Wuming Painting Collective


The Wuming Painting Collective was a counter-culture Chinese art collective and movement formed in 1959. Based in Beijing, the collective was characterized by its depictions of idyllic landscapes and plein air approach of painting in public parks. The group is considered the first self organized art collective of the Cultural Revolution.
Though the group lacked formal leadership, its founders Zhao Wenliang and Yang Yushu provided the Wuming with significant guidance and direction.
While the majority of the collective's artwork featured apolitical subject matter, modern artistic commentaries stress the group's lack of support for the Cultural Revolution and independent, clandestine formation as evidence for its reactionary and subversive nature. The Wuming focus on idyllic scenery despite the ongoing political turmoil of the time has been labeled "antirealist" by some art historians.

Notable Members