Zhou Tiehai (1966 Shanghai) is one of China's leading conceptual artists and also one of Shanghai's emerging art stars. Zhou first gained
notice in the mid 1990s, when he began poking fun at the absurdities lurking behind China's contemporary art scene. The artist openly
admits that he never paints a thing; yet his art pieces -- often made by a team that works out of his Shanghai studio -- are widely recognized here. His
most popular works are a series of "Joe Camel" paintings that show the former cigarette ad icon in avariety of poses. Zhou Tiehai also made a
splash in the early to mid 1990s when he began creating fake magazine covers that portrayed him as a rising star in the art world. His early works
suggested that who's hot and who's not in the art world had little to do with talent and more to do with connections and currying
favor with a handful of collectors, curators and journalists. The artist lives and works in Shanghai.
