Cao Dali (Tsao Tali) 曹達立 China, b. 1934

Born in 1934, Cao Dali was largely inspired by the 1950s growing up. Abstract Expressionism, a form of painting that studied notions of spirituality and the sublime, dominated the 1950s. Many artists concentrated on the formal properties of painting, and action painting was influenced by the political freedom of the United States, in opposition to the strict strictures of the Soviet bloc. Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Frank Kline, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still and Adolph Gottlieb were influential artists of this period. The male dominated environment has been subsequently revised to recognise the contributions of female artists such as Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, and Louise Bourgeois, amongst others.