Huang Rui

Huang Rui

... was born in 1952 in Beijing. In his youth he was already impressed by western styles like expressionism, fauvism, cubism or abstract painting. In 1979 he became himself a prominent representative of Chinese avant-garde art. Together with others like Bei Dao, Mang Ke, Wang Keping, Yan Li or Ma Desheng, he co-founded the independent literary magazine "Today" (Jintian) and the art association "The Stars" (Xingxing). When their first unauthorized open-air exhibition was closed down by police in September 1979, political activists and artists organized on October 1 (which was also the Chinese National Day) the famous street protest for political and artistic freedoms. Huang also took part and held a brief speech in front of the building of the Beijing Party Committee.

In 1984 Huang Rui got married to a Japanese and moved to Tokyo, where he spent ten years. In 1989 he helped to organize in Hong Kong a commemorative exhibition "The Stars - Ten Years". After his return to Beijing, Huang was regularly invited to exhibit his works in Europe, Japan and the US and also in China. From 2002 onwards, Huang Rui (together with others like his friend Ai Weiwei) was a driving force behind turning a widely abandoned factory district in north-eastern Beijing into a popular artist's quarter. Under the name of "798" it has since become a prominent cultural district with studios, galleries, museums, restaurants, bookshops and tourism facilities.

Huang Rui today lives and works in Beijing. Beside his artistic occupations, he also collects and publishes materials on the beginnings of Chinese avant-garde art.