The Power of Images Notes on Yan Pei-Ming’s Work

One of the most dynamic and experimental Chinese painters in the international art scene, Yan Pei Ming is particularly known for his epic size paintings of iconic figures, Mao Zedong, Bruce Lee, Obama, and his father and self-portraits. His expressive style and controlled palette reflect a connection to the aesthetic and cultural climate of China as well as the influence of 20th Century American conceptual art. His canvases are typically mono- or bi-chromatic and painted with large brushes (sometimes a broom), in either black and white or deep shades of red.

Yan Pei-Ming

BRUCE LEE, 2004 oil on canvas 200 x 204 cm

With a mastered economy of marks, he delineates his compositions with broad, sweeping gestures and visible drips, resulting in images that dissolve into near-abstraction at close view.

#ContemporaryPortraitPainting #PoliticalFigures #ContemporaryChineseArt #Artist #ContemporaryArt #Art