Chinese artist detained for 'insulting' Mao sculptures

The Gao Brothers gained international acclaim for their sculptures lampooning Mao Zedong

Dissident Chinese artist Gao Zhen has been detained on suspicion of "insulting revolutionary heroes and martyrs," his brother and artistic partner Gao Qiang has said.

The Gao Brothers are known for their provocative sculptures, which critique the founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong, and his regime.

Gao Zhen left China two years ago to live permanently in the United States, but had been visiting family when he was taken by authorities in Hebei province, his brother said in a post on Facebook.

Chinese authorities have not responded to the allegations by Gao Qiang, who said about 30 police officers stormed the brothers’ art studio in Sanhe City on 26 August.

He added that they had confiscated several artworks in addition to detaining Mr Gao.

Since the 1980s, the brothers have been drawing international acclaim for works such as Mao’s Guilt, a bronze statue of the former Communist dictator kneeling remorsefully.

Other works include The Execution of Christ, a statue depicting Jesus facing down a firing squad of Maos, and Miss Mao, a collection of statues of Mao with large breasts and protruding noses.

Mao Zedong, often called Chairman Mao, helped found Communist China in 1949 and led it through a tumultuous period in the 1960s and 1970s known as the Cultural Revolution, in which more than a million people are believed to have died.

During this period, the Gao Brothers' father was labelled a class enemy and dragged off to a place that was “not a prison, not a police station, but something else”, where he died, Gao Zhen told The New York Times in 2009.

The brothers' Miss Mao pieces are among their most well-known sculptures

Spoofing or insulting China's revolutionary "heroes and martyrs" was made a crime in 2021, as part of a newly amended criminal code, under a campaign by China’s leader, Xi Jinping. It carries a penalty of up to three years' imprisonment.

For most of his career Mr Gao had been able to escape serious punishment from the Chinese authorities - often by choosing to hold secret or invite-only exhibitions.

However in 2022, Gao Zhen decided to emigrate to New York, where he held permanent residency.

This was because his son, who is an American citizen, was reaching school age and also because of the “deteriorating environment in China”, according to his brother Gao Qiang.

Several prominent Chinese artists and creatives have written an open letter calling on authorities to release Mr Gao.

"Today, the Sanhe police department seems to see Gao Zhen's artistic works as evidence of crime, repeating the persecution of the Cultural Revolution," the letter said.

The Sanhe public security bureau has so far declined to comment.