Offered at international market here for the first time, artnet Auctions is delighted to offer "Happy, Angry, Sad, Pleased Mao" (four works) (2007). This polyptich is a rare and exciting formal group of four oil paintings by internationally acclaimed Chinese Contemporary artist Guo Wei (China, b. 1960), known for his large-scale, exaggerated figurative works that serve to explore the span of human emotions and psychological states through representational compositions. Each work compositionally identical, depicting a close-up portrait of Mao painted to grey tones, set off against a flat bright pink, rose-filled background. Guo transforms the eponymous, conservative portrait of Mao known the world over into four different highly exaggerated explorations of emotions, as expressed in each title. The result is a conflation of Contemporary Realism and Gaudy Art, with the works, especially displayed as a group, are kitsch-filled, humorous yet also possess a tenor of the subversive, as do all of Guo's best works. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to acquire this important formal group of painting by Guo. Each painting measures 59.00 x 47.25 inches (150 x 115 cm), and are in excellent condition.

Guo Wei was born in Sichuan province, China and graduated from the print department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in 1989. He is one of the most prominent realists in China and has exhibited internationally in the world's top galleries, museums and expositions for over 20 years. Solo Exhibitions have been held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, Taipei, Macau and Beijing. Selected group exhibitions are: China’s New Art: Post – 1989, Hong Kong Arts Center Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, etc. (1993-97); The First Guangzhou Triennial, China (2002); Contemporary Art from Greater China, Goedhuis Contemporary, New York (2005), Brothers, Cheng Xindong Contemporary Art Space, Beijing, China (2006) and Made in China, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark (2007). His works are collected by many important Museums and collectors worldwide, including The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Shanghai Art Museum. He currently lives and works in Chengdu, China.