( CNN ) -- Artist Yue Minjun is the man the behind the rictus grin that has become his work 's motif . Part self portrait , part parody , part social commentary , his paintings have made him one the most instantly recognized contemporary artists in China . Born in 1962 , Minjun graduated from the Hebei Normal University in 1989 , the year that authorities cracked down on student protests in China , most notably in Tiananmen Square . Minjun admits that those events and the subsequent changes in Chinese society have had a major effect on his life and work . `` Politics is part of my daily life . It is there every day , '' he told CNN . `` The paintings reflect it and I ca n't escape it ... it affects me greatly . '' `` I also ask why after China experienced so many changes and so much progress we 're still so immature politically . Why is it that we can not resolve some of our daily problems politically ? It seems like we 're still struggling . ... I have a feeling that our nation is the most politically immature nation . '' Art critics have often labeled his early work `` critical realism , '' a term that encompassed a number of Chinese artists in the early 1990s that used satire to juxtapose capitalism and consumerism with Chinese communism . Minjun says that the laughing character of his work was developed in response to the changes that China experienced since 1989 . `` It has a lot to do with the changes brought about by China 's reform . The changes cause the changes in people 's behavior , very fast changes too . People 's emotions are different too , full and stimulating . The laughing faces represent the emotional feelings of the people . '' Many of his pieces painted in the early 1990s have become highly sought after . `` The Execution '' became the most expensive painting by a contemporary Chinese artist when it was sold in 2007 for $ 5.9 million . While that record is now held by another artist , his earlier works still attract high prices from collectors . `` On the Lake '' was sold for $ 1.8 million in Hong Kong on April 5 , 2010 . Subsequently he 's become a forger 's favorite . `` I do n't know who is copying me so there 's no reason to be mad at anybody . There are too many of them . Maybe they like my work . It 's OK. From the intellectual property point of view , they should not sign my name and sell them . It 's not good for customers . It 'd be fine if they sign their own names , '' he said . While that famous smile may remain in some of his work in the future , Minjun believes that China could do with slowing the pace of social change . `` Just slow down a bit maybe , so as to let people catch up with the same pace and so to live in a rather stable way . Going too fast would just make people lose balance , and somehow feel being abandoned or isolated , which is not good to the society as a whole , '' he said .
Artist Minjun is the man behind the grinning face paintings in Chinese art . His work is deeply affected by the rapid changes in Hong Kong and events in 2007 . His work set a world record price for contemporary Chinese art in 1989 .