Cai Jin
About Cai Jin
Cai Jin was born in 1965 in Tun Xi in Anhui Province, China. In 1982 she studied fine art at Anhui University, which she funded by drawing illustrations for China’s Women and Youth Literature magazines.
Cai Jin’s drawing classes were not conducted in the conventional manner of studying models and still life, but took in anything near at hand including discarded newspapers, tree bark and rusty wires. Through this approach Cai Jin’s visual concepts were broadened.
A major turning point in Cai Jin’s artistic career was in 1991 when she started to paint the ‘Banana Plant series’. One day, accidentally noticing a wilted banana plant among weeds, she sensed a form of life within the plant which she felt irresistibly drawn to. In traditional Chinese art, banana plants are portrayed as a feature of nature, symbolising escape from reality. Before seeing this plant, the artist had been trying to express herself without finding the right vehicle. Cai Jin has embraced the plant as her central theme in this series. In the decade since 1991, the artist has altogether painted 210 banana plants in different media and sizes.
Cai Jin has been hailed as a representative artist of feminism, and her works are often used to illustrate fashionable theories; but whatever the theory, her paintings remain an enigmatic personal affair. Cai Jin paints what she wants to paint, and this personal approach has opened up a new visual experience. She now resides in New York and complements her painting with motherhood.
Deckchair Design
Cai Jin donated a deckchair design to Deckchair Dreams in 2010. Cai Jin is fascinated by the color red. Her painting is especially sensitive within this gamut. It is out of the need of the inner life, which totally dominates her feelings.