Painter Mu Pan’s massive scenes, often adorned with monstrous figures and epic battles, carry details that add both humor and intrigue to the works. In a recent show at Joshua Liner Gallery in New York City, titled “Bright Moon Shines on the River,” a set of recent works pushes this notion further. A feature on the artist’s work was featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 44.
“Mu Pan’s work tells stories, which the artist attributes to his own childhood creating stories and narratives for comfort, while his parents were away,” a statement says. “Instead of asking questions about his world and human nature, the artist began developing his own answers with characters and allegories, a tool he uses today in his compositions. For Bright Moon Shines on the River, Mu Pan explores the violence and humor that drives us all, through a fictional universe that combines elements of Japanese culture with an embattled, nautical world.”
See more works from the show below.
The practice of 
Using stills from early propaganda films or frontier paintings as a basis, the layered paintings of