Ling Jian, a Beijing based artist who spent over fifteen years in Germany, bridges ideological gaps as he incarnates a contemporary Euro-Asian flaneur. Oscillating between the East and the West Ling Jian is known to borrow from both cultures. His meticulous brushwork may have more in common with the masters of the Renaissance, but his paintings place a magnifying glass over contemporary global culture. Although there are obvious references to politics in Jian's work, it stands apart from the Political Pop genre that flourished in Chinese avant-garde art since the mid 1990s. His work is more about the phenomenon of economical development, mass consumption, the social impact of global change and today's concept of beauty.

Ling Jian's oeuvre derives mainly from traditional and modern Chinese culture - popular Peking operas like Bai Mao Nu, idiosyncratic symbols (chinese dragon, cherry blossom fruits, Buddha derivations), the recurring Mao little red book or militant communist uniform, and even Western cliches of Asia.