Painting into Being : Underground Art during China’s Cultural Revolution

Painting into Being is the first in-depth study of underground art during China’s Cultural Revolution, focusing on the Wuming (No Name) Painting Group from 1972 to 1981. Aihe Wang interweaves history, theory, and lived experience as an artist to expand our understanding of modern China and the power of creative expression within repressive regimes.

Amid the political turmoil of China’s Cultural Revolution, a small group of painters in Beijing defied state control, creating art in secrecy that challenged the ideological constraints of their time. Painting into Being is the first in-depth study of underground art during this period, focusing on the Wuming (No Name) Painting Group, active from 1972 to 1981, in conjunction with other clandestine cultural movements. Aihe Wang brings a singular perspective to this history as both a former Wuming artist and a Harvard-trained historian and anthropologist. Analyzing nearly one hundred oil paintings against sophisticated theoretical frameworks and intricate historical narratives, she examines how underground artists cultivated individual agency, forged collective solidarity, and subtly resisted authoritarianism. This book also illustrates how Wuming aesthetically engaged with both modern Western art and traditional Chinese art in creating a distinct form of Chinese modernism. Interweaving history, theory, and lived experience, Painting into Being expands our understanding of modern Chinese history, global modernism, and the power of creative expression within repressive regimes.