
Ren Hang is a self-taught, Beijing-based photographer whose color-blasted, abstract erotic snapshots have recently made him one of Asia's most popular contemporary artists.

The photographer -- who turns 30 this year -- began shooting nude images of his friends while in college, as a way to relieve boredom. Untitled, 2015 © Ren Hang / courtesy Stieglitz19

Ren Hang is known for his sexually expressive, often absurd images, which the artist says come from his own stream of consciousness.

In Ren Hang's imagination, everything is an uninhibited metaphor for desire. Even plants and pools of water are charged with lust.

Ren pares away the backgrounds, leaving few distractions for his abstract human sculptures.

Ren's models are usually naked and pale Chinese youths, wearing blasé expressions. He shoots his own friends, and sometimes photographs fans who apply online. Untitled, 2015 © Ren Hang / courtesy Stieglitz19

Mirjam Kooiman, who curated Ren's works for a new show at Amsterdam photography museum Foam, believes the photographs represent freedom. "It's visual poetry. It's without limits," she says


"His treatment of the body is so without boundaries. There's no hierarchy between the female and the male model in his work," Kooiman adds. "It's very telling about these tendenci