Having participated in scores of exhibitions over the last decade, these three artists Li Jikai, Gong Jian and Chen Bo are now considered to be some of the leading artists of the so called “Ego Generation”. This group of artists are defined by having been born after 1970.
Artists from older generations have lived through massive social and cultural upheaval in China and as a result their art, tend to be greatly influenced by wider social and political concerns. This has lead to movements such as Political Pop and Cynical Realism. In contrast to these artists, the Ego Generation have not spent their adult years living in tumultuous times, thus they are more concerned with introspection than addressing wider issues.
Their styles vary from realist with paint drips all over, to cartoonish and almost childlike. Their subject matters are diverse. Li Jikai’s are invariably cryptic while many images of these three artists appear to be fond memories from their own childhoods, as well as the products of their clearly vivid dreams.