Yue Minjun to Present an NFT Collection Echoing the Artist’s Iconic Self-Portraits

One of the most celebrated Chinese contemporary artists, Yue Minjun is best known for his signature laughing man, the portrait of his own laughing figure, which has won him international attention and numerous solo shows around the globe. After working successfully with various mediums, he has finally entered the digital art world.

LiveArt, in partnership with iv gallery, has announced Minjun's new NFT collection, Kingdom of the Laughing Man. The first drop, entitled Boundless, a series of 1,200 unique generative NFT artworks, which feature his unique self-portrait, is expected to sell out completely.

Humor And Cynicism

Although art critics often group Yue Minjun's art as part of the Chinese Cynical Realist movement, the artist has, throughout his career, wholeheartedly rejected that classification. Growing up in China, he saw first-hand the consequences of the oppressive regime that led to the events of Tiananmen Square (1989). Since then, he has used his work to understand the social and political changes that were happening in the country. For this reason, when asked if he fears the government will prosecute him for his overly critical art, he expressed bafflement, for he sees it as deeply personal, not politically dangerous. Yue Minjun explained:

I'm actually trying to make sense of the world. There's nothing cynical or absurd in what I do.

Yet there is an undeniably strong element of criticism in his artworks, best seen in his depictions of political issues in a cynical and radical style. The best example would arguably be Yue's most famous work, Execution (1995), inspired by the Tiananmen massacre. It was sold at London's Sotheby's for $5.9 million. The painting was inspired by Édouard Manet's The Execution of Emperor Maximilian (1867–1869).

Laughing Man

Minjun's paintings, sculptures, and prints were influenced by Surrealism and Pop Art. The richly colored, maniacally laughing figures are often put against various realities. The works are full of signs, symbols, and depictions of daily life the artist utilizes to understand "the gap between reality and the ideal" that plagues contemporary Chinese society. Although in some oil paintings, the laughing figure looks innocent and harmless, in others, such as Backyard Garden (2005), it seems grotesque.

Likewise, the smiling faces have been compared to the Chinese laughing Buddha, who can see reality for what it is and still laugh. Yet there is an undeniable correlation between Minjun's artistic expression and Chinese communist propaganda posters, which are full of smiling faces.

Kingdom of the Laughing Man On LiveArt

In each piece in Boundless, Minjun reinterprets his signature self-portrait work through the prism of trends within technology by appropriating the crypto-centric PFP (Profile Picture) to create a unique Web3-based series for digital art collectors. About what attracted him to digital art, Minjun said that with it, he is able to "bring my art to life in a way that I haven't been able to with physical media."

Web3 I can create a new engaging experience and relationship with the next generations of art collectors shaping the art world of the future.

Boundless, the first drop of Kingdom of the Laughing Man collection, will launch on LiveArt on August 8th, 2023.

Featured image: Yue Minjun - Wave, Boundless (detail)