Shi Xinning (b. 1969)

Shi Xinning's alternative Mao biography operates as a free-for-all send up of official versions of history; his subjects are carefully chosen for their collision course narratives and gossipy innuendo. Beneath Xinning's paintings lies the intriguing proposition: how differently things might have turned out if only a little thing like ideology didn't get in the way. In A Holiday in Venice - At the Balcony of Ms. Guggenheim, a Cheshire-ish Chairman lounges linen-clad and carefree, having possibly met his match in the famous art collector; he an aspiring poet and calligrapher, she a respected patron, both figures notorious for their libidinous antics.