Cai Guo-Qiang is an artist who practices multimedia works, including drawing, installation, performance, and video works. Cai now works out of New York City, but was born and began focusing on artwork in Quanzhou, China. He is widely known for his works with explosives and gunpowder, that he first started doing in his hometown, but have become famous around the world allowing him to be known as “The artist who paints with explosives.” A lot of his pieces have allowed him to take on awards such as the 7th Hiroshima Art Prize in 2007 and the 20th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2009. In addition to this, he also was in charge of the special effects for The Beijing Olympics in the summer of 2008. in 2013, Cai traveled to Brazil, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, where he did a tour of his explosive art works and ended up being the most visited exhibition by any living artist, gathering around a million people to see it. Cai mentions that his use of gunpowder has not always gone smoothly however. At a young age he discussed how he lit up his canvas and his grandmother came to his rescue, put it out, and taught him how to be more careful while using such a dangerous medium. This being said, He has put a lasting impact on performance and installation pieces and is continuing to do so in honor of his grandmother.
sources referenced:
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cai-guo-qiang-explosive-art/index.html
