Luo Weidong, Luo Weiguo, Luo Weibing

- Li Xianting

In a deliberate aesthetic of East meets West, “Welcome to the World’s Famous Brands” is an ongoing series responding to the arrival of Western goods in Mainland China since the mid-1990s. Using visually powerful imagery and polished methods of production, the Luo Brothers oeuvre reflects a variety of stylistic influences ranging from traditional Chinese folk to Western Pop.

Working as a team since 1986, Luo Weidong (b. 1963), Luo Weiguo (b. 1964) and Luo Weibing (b. 1972), born in Guangxi Province and based in Beijing since 1994, are leading exponents of China’s Gaudy Art movement, which evolved from Political Pop and reflects on recently affluent lifestyles resulting from the introduction of Western consumer culture to China.

Creating lighthearted and kitschy lacquer paintings of plump smiling babies--symbols of hope and prosperity in Communist propaganda--set against famous foreign consumer brands, this series reflects the influence and impact of American consumerism on Chinese culture.