As represented by “A man playing the hula hoop,” Yu Hong’s works from around the 90s actually include a metaphor of context. Portraying the people around her, because the seriousness of the theme is played down, these images seem to have a symbolically meaningless existence. They do not seem to be part of a specific plot, nor have a specific identity. The meaninglessness of the images represent the dissolution of collective meaning, and the manifestation of individual values. They not only reflect the lifestyle of the concurrent generation in a contemporary urban environment, but also the author’s own attitude towards contemporary culture. The composition of the painting obviously evokes elements of popular culture, with evenly spread colors, unique clothing, and fashion model-like poses. It doesn’t only reflect the influence of consumerism, but also foreshadows the generation’s close connection with this culture. Of course, the paintings also feature the transformation of her interests in life into a visual language for painting. Yu Hong brought her biography into art, a story that is also the shared autobiography of her generation. In fact, history sets a boundary here. With the end of the 85 New Wave, the development of the market economy and even the rise of the art market led artists to integrate more with commercial society, gradually transitioning from carriers of political ideals to “middlemen” who helped realize people’s individual values under the conditions of a market society. In this sense, Yu Hong’s work transcends itself, and stands at a historical juncture. Her work is like an arc of light sweeping over the course of contemporary Chinese art. The arc is so dazzling, that for a long time even Yu Hong herself has been enveloped in its light.
