Yue Minjun (Daqing, 1962) is a Chinese painter and sculptor associated with Cynical Realism, a movement that emerged in the 1990s after the Tiananmen student protests. He is best known for images of himself laughing with his eyes closed and mouth wide open, which serve as a social mask and as a critique of conformity in Chinese society.
He worked for years in the oil fields and as an electrician before devoting himself fully to art. Around 1990 he settled in Hongmiao, in Beijing's Chaoyang District, where many other artists lived. His style grew out of portraits of his bohemian friends. He took part in the Venice Biennale in 1999, and in 2007 he had his first major museum show in the United States at the Queens Museum of Art in New York.
Among his works are parodies of Western art in which he replaces the figures with his own face, such as Infanta (1997), based on Velázquez's Las Meninas, and the Hat series, showing his grinning head in various headwear. His painting Execution became, in 2007, the most expensive work by a Chinese contemporary artist ever sold.
His legacy lies in bringing Chinese contemporary art to international attention and in turning his own face into a recognisable, adaptable sign.