Ren Zhenyu

Ren Zhenyu (B.1976 China)

Born in Tianjin and graduated from the Oil Painting Department at Tianjin Academy of Fine Art. In this series Ren plays with colours and China’s most famous icon, expressing his own abstract-expressionist interpretation of the Chairman’s face portrayed from different angles.

Far from neo-realism, he belongs to the trend of opo-political art and by choosing Mao his subject, Ren attempts not only to celebrate Mao’s image from a contemporary perspective, but he also aims to reconcile some very dolorous and uncomfortable memories.

In his work, Ren alludes to the profound political changes that have been taking place in China since Mao’s death – the same year the artist was born – and also to the constant need for Chinese artists to connect themselves to the past.