A LIFE IN THE PUBLIC EYE

Yuan Yunfu may not be a household name, but he's one of the founding fathers of the modern Chinese public art scene, as an ongoing retrospective of his work demonstrates, Lin Qi reports.

Unlike his peers, Yuan Yunfu (1933-2017) is not a household name in China. However, his artist friends Wu Guanzhong and Huang Yongyu, whose paintings have been exhibited widely both at home and abroad, have achieved commercial success.

The late art professor at Tsinghua University has long been recognized as a prominent figure in China's decorative arts scene and is one of the founding fathers of Chinese contemporary public art. Many of his paintings adorn the interiors of landmark venues in Beijing, where visitors walk past, or stop to take a snap, without knowing anything about the man behind these artworks.