The notable nine of modern China

These pioneering artists have all had a major influence on today's avant-garde scene:

Wang Guangyi

Harbin-born Wang, 52, is the leader of "Political Pop" in Chinese contemporary art and spokesman for the New Art movement that erupted after 1989. Wang earned worldwide fame for his Great Criticism series of paintings, in which he used propaganda images from the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) and contemporary brand names from Western advertising. Wang is one of China's hottest new artists and his massive 1988 oil painting Mao AO fetched $4.1 million at a London auction last December.