Born in Tunxi, China, in 1965, Caijin graduated with a BFA from Anhui Normal University in 1986, and later studied oil painting at the Central Academy of Fine Art (Beijing). Cai first came to prominence in the early 1990s with her series of Beauty Banana paintings and became one of the most prominent female contemporary artists from China.
In her Beauty Banana paintings, Caijin painted studies of a decomposing tropical plant. In the series of paintings, banana leaves overlap and are embodied with a subjectively ‘feminine’ red. She painted over 400 versions of banana leaves to explore the concepts of beauty, birth, and sex. After living in the U.S for 10 years, Caijin returned to China in 2007. Upon returning to China, the image of banana leaves in her work gradually faded away. Her recent body of work Landscape reminds us of an underwater world and clouds floating over the sky. Rather than depicting figurative objects, these works are abstract in nature, utilizing color and composition to express her ‘inner emotions’.
Cai Jin’s works have been exhibited internationally, including Jinri Art Museum, Beijing (2009), Hannover Messehalle (Hannover, Germany), Venice Biennale (Venice, Italy). Her works are in the collections of the National Art Museum of China (Beijing, China), Today Art Museum (Beijing, China), and University Museum of Art Gallery (The University of Hong Kong, China).
Cai Jin currently lives and works in Beijing, China.