Wang Guangyi. Obscured Existence

From 6 September to 10 December, the Medici palace will host 28 works by the famous Chinese artist, some of which have never been exhibited in the West: at the end of the exhibition, the author's self-portrait will become part of the Galleries' collection.

The exhibition is a step-by-step journey through four distinct cycles, which investigate what really lies behind the rituality of everyday gestures and the use of the most common objects. At the same time, the works also explore how one's culture of origin influences the perception of a work of art.

About the artist

Wang Guangyi was born on 19 January 1957 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, and graduated from the Zhejiang Academy of Art in 1984. He achieved international fame in the 1980s with his Great Criticism series, in which he superimposed images of Maoist propaganda on American brand logos, highlighting how Chinese ideology promises a better world in the same way as Western consumer goods propaganda. A multimedia artist and author of large-scale installations, Wang is particularly known for his ability to make images from Western art interact with others typical of Asian culture, as well as the philosophy of the two different geographical areas. He participated in the Venice Biennale in 2013 and his works can be found in the permanent collections of public museums around the world, including the new M+ in Hong Kong, museums in Shenzhen, Guangdong, Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing, the Tate Modern in London and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.