Fu Lei creates lush, intentionally over-the-top oil paintings and graphite drawings in which morbidly obese human figures, animals, insects, plants, food, and objects come together in jumbled piles.
Such mash-ups are meant to express the excesses and vices of contemporary society. “They are a great body of lust,” the artist has said. “I juxtapose plants, animals and human beings without hierarchy or distinction. They have a common value of existence.”
Fu Lei’s early works assimilated a lot of vivid colours and decorative delights from Chinese folk art. In 1998 he began to use ironic plump figures to unearth the indolence and ambiguousness of human nature.
Today he gradually turns to a sketchable and classical approach and confronts the economic times in a unique language of absurdity and morbid criticism.
His exhibitions include: Germany Embassy in Beijing, China; La case Art Space, Beijing; Oriental Light Art Space, Beijing; The Hong Kong Academic Invitational Exhibition for the 60th PRC Anniversary, China; Vecchiato New Art Gallery, Padova, Italy; Chinese Culture Centre, Paris, France; Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Italy; The National Art Museum of China, Beijing. The artist lives and works in Beijing, China.
Images courtesy of Fu Lei
Discover: www.artsy.net/artist/fu-lei | www.artpluralgallery.com
