Obesity was once synonymous with wealth in China. That idea has evolved into a more Western equation of excessive weight gain to the unhealthy and the undesirable. Sculptor/painter Mu Boyan places a different lens on this with his series of obese figures in varying situations. His so-called “Fatty” series appears to comment on this complicated standard. At once vulnerable and exhibitionist, full of absurdity and full of humanity, these sculptures place characters in several unlikely situations, mostly in the nude.
Some of the characters hang desperately off of ledges and other objects. Others appear to be confined in smaller spaces or in one case, a bed. All exhibit a realism and vulnerability that evoke several emotions from the viewer.
Boyan is based in Beijing, China. The artist has degrees in sculpture from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China. The artist’s work has been shown across the world, from Italy and Russia to Switzerland, the U.S., and his native China. Boyan’s work was part of Korea’s Busan Bienalle in 2014 and seveal national exhibitions in China.
Zhiyong Jing says he paints "dreams, bodies and absurd realities." The Beijing-based artist takes a surprising approach to scale in his work, often rendering distant figures on small canvases. The effect is cinematic, further underscored by the artist’s occasional use of pop culture references and characters.
Hugh Hayden shapes wood, sourced from Christmas trees, exotic timbers, or other unexpected objects, into cerebral recreations of everyday objects. He recently showed recent work at C L E A R I N G’s Brussels gallery, pulling from spiritual, historical, and other aspects of the city to craft the body of work shown. The artist often injects his own personal history into his work, whether in the subject depicted or in the very wood harvested and formed.
Iran-born, Brussels-based artist 
Figurative and boldly colored,