Liu Xiaodong

Liu Xiaodong felt that there were countless "isms" in the world, but "realism" possessed for him a documentary quality and directness: "I rely on this foundation, and it gives me a sense of solidity." Even during the late 1980s, when modern art movements dominated the scene, Liu Xiaodong persisted in his grounded realism, focusing his gaze on everyday life and familiar figures. For over a decade of obscurity, Liu Xiaodong remained faithful to his own conception of painting, striving to portray the independence and alienation inherent in ordinary people’s lives, staying distant from trends and clamor. Times have changed; now, as a representative figure of the art world's "New Generation," Liu Xiaodong has become a mainstream sensation, and his paintings are eagerly collected. People fervently pursue Liu Xiaodong not merely because his works have shattered auction records for contemporary Chinese art, but more so because of his courage in confronting reality. Ai Weiwei evaluated Liu’s work as powerfully conveying "the wound of a nation and the silent stance of an artist." He is profoundly sensitive to the painful transformations of his era; discarding formal embellishments and grand narratives, he tightly connects individual authenticity with the absurdity of the times—each ordinary person in his paintings engages in a profound contemplation of life in varying degrees. In an age of rampant consumption, artists find it hard to remain untainted. Liu Xiaodong resists consumption through art, yet cannot prevent himself from becoming a commodity symbol: after his painting depicting the suffering of the lower classes in the Three Gorges region, "New Migrants of the Three Gorges," was purchased, it was displayed in an exclusive club signifying status and prestige. Yet Liu Xiaodong’s strength lies in his adaptation to a commercialized society—he clearly understands that today’s art dissemination and promotion must rely on commerce, and that the art market can only be a business. Still, he preserves his own boundaries: no matter how loudly the outside world clamors or how dramatically his value soars, he remains unfazed, quietly devoted to painting.