Mao Yan began painting portraits of Thomas in 1999, when the artist met this foreigner at a banquet. Mao Yan has since painted more than a hundred portraits of his friend. Although Mao Yan had often painted portraits of his schoolmates and relatives in the past, when he started painting Thomas it was a completely liberating and interesting experience. At once, the artist found a subject that allowed him to distance himself from expressing unwanted and superficial meaning in capturing specific personalities. Using a Caucasian man's image has enabled Mao Yan to avoid the so-called 'Made in China' label of concepts and symbols, and has inspired him to concentrate on exploring his art of painting. This introspective and repetitive process of painting the same subject again and again represents Mao Yan's path towards knowledge, a meditation at surpassing individual feeling while conveying the deepest meaning of his imagination.
40.16 x 30.32 in
102.0 x 77.0 cm
Signed and dated by the artist
Mao Yan began painting portraits of Thomas in 1999, when the artist met this foreigner at a banquet. Mao Yan has since painted more than a hundred portraits of his friend. Although Mao Yan had often painted portraits of his schoolmates and relatives in the past, when he started painting Thomas it was a completely liberating and interesting experience. At once, the artist found a subject that allowed him to distance himself from expressing unwanted and superficial meaning in capturing specific personalities. Using a Caucasian man's image has enabled Mao Yan to avoid the so-called 'Made in China' label of concepts and symbols, and has inspired him to concentrate on exploring his art of painting. This introspective and repetitive process of painting the same subject again and again represents Mao Yan's path towards knowledge, a meditation at surpassing individual feeling while conveying the deepest meaning of his imagination.
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