Yue Minjun

Yue Minjun is a contemporary Chinese artist. He is best known for oil paintings depicting himself in various settings, frozen in laughter. He has also reproduced this signature image in sculpture, watercolor and prints. He has shown work internationally in many exhibitions including the 5th Shanghai Biennale, Mahjon at Kunstmuseum Bern and Xianfeng! at Beelden aan Zee museum in the Netherlands.His piece 'Execution' became the most expensive work ever by a Chinese contemporary artist, when sold in 2007 for £2.9 million pounds (US $5.9 million) at London's Sotheby's.

Yue Minjun’s first museum show in the United States took place at the Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New York. The show, Yue Minjun and the Symbolic Smile featured bronze and polychrome sculptures, paintings and drawings and ran from October 2007 to January 2008. His "A-Mazing Laughter installation" is placed in English Bay, Vancouver, Canada. This installation is an arrangement of laughing figures that became a great public attraction.