Wang Keping

Wang Keping (born 1949) is a pioneering Chinese sculptor who co-founded the influential Stars (Xing Xing) art group in Beijing in 1979, which was one of the first avant-garde movements to challenge official Socialist Realist aesthetics in post-Cultural Revolution China. Working primarily in wood, he carves bold, rough-hewn figures that carry profound political and humanistic symbolism, often referencing themes of oppression, freedom, and the human condition. After relocating to Paris in 1984, he continued to develop his signature style blending Eastern philosophical sensibilities with a raw, expressionistic formal language that has earned him significant recognition in both European and international art markets.