What is “time”? What is “history”? And what are “idols”? When the warriors on the Luding Bridge and the leaders on the Tian’an Men fade from the stage, there will still be eternal scenes reflecting history silently. In the vast red space of the Shanghai Gallery of Art, Yue Minjun’s painting series “Landscape with No One” transfers people’s collective visual memories into the spirit scenes from times past. With his special retrospection on history in the present moment, the void without idols is filled with a different scene of chaos, with nothing as unique or certain as an idol. In the 21st century - the age of the image - it is difficult to distinguish between illusion and image, the virtual and the real, so the artist chooses blankness to win more power. The most desolate scene reflects the noisiest reality.

Born in 1962 in Daqing, Yue Minjun is one of the most leading artists in the Chinese contemporary artists, especially famous for his signature paintings of smiling faces.