Shi Lifeng. (China, 1968 ). "Utopia No. 1". 2010. Oil on Canvas.
Size: 59 x 78 3/4 inches (150 x 200 cm)
This work is unframed and in excellent condition.

"Utopia No.1" is the first work in the seminal new "Utopia" series of magnificent large-scale realist oil paintings by famous Chinese Contemporary artist, Shi Lifeng, that mark a major new direction in his work. "Utopia No. 1" depicts in incredible detail a lush yet surreal dream-scape filled with lavender flowers and jade-green leaves, where the artist's iconic, miniature bright red winged-figures hover above the flowers like honey-bees, their presence filling the scene with a sense of jubilant dynamism, and their red color referencing China.

Shi Lifeng' newest "Utopia" and "Happiness" Series of paintings and sculptures shed the intense black and red color palette and the serious Mao-era cultural references which defined Shi's oeuvre for the past decade. Now, his works depict blue skies, flowers, birds in flight. and other themes related to the relative peace and prosperity of new China, and underscore the blossoming potential for the individuals of China as well as the country as a whole.

Shi Lifeng is one of the most famous artists of his 1960's generation of 'Chinese Avant Garde' artists and has exhibited at top international museums and galleries such as the Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Yang Gallery (Singapore), and Beijing Contemporary Art Museum (Beijing, China), among others. Shi Lifeng graduated in 1991 from the Hebei Normal University, Hebei Province, China with a Degree in Painting.