits and depictions of everyday life in China have attracted major collectors. In April 2008, an Asian buyer paid $7.9 million at Sotheby's for Mr. Liu's "Battlefield Realism: The Eighteen Arhats." The work consists of nine pairs of portraits showing visiting front-line soldiers serving along a sea lane where Taiwan and mainland China continue to point missiles at each other. Last September, all of his 17 canvases on offer at "Yan' Guan Town," an exhibit at New York's Mary Boone Gallery, sold at prices between $75,000 and $800,000.
China Daily - Qi Baishi and his paintings with unique style
On June 28, 2009，the renowned painter Qi Baishi’s work, "Mouse and Cat with Lamp", was sold for RMB 4.48 million at the 18th China Guardian Quarterly Auction.
In this painting, a mouse is standing on the top of a long pole where a lamp is hung. Under the pole is a cat. Despite the images simple composition, the dynamic and motionless elements are both there, creating an explosive situation.
The images of mouse and cat contrast sharply with each other, which evokes a hearty laugh.Moreover, the inscription on this picture is intriguing: “Last night I lit the lamp early and planed to go to bed soon. Since I’m poor, I put too little oil into the lamp to feed the mouse sufficiently. When the cat sneaked in, the oil had been gone and the lamp burned out.”
Qi Baishi (1864 - 1957), also known as Ch'i Pai-shih in the western literature, is perhaps the most well-known contemporary Chinese painter for the whimsical, often playful style of his watercolor works.
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