QIU JIE (b.1961) Contemplation of Plum Blossoms, 2010QIU JIE (b.1961)Contemplation of Plum Blossoms, 2010Graphite on paper, framed. 100cm high x 140cm wide (39 1/4in high x 55 1/4in wide).邱節（1961年生） 香雪海賞梅圖 石墨紙本 鏡框 2010年作Born in Shanghai in 1961, Qiu Jie started to learn painting by copying illustrations of the Red Guards in newspapers from the age of ten. In 1981, he graduated from the School of Decorative Arts in Shanghai and began to work as an art designer in the Shanghai Instrument Factory. Qiu had his first solo exhibition at the age of 24. In 1989, recommended by two Swiss artists, Qiu Jie commenced his study of multimedia art at the School of Fine Arts in Geneva. Currently living and working in China, France, and Switzerland, Qiu uses the simplest tools, graphite pencil and paper, to express his concern about the life experience of the generation in China which went through the Cultural Revolution. Inspired by the art of the Northern Renaissance in Flanders, Qiu Jie's work has a precisely realistic style while embodying a symbolic repertoire of great ambiguity. Signing with the sobriquet 'The Mountain Man Who Lives Outside His Hometown' (Taxiang shanren), Qiu Jie's works connect his accomplished draftsmanship to the style of the propaganda posters from the Cultural Revolution era. One of Qiu Jie's iconic works is the drawing of Mao as a cat, 2007, illustrated in The Revolution Continues: New Art from China, London, 2008, pp.64-65.Qiu Jie's works have been exhibited and collected widely, including at the Saatchi Gallery, London; The Geneva Contemporary Art Foundation; The Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai; and the Amsterdam Museum of Fine Arts.