The barely clothed women featured in Wei Dong's paintings oddly pose languidly and serenely even though they are being tormented and tortured. Wei's new works, on view at the Nicholas Robinson Gallery, inspired by Old Masters including Vermeer and Parmigianino, reflect and satirize "the social mores of both the Maoist era in China, and its legacies within contemporary China" (from the press release).
Growing up on a military academy in Maoist China, Wei was drawn to religious paintings he found in banned Western art books. As the artist states, "Anything prohibited interested me back then..." Being surrounded by people dressed in gender-concealing Mao uniforms influenced the artist's "perception of gender, sexuality and the body." The artist admits his "obsession with female sexuality and attentiveness to flesh" compel him to explore his desires and "challenge cultural and social constructions." Wei's figures are modern day martyrs placidly and indifferently enduring their plights as if abuse and humiliation are common occurrences. Learn more at nrgallery.com. Through March 26th.
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