Shen Jingdong’s new body of work is currently on display in Hong Kong at Exchange Square financial center in cooperation with Yan Gallery. The Beijing based artist is known for his iconic cartoon military portraits. The works shown in this exhibition show the artist venturing a bit further than his usual portraits, incorporating political figures and families.

Shen Jingdong is unique because he one of the only Chinese contemporary artists that is also in the People’s Liberation Army post 1989. The development of his iconic painting style took many stages. Over a decade ago, Shen Jingdong took a photo portrait of himself in his military uniform. He then created fiberglass and porcelain models of the portrait. He then took photographs of the sculptures and liked the shiny-effect of the photographed porcelain and began to experiment with painting to attain that effect.

Simplistic and comical, these shiny-faced soldiers are endearing and sweet. He paints what he understands. He himself is the soldier and his understanding of the world is molded through the army.

The future looks bright for Shen Jingdong since his works appeal to Chinese collectors, an elusive group of people who the rest of the world is trying to tap into. Chinese actress Zhang Zhiyi, who is most well known for her staring role in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, is a huge fan and avid collector of his paintings and sculptures.

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