Many of today's leading Chinese artists grew up during the Cultural Revolution, were students during the 1989 democracy protests and have long explored these topics in their work. But it is only recently that they have found public outlets for their more politically sensitive pieces. Much of the work by Huang Rui -- one of the founding fathers of Dashanzi -- uses wordplay and sexual imagery to mock propagandist slogans.
Overseas, it is well-known, but in China it rarely gets out of his studio. His exhibition piece in Dashanzi, Chairman Mao 10,000 RMB, lasted only a few days this month before being closed.
"We're at a delicate stage," he said. "The government is trying to find a balance. I think they want to develop Dashanzi to improve the city's image. But some in power are old-fashioned and want to use traditional methods of control. We must push our ideas. [President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤)] talks about creating a harmonious society. That means having more culture."
Brian Wallace, whose Red Gate Gallery was the first foreign-owned space for contemporary art in China, said: "Before Dashanzi, there were only three of us, so 99 per cent of artists had no way to show their work to the public."
His business has been affected by the censors. Two years ago, officials ordered the closure of an exhibition by Sheng Qi (
But the ban aroused the buyers' interest. In the next few months, Sheng was the gallery's bestselling artist.
But compared with the first years after he opened the Red Gate Gallery in 1990, Wallace says that the atmosphere is actually improving.
"Ten years ago the officials would have been rude and taken the pictures away. Now they are polite and ask for pictures to be withdrawn from public view," he said.
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