Ai Xuan: For A Silent Dreamland From a Master’s Heart

The first illustrated monograph in English devoted to the work of Ai Xuan, the most influential contemporary oil painter and leading representative of Chinese realism. Ai Xuan is considered one of the most outstanding Chinese contemporary realist painters. In 2004, working together with other leading Chinese painters using a realist style, he formed an artistic group called Beijing Realism, later renamed Chinese Realism. This group has since become the key force shaping the promotion of realism in Chinese contemporary painting, including an annual national exhibition of realist paintings. Overcoming the tragedies of his poet father, Ai Qing, political movements, and his turmoil-infused childhood, Xuan transforms all these harsh life experiences into his artistic creations. These works lead readers into the inner world of someone who is able to capture his sympathy for helplessness in life through paintings with astonishing precision. This thoughtfully curated book reviews his art career through a selection of his most representative masterpieces from each stage of his development, alongside comprehensive analysis by the art critic and professor Hsiung Yi Ching.