Fang Lijun graduated in 1989 from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. He makes his living as a professional artist.

　　Fang Lijun is a major exponent of the Cynical Realist style. His works employ a subtle humour, depicting he ridiculous and lamentable reality beyond trivial feelings In 1990 Fang began a series of black and white oil paintings, who images and situational contexts, such as the yawning self, the man with his hands in his pockets or the inexplicable laughing crowd reflect the artist’s main thematic concern with “the absurd the mundane and the meaningless events of everyday life”. Regardless of the characters’ age or gender they are all idle. The fact that Fang chooses to depict most of his characters with shaved heads creates, a symbolic language whose visual syntax eliminates difference of age, status or gender. This is compatible with Fang’s own philosophy of life that everyone is equal, thus dismissing the cultural difference created by human society.

　　Fang’s absurd characters seem to mock irreverently at the viewer, as though announcing that everything is meaningless. The categorisation and repetition of certain character types increases the sense of dispersion and mundanity. The character are always posed in a preconceived environment such as the sky, the sea or historical sites, ironically evoking a sense of romance and timelessness This poetic treatment of the absurd render the paintings even more preposterous and humourous. Fang’s most recent series of paintings makes use of vibrant, pastel colours tightly confined within smoothly sketched human figures, underscoring the sense of loss and confusion beyond the ostentatious presentation.

　　“It is ridiculous to seek eternity. Eternity. transcends the universe, therefore it exists at all times without anybody paying any special attention to it. It is only when [in your art] you capture the individual essence in the most fleeting moment that you have captured eternity This is because the viewer can appreciate that fleeting moment through your creation, regardless of time or place. If we try to communicate in an alien language, nobody will understand it even if we are saying the simplest things. However, people will understand if a common language is used, even if we are speaking about the universe or abstract philosophical issues This should certainly be a good inspiration to the Academy if they ever want to gain the acceptance of me and my artist friends.”

　　—Fang Lijun

作者：Fang,Lijun