YUE MINJUN (B.1962)

In Untitled (Smile-ism No.6), Yue Minjun’s iconic smiling face belongs to a figure depicted in a bizarre and exaggerated pose. Through crafting this stylized self-portrait, the artist usurps the idolization of Mao Zedong in art from the Cultural Revolution. These faces, a signature motif present in Yue Minjun’s body of work, are always depicted with a wide-mouthed grin and eyes squeezed shut, often more than once within a composition. The imagery is often incorporated in surreal and absurd scenarios, indicating the artist’s own satirical and often cynical worldview, thus satirizing the lack of spirituality in contemporary times. The figure’s smiles do not simply indicate happiness, but rather relay the complicated undercurrent of feelings that lie behind these toothy grins which reveal the deep gulf that lies between idealism and reality.