Luo Brothers 羅氏兄弟
The Luo Brothers consist of Luo Weidong, Luo Weiguo, and Luo Weibing (Chinese, b.1963; b.1964; b.1972). The brothers hail from the Guangxi Autonomous Region of China, and began working together in 1996, while living in Beijing. They are a part of the Political Pop movement in China, and depict contemporary branding and pop culture imagery in their art. These images are blended with Chinese folk elements into colorful compositions that resonate with the social values and current political environment of contemporary China. There is a juxtaposition of contemporary and traditional subjects in their art, as well as an allusion to the past through the use of very traditional Chinese media: ink on paper and lacquer paint.
The Luo Brothers are known for their paintings and sculptures, which have been described as both “Gaudy Art” and kitschy; their artistic style draws from that which was used during the Cultural Revolution for propaganda purposes. Global consumer culture is an important theme for the Luo Brothers, as they were born around the time of the Cultural Revolution, and have witnessed the economic development of China, as well as an increased emphasis on material possessions. The Luo Brothers leave their work intentionally ambiguous in tone, and so their art can be interpreted as either a celebration of China’s current consumerist culture or a mockery of it. While working across a variety of media, they have maintained a remarkable standard of craftsmanship, and have been exhibited internationally in both solo and group exhibitions.
1963 Luo Wei Dong, born in Guangxi Autonomous Region, China
1964 Luo Wei Guo, born in Guangxi Autonomous Region, China
1972 Luo Wei Bing, born in Guangxi Autonomous Region, China
1987 Luo Wei Dong graduated from Guanxi Art College, China
1987 Luo Wei Guo graduated from Guanzhou Academy of Fine Arts, China
1996 New York State Council On The Arts, Experimental Television Center
1996 The three Luo Brothers begin to collaborate, live and work in Beijing, China
1997 Luo Weibing graduated from the College of Art and Design in Beijing, China
1998 Experimental Television Center
1999 New York State Council On The Arts
2000 New York State Council On The Arts, Experimental Television Center
2001 Macdowel Fellowship
2002 CEC International Traveling Exhibition Fellowship
2003 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship
■ Solo Exhibitions
2011 “Welcome Welcome!” Yang Gallery, Beijing, China
2008 “Welcome, Welcome”, Xin Dong Cheng Gallery, Beijing, China
2007 Red Hot Bright, The Recent Works of the Luo Brothers, Dolored de Sierra Gallery, Madrid
Spain
2006 New Works, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, US
2002 Luo Brothers, Sydney, Australia
Luo Brothers`Fine Arts lndividual Exhibition, Paris, France
■ Selected Group Exhibitions
2012 Asia Week at Pace Prints, Pace Prints Gallery, New York
2009 “Expressions: Group Show” Chinese Contemporary, Beijing, China
“Chasing Flames” Eli Klein Fine Art, New York
“New Works From China” Augen Gallery, NW Davis, Portland, Oregon
2008 More Yum Cha, Ray Hughes Gallery, Sydney Australia
Face East, Robinson Gallery, Denver Colorado
2007 Red Hot! Asian Art from the Chaney Family Collection, Houston Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston, Texas
The Year of the Golden Pig – Contemporary Chinese Art from the Sigg Collection, Lewis
Glucksman Gallery, Cork, UK
2006 Under the Radar: Chinese Contemporary Art, Robischon Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Hallelujah Anyway No. 2, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Room Tone, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY
Stitching Noorderzon, Noorderzon Festival, Groningen, Netherlands
Welcome Home, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY
Into Black: Works in light, projected video, photography, drawing and painting, Western Bridge, Seattle, WA
2005 Video Lounge, Art Basel Miami Beach 2005, selected by Christopher Eamon
Solitude and Focus, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Conneticut
19 Rainstorms, Western Bridge, Seattle, Washington
Neil Goldberg: Single Channel Work, Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, Washington
How to Fix Reality, Impakt, Utrecht, Netherlands
World famous brand, Changing Role Gallery, Napoli, Italy
2004 Happiness, Art Beatus Exchange Square, Hong Kong
ARCO, International Contemporary Art, Madrid, Spain
New Works by the Luo Brothers, Courtyard Gallery, Beijing, China
A Grid of One, Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA
Multiplex, Curated by Eve Sussman, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY
7th Street Shadow, YYZ Artists’ Outlet, Toronto, Canada
Synapses, Florence Lynch Gallery, New York, NY (catalogue)
Invisibilities, DUMBO Film and Video Festival, Brooklyn, NY
Around Narrative, One Take Festival, Zagreb, Croatia
Second International Biennial Of Video Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
2003 Video Projections, Curated by Sally Berger and Barbara London, Museum of Modern Art,
Queens, NY
Portrait, Kunstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany
The Inquiring Camera: Experimental Documentaries, Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
Just Stand There, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA
25 Hours, Poliesportiu El Raval, Barcelona, Spain
Urban Lights, VideoEx, Zurich, Switzerland
New York Jewish Film Festival, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
Korea International Art Fair 2003, Korea
ARCO, International Contemporary Art, Madrid, Spain
Highlights of the Chengdu Biennale, The Courtyard Gallery, Beijing, China
2002 Zebra Poetry Award, Interfilm, UFA Kino, Berlin, Germany
Gimme Shelter, Museo Tamayo Arte Contempor‡neo, Mexico City, Mexico
Pek Festival, Het Haags Filmhuis, The Hague, Netherlands
14th Annual Onion City Experimental Film And Video Festival, Chicago, IL (Jury Award)
New York Video Festival, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
New York Video Festival, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
Time Share, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY
CEC International Screening Series, ProArte Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia (traveling exhibition)
2001 The Asia new art exhibition, Loet galerie, Paris, France
Un art populaire, Fondation Cartier, Paris
2000 New Face of China, Melbourne, Australia
New Face of China, Sydney, Australia
Sydney Art Biennale, Sydney, Australia
1999 New York Times Millenium Exhibition, New York, NY
Fukuoka Art Museum Collection Exhibition, Fukuoka, Japan
Ooh, La, La Kitsch! TEDA Contemporary Art Museum, Tianjin, China
San Francisco Modern Art Museum Collection Exhibition, San Francisco, California
1998 The 24th Sao Paulo International Art Biennale, Section “Navigation Line Brazil”
Personal Touch, TEDA Contemporary Art Museum, Tianjin, China
1997 Gaudy-ism Upsurge
1996 Injury of Ostentation, Beijing, China2012
Asia Week at Pace Prints, Pace Prints Gallery, New York