Chinese artist Leng Jun is the master of hyperrealism as he creates portraits that are startlingly close to real life. The skilled painter is very accomplished, but some of his best-known works are detailed oil paintings of women where everything is a perfect rendition of reality - down to the last wisp of hair.
Leng was born in 1963 and grew up during a time of great economic reform within his country which was known as the Opening of China. This massive cultural shift, along with the Western influences that it brought, found their way into his art and served as massive influences in his work.
Leng first became interested in painting at a very young age. His first experiments with oil painting happened when he was in middle school. While there weren’t readily available oil paints in China at the time, his friend was the one who gave him a couple of colors to play around with.
It was these earliest experiments that stayed with him. As he furthered his studies, the steady flow of information and influence that was coming into China from the West, was what helped to shape and mold him as an artist.