Kitsch Puppets is a collection of four artists’ most recent works, including paintings and sculptures. Their sculptures were born from the white ceramics and ancient flames of Jingde Zhen. Many of the works exhibited in Kitsch Puppets contain jokes and mild sarcasm. This sense of humor probably comes from the profound traditional culture of the city of Tianjin, which is famous for Chinese folk arts. All four artists originate from Tianjin, and are currently working in Beijing. Their works stand out with their unique style and particular sense of humor in the crowded art world of Beijing.He Binghua creats a humorous puppet— a green frog monsieur. This simply-designed piece is made in bold and bright colors, but with an obnoxious and erotic look. The unusual combination of the cuddly puppet and the obnoxious look makes the sarcasm sharp yet easy to accept for the audiences, while amplifying the power of this sarcasm.By painting on glass with abstract veins, Liu Baomin de-constructs the figures and landscapes behind. This unique way of visual presentation brings new features to cliché images, and gives life to odd new images. His paintings present a sense of humor on the surface, while revealing an opposite meaning. Li Mingzhu borrows the more traditional painting patterns from ceramics and china vases. He transforms these patterns with bright colors and paints them on unconventional materials such as axes. Such clever and crafty ideas are very much related to the local culture of Tianjin. Li Jisen also paints figures that resemble puppets. Although his painting of puppets huddling together looks vivid and comic at first sight, there is a stronger sense of poignancy with changing themes and content, sentimental feelings come in incessant waves.The exhibition presented by Shanghai Zendai Museum of Modern Art and Art Bank, open on August 10 – August 25, 2007 at Shanghai Zendai Museum of Modern Art.