-First retrospective of a true master of Chinese Art -Published to
coincide with an exhibition at the Ashmolean, which runs from 7 November
2017 to 15 April 2018 This retrospective of Qu Leilei, whose
distinguished career in England started in the 1980s when he emigrated
to London, reveals the dimensions of this master's art. As a young man
and member of the "The Stars," the group showed among the first
contemporary art in China. Initially vilified, their protests for human
rights eventually led to helping liberalize the contemporary art scene
in China's cities. (Wang Keping, Ai Weiwei and Ma De Sheng were others
of the group.) Qu Lelei's paintings, calligraphy and brush and ink works
have since been collected worldwide, exhibited at Venice Biennale, the
Beijing Biennale, the China National Art Gallery, as well at the V&A and
the Ashmolean Museum, which gave him his first solo exhibition (2005).
From a focus on social politics, the artist's theme has evolved to
humanity itself. He exhibits a loving concern for the achievement of
human beings, as well as an absorption in anatomy. He handles brush and
ink with near photograph-like quality. His visual language fuses East
and West, blending descriptive, realistic styles of the European
Renaissance with Chinese Ink paintings. His profound concepts have
universal application as he weaves real events into fictional
narratives.
