Fang Lijun is the leading protagonist of Chinese art of the 1990's. Together with other artists of that period, he created a unique form of expression called "Cynical Realism". Especially his "baldheads" series, produced from 1988 onwards, became a symbol of the mood prevailing in Chinese society in the late eighties and first half of the nineties: Between humour and the readiness to resort the violence, these works express a certain ennui, calmness and existential feeling. Their grimaces, the indifferent expression on their faces, their yawns, occasional rear views and the backgrounds of the pictures convey a sense of meaninglessness. As most of these baldheads depict the artist himself, irony is transformed into self-irony and the picture becomes a symbol of his own escape from that meaning system, Thanks to Fang Lijun's non-expressive brushstroke, this pictures radiate a quiet coldness and highlight the "non-involved" atmosphere while retaining an emotionless neutrality. From the very beginning, Fang Lijun uses clean and brilliant colours signifying inner self-liberation and purification. From the end of the 90's, Fang Lijun has produced a number of large-size multi-part woodcuts which seem to be striving for the same kind of perfection, monumentality and charisma as his single-piece works. The artist considers the preservation of a smooth stroke of the knife a technical challenge implied in working with huge formats. This is a woodcutting technique we actually owe to Fang Lijun While he even resorts to industrial-grade electrical saws, his knife strokes retain flowing, generous lines and assume an almost calligraphic dynamic quality. Compared to the calm of the swimmers series painted in oil and acrylic, the woodcut figures leave a massive, militant impression.

　　出处：《CHINA NOW》，2004年，P72。