As one of the first few studios established in the 798 district, Fu Lei’s studio marked the beginning of a new Chinese art landmark, now known as the 798 Art Zone. His early works assimilated a lot of vivid colours and decorative delights from Chinese folk art. In 1998 he began to use ironic plump figures to unearth the indolence and ambiguousness of human nature. Today he still stands fast in working in the 798 Art Zone amongst the handful of others, using his serious artworks to identify the present day. He gradually turns to a sketchable and classical approach and confronts the economic times in a unique language of absurdity and morbid criticism. Fu Lei is an artist who creates art with his soul, and he believes the way of expression in art should be decided by the artist’s sincerity rather than the market.
Born in Beijing, China in 1958, Fu Lei graduated from Fine Arts School at the Hebei Normal University in 1982 and pursed a career as an art teacher before becoming a professional artist in 1992. In 1994, he presented his first solo exhibition at the Beijing Restaurant. Fu Lei established his studio in Beijing Dashanzi district in 2002 and still remains working in the 798 Art Zone today. His exhibitions include: Germany Embassy in Beijing, China; La case Art Space, Beijing; Oriental Light Art Space, Beijing; The Hong Kong Academic Invitational Exhibition for the 60th PRC Anniversary, China; Vecchiato New Art Gallery, Padova, Italy; Chinese Culture Centre, Paris, France; Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Italy; The National Art Museum of China, Beijing. The artist lives and works in Beijing, China.