618 M Ma Ke (1970) Ma graduated from the Tianjin Art Academy (Oil Painting) in 1994 and went on to become one of the first recipients of the Luo Zhongli Scholarship. In recognition of his talents, he was retained by the Academy as a teacher, where he remained until 1998 when he moved to Africa as a volunteer teacher. Returning to China in 1999, he studied under the renowned abstract painter, Yuan Yunsheng, with a special focus on classical Chinese painting and culture. This, together with his African experience, would shape Ma's creative expression. "I have been wholly engrossed in the world of illusions which I explore through painting. Painting has made me the person I am today: it is my greatest true passion." Ma Qiusha (1982) Ma's diverse portfolio of works range from painting, photography, video, installation and performance. With her debut in the "1+1" project at the 1st Triennial of Chinese art, Ma's style continues to break away from traditional art education. After graduating from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2005, she went on to study electronic integrated arts in the US. Ma's works are typically very private and more attuned to the expression of her own opinion. At the same time, she does not criticise but simply interacts with her audience in selfexpression. As a result, her works carry tender but anxious undertones. MadeIn Under the moniker MadeIn, Shanghai-based artist Xu Zhen employs a pool of young artists to conceive and execute vast quantities of work in a range of media. Since the group’s inception in 2009, MadeIn’s paintings, sculptures and installations have frequently been shown in both solo presentations and group exhibitions. The group’s inaugural show, "Seeing One’s Own Eyes", sought to emulate the appearance of a collection of contemporary works by imaginary artists from the Middle East. The fact that these works teeter on the border between the genuine and the unbelievable, providing a challenge to viewers’ perceptions, is MadeIn’s key conceptual strategy. Meng Site (1988) A graduate from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing (2011), Meng's works respond to the reality and loneliness of growing up as an only child in China. His paintings depict a world where children's faces are obscured and the viewer is greeted with the backs of their heads. Miao Xiaochun (1964) Miao is renowned for his photographs of contemporary China, vast cityscapes which record technological development, painting an alien view of his homeland and envisioning a new dynastic era. Typically printed in black and white, Miao’s photos are at once enchantingly serene and threateningly industrial. Miao uses photography to engage the viewer in an ultra-modern way. By using digital process to create his subject ‘from scratch’, Miao’s photographs authenticate a virtual world rather than document reality. Similar to video game graphics and ‘screen shots’, Miao’s images involve the viewer by casting them as ‘avatars’ within the action. N Ni Youyu (1984) Since graduating from the Fine Art College of Shanghai University in 2007, Ni has had numerous exhibitions around the world, including Kunstmuseum, Bern and the Greek State Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens. In the tradition of the literati of the Ming dynasty, Ni's creations focus on the nuances of art itself, exploring the aesthetic language and art historical concepts. Nie Zhengjie (1982) Nie graduated from Chongqing University in 2006 and over the past seven years, he's participated in numerous international biennales and group exhibitions, including "China - The new generation of artists" at Museo Della Permanente Milan (2008) and the 12th World Chinese Art Conference in Hong Kong (2010) . In 2012, Nie was the winner of the prestigious John Moores Painting Prize for his work, "Being". O Ouyang Chun (1974) A graduate from the Department of Art Education at Xian Academy of Fine Art (1994), Ouyang currently lives and works in Beijing. Regarded as one of the leading artists from the Post 70s generation whose typical focus is on self expression, Ouyang happens to be the only one who didn't study in a prestigious art academy. Inspired by the inconsistencies and contradictions in Chinese contemporary society, Ouyang's works tell their stories in an unaffected, almost childish, way. Over the years, Ouyang has participated in a number of solo exhibitions around the world and his works can be found in many leading museum and private collections. P Pak Sheung Chuen (1977) Born in 1977, Fujian, educated and living in Hong Kong, Pak works across all media, including installations, photography, painting, and video. As an artist who has matured in terms of methodology, he focuses on the realities of everyday life, revealing their uniqueness and eccentricities, which in turn enable the exploration of life's uncharted potential. Consequently, these possibilities of everyday life, suppressed by the grand narratives of modernity, become the centre of artistic expression and assume new meanings. Pak won the Best Artist award at the 2012 Chinese Contemporary Art Awards (CCAA). Pan Jian (1975) Born in Heijing County, a relatively "multi-cultural" region (Mongolians, Uygurs and Kazakhs are close neighbours), Pan's childhood memories are not typically "Chinese". Rather, they are peppered with visions of the Gobi Desert, donkey carts and poplar trees. Pan moved regularly throughout his life and this unsettled quality is reflected in his works. A lot of the artist's personality comes through his paintings; many of his monumental-sized works have the impact of wide-screen cinemas - Pan has always loved the movies to the extent that he even worked as a film editor during the late 1990s. Pei Li Pei, a recent Hangzhou graduate, burst onto the scene in Beijing with a graffiti and punk rock performance piece, but her first solo exhibition Taikang Space, Beijing in 2010 is a poignant glimpse of old China in the rear-view mirror. Pei frequently appears in her own work as if she is searching for her own identity through the persona she adopts. “Our generation is independent, thinking but isolated and lonely. We never tell our parents what we actually think. Nothing about our hopes, aspirations, desires or fears. We have freedom and, at times, mess around with our life, but have no compass to steer us.” Thus the search for meaning resonates throughout her work.
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