(b.1962, Heilongjiang, China)
Yue Minjun is a contemporary Chinese artist working across painting, sculpture, and printmaking. He is internationally recognized for his distinctive, exaggerated laughing figures—pink-faced characters bearing his own likeness, frozen in a perpetual smile. These recurring self-referential motifs serve as a powerful visual language to explore themes of identity, history, and collective experience.
Using irony, satire, and symbolism, Yue reimagines scenes from everyday life as well as culturally and politically charged subjects. His works are filled with metaphor and visual repetition, constructing layered narratives that both critique and reflect contemporary society. Although often linked to the “Cynical Realism” movement that emerged in post-Tiananmen China, Yue distances himself from formal classifications, considering his work a personal reflection of a specific cultural moment.
Through his art, he offers a bold commentary on societal norms, political structures, and human behaviour—employing humor and absurdity as both shield and weapon.
