Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 11

Yue Minjun
Sheep Herd - Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese

2009

About the Item

Yue Minjun, Sheep Herd Lithograph Edition of 130 120 x 80 cm (47.2 x 31.5 in) Stamped Signature, numbered in Roman numerals In mint condition, as acquired from the publisher PLEASE NOTE: Edition numbers could vary from the one shown in the pictures. The pictures shown are only for illustrative reasons, the piece is offered unframed. The print is mounted on double sheet of paper with a poem on one spread and print on the other. "Sheep Herd" belongs to the "Snatched Ecstasy" collection, a set of 20 lithographs in a brushed aluminum case and produced in a limited edition of 130 rare books. The collection is accompanied by a set of poems by the renowned Poet Fernando Arrabal. "[...] I choose to paint laughter, to communicate a sense of pleasure and happiness, but actually, it hides a double perspective of drama and suffering." — Yue Minjun Yue Minjun's work revolves around his characteristic grinning self-image - a repeated motif throughout his oeuvre. The figures, all based on a generic self-portrait, are each rendered with an inane beaming smile - a cynical grimace that represents the artist's resignation and disdain towards the materialism and spiritual emptiness of contemporary mainland Chinese culture. YUE MINJUN Yue Min-Jun (born 1962, Daqing, China) is one of the leading Chinese artists. He is best known for oil paintings depicting formations of his laughing self-portraits in various settings. His iconography is easily recognisable, it challenges social and cultural conventions by depicting objects and political issues in a radical, abstract, ironic and cynical manner. Yue Min-Jun initially started painting as a hobby, subsequently he graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Hebei Normal University, China in 1985. In the 90s he joined an artist community in Yuan Ming Yuan, a village near Beijing where he began to form his style and iconography. The paintings, sculptures, and installations of Yue Minjun feature uniform laughing pink faces, which appear to be self-portraits. Through various symbols, metaphors, signs, or through depictions of daily life the artist constructs various realities against which the laughing figures are rendered. "In my work, laughter is a representation of a state of helplessness, lack of strength and participation, with the absence of our rights that society has imposed on us." —Yue Minjun Yue became famous after his participation in the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999, which granted him access to international art. One of the best-known paintings by Yue Minjun and an icon for modern Chinese art and the Cynical Realism movement is Execution. It was painted in 1995 and is generally regarded as a reaction to the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989, as it shows several laughing men in front of an execution squad. The cloned all smiling Minjun self-portraits have become known in the art world as the "Silly Man". As the preparation for his paintings, the artist uses photographs of himself being photographed in various poses. This approach reflects the self-irony of the artist. Yue Minjun is often classified as part of the Chinese "Cynical Realist" movement, however, the artist does not support such attribution. Nevertheless, Yue often challenges social and cultural conventions by depicting objects and political issues in a radical, abstract, ironic and cynical manner.
  • Creator:
    Yue Minjun (1962, Chinese)
  • Creation Year:
    2009
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 47.25 in (120 cm)Width: 31.5 in (80 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Zug, CH
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1562214288332
More From This SellerView All
  • Backyard Garden, Yue Minjun - Art, Lithograph, Limited Edition, China Art, Print
    By Yue Minjun
    Located in Zug, CH
    Yue Minjun, Backyard Garden Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese Lithograph Edition of 130 80 x 120 cm (47 1/5 × 31 1/2 in) Stamped Signature, numbered in Roman numerals In mint condition, as acquired from the publisher PLEASE NOTE: Edition numbers could vary from the one shown in the pictures. The pictures shown are only for illustrative reasons, the piece is offered unframed. The print is mounted on double sheet of paper with a poem on one spread and print on the other. Backyard Garden belongs to the set of twenty lithographs from the “Snatched Ecstasy of Yue Minjun”, which comes as a limited edition of 130 rare books. The work of Yue Minjun is instantly recognizable with its uniform laughing faces, the artist's faces. Minjun creates various realities against which the laughing figures are rendered, thus creating ambiguous images, often with the sinister atmosphere, which comes as his personal cynical reaction to various social and political dimensions of contemporary Chinese realities. Immediately humorous and sympathetic, Yue Minjun’s paintings offer a light-hearted approach to philosophical enquiry and contemplation of existence. Yue’s self-portraits have been describe by theorist Li Xianting as “a self-ironic response to the spiritual vacuum and folly of modern-day China”, thus the acidic tones and commercialized vacuity of his works are used to underscore the insincerity of his figures’ mirth. “Art should be an expression of one's particular feelings and should be direct and deep. So I drew one person, and then added another and another until there were crowds of them. Then I felt my emotions to be fully expressed.„ —Yue Minjun YUE MINJUN Yue Min-Jun (born 1962, Daqing, China) is one of the leading Chinese artists. He is best known for oil paintings depicting formations of his laughing self-portraits in various settings. His iconography is easily recognisable, it challenges social and cultural conventions by depicting objects and political issues in a radical, abstract, ironic and cynical manner. Yue Min-Jun initially started painting as a hobby, subsequently he graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Hebei Normal University, China in 1985. In the 90s he joined an artist community in Yuan Ming...
    Category

    Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Remarkable People, Yue Minjun- Art, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese
    By Yue Minjun
    Located in Zug, CH
    Yue Minjun, Remarkable People Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese Lithograph Edition of 130 80 × 120 cm (47 1/5 × 31 1/2 in) Stamped Signature, numbered ...
    Category

    Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Hero Here - Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese
    By Yue Minjun
    Located in Zug, CH
    Yue Minjun, Hero Here Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese Lithograph Edition of 130 120 × 80 cm (47 1/5 × 31 1/2 in) Stamped Signature, numbered in Roman...
    Category

    Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Mushroom Cloud, Yue Minjun- Art, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese
    By Yue Minjun
    Located in Zug, CH
    Yue Minjun, Mushroom Cloud Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese Lithograph Edition of 130 120 × 80cm (47 1/5 × 31 1/2 in) Stampe...
    Category

    Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Armed Forces - Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese
    By Yue Minjun
    Located in Zug, CH
    Yue Minjun, Armed Forces Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese Lithograph Edition of 130 80 × 120 cm (31.5 × 47.2 in) Stamped S...
    Category

    Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Paean on Grassland, Yue Minjun - Art, Lithograph, Limited Edition, China, Print
    By Yue Minjun
    Located in Zug, CH
    Yue Minjun, Paean on Grassland Contemporary, 21st Century, Lithograph, Limited Edition, Chinese Lithograph Edition of 130 80 x 120 cm (47 1/5 × 31 1/2 in) Stamped Signature, numbered...
    Category

    Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

You May Also Like
  • Still Life - Lithograph by F. Léger - 1951
    By Fernand Léger
    Located in Roma, IT
    Still Life is a color lithograph realized by Fernand Léger (1881-1955) and published by éditions Falaize, Paris, 1951. With the additional values of the blue ink signature and an ...
    Category

    1950s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Il Gioco del Rocchetto - Lithograph by M. Campigli - 1952
    By Massimo Campigli, 1895-1971
    Located in Roma, IT
    Image dimensions: 38 x 48 cm. Hand signed and numbered. Edition of 125 prints. Very good conditions. Massimo Campigli (July 4, 1895 as "Max Ihlenfeld" - 1971) was a Italian pai...
    Category

    1950s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • The Promenaders - Lithograph by Massimo Campigli - 1957
    By Massimo Campigli, 1895-1971
    Located in Roma, IT
    Hand signed. “Le Passeggiatrici” (“The Promenaders”) is a lithograph by Massimo Campigli, dated 1957. Two elegant female figures are the protagonists of this composition. The diffe...
    Category

    1950s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • The Weaver - Lithograph by Massimo Campigli - 1952
    By Massimo Campigli, 1895-1971
    Located in Roma, IT
    Hand signed. In “La Tessitrice” (“The Weaver”), an hand signed lithograph by Massimo Campigli, the artist represents a weaver. The female figure protagonist of the composition is wor...
    Category

    1950s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • Young Boy - Lithograph by Jean Cocteau - 1930s
    By Jean Cocteau
    Located in Roma, IT
    Young Boy is a black and white lithograph realized by Jean Cocteau, French draftsman, poet, essayist, playwright, librettist, film director, and actor, who lived from 1889 to 1963. ...
    Category

    1930s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • The Motherhood - Lithograph by Carlo Levi - 1970s
    By Carlo Levi
    Located in Roma, IT
    The Motherhood is an original lithograph on paper by Carlo Levi in 1960s Hand-signed on the lower right. Artist's proof. good conditions except for a lon...
    Category

    1960s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph

Recently Viewed

View All