Vegetarian Girl (Detail). 2007, oil on canvas

Ling Jian studied painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, moving shortly thereafter to Germany where he still lives and works. He has exhibited extensively in Germany and throughout Europe (FIAC, Art RAI Amsterdam). His work was included in the group exhibition, Scent of a Woman which traveled to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Having gained prominence with his series entitled, ‘Communist Sister’, Ling Jian has explored the evolution of Chinese cultural identity as symbolized in many of his fantastical images. The women, depicted in a provocative and highly sexual style, are at odds with the conservative and rational reality of the true Communist female soldier. In creating this hypothetic, and very clearly contradictory set of images, Ling Jian addresses the wider issues at stake for the Chinese people, and in particular, the role of women in this changing society.

Show me what you have, 2007, oil on canvas

See more of Ling’s work after the jump. Happy Valentines Day to ALL paintalicious readers.