Born in Manchuria in 1964, Zhao began painting as a child, studied and taught in China until, in his late twenties, he became enamoured with the Western European artistic tradition. Rejecting the social realism that dominated the art of late twentieth-century China, Zhao emigrated to Germany where he immersed himself in the styles and techniques of such painters as Rubens, Boucher, Goya, Courbet and the Pre-Raphaelites. Colour illustrations of hid hypnotic, phantasmagoric and often satirical works are reproduced in stunning clarity in this book along with insightful commentary that reveals why Zhao is one of the most fascinating artists to emerge from contemporary China. AUTHOR: Gottfroed Knapp served for many years as editor of the features section of the Suddeutsche Zeitung in Germany. He is the author of numerous essays on modern art is the trecipient of several journalistic awards. 130 illustrations
