Wellington Gallery is proud to host ‘Dressed to Kill’ art exhibition from the 26 October to 26 November 2012. ‘Dressed to Kill’ is a series of artwork by Lv Yanjun, one of China’s leading contemporary artists.
Under the Dressed to Kill series, Lv paints large scale oil on canvas, featuring exquisite, oriental featured women, with luscious lips and modern makeup dressed in military-esque uniforms from the past. The viewer is often struck by the photograph-like, ethereal beauty of Lv’s women, set against the strong contrast of the dark uniforms.
As China rushed headlong into modernity, today’s Chinese are often caught up in brash accumulation of superficial gains. Lv symbolizes this in his women, with their modern cosmetics and provocative looks. The star spangled uniforms represent the admirable values from the past. With his paintings, Lv tries to establish a link between the past and present; bridging today’s materialistic obsession with yesterday’s ideals by painting these two symbols together.
Lv Yanjun was born in Handan City (Hebei Province) in 1959. An unfortunate accident robbed Lv of his hearing, but Lv did not let this impairment stop him from continuing to pursue painting. Lv is now actively participating in exhibitions such as the 2010 Shanghai Art Expo and the Shijiazhuang Contemporary Art Exhibition. Previously he has held two ‘Dressed to Kill’ exhibitions in 2009 and 2010. Earlier this year, a ‘Dressed to Kill’ exhibition was also held in Singapore.
With the better part of the last 3 decades spent honing his skills, Lv’s technique does leave him with a technical advantage over his peers. But he has never stopped experimenting stylistically and this is strongly evident in this latest set of work. Lv’s latest works sees a marked level of technical maturity. The works on display for this exhibition are full of daring uses of colour, dramatic lighting, bold contrasts between light and dark and the employment of multiple visual perspectives, which all serve to impart his works with an almost palpable sense of rhythm. He has also moved on from caricature in favor of a more realistic execution of figures, making them richer, livelier and sexually appealing. The personalities of the figures are distinguished, different from each other, leaving a tangible impression on the viewer.
13 of Lv’s latest ‘Dressed to Kill’ will be featured in this Wellington Gallery exhibition, and you are cordially invited to experience Lv Yanjun’s work first hand.
