Chinese artist Gao Zhen sentenced to 3 years in prison over satirical Mao artworks

Gao Zhen, who is based in the U.S., was arrested while visiting family in China in August 2024 and charged over works that authorities deemed insulting to revolutionary figures.

BANGKOK — Chinese artist Gao Zhen was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday for “infringing upon the reputation of heroes” through his satirical works of art, including statues of China’s former leader Mao Zedong.

The U.S.-based Gao, who was part of an artistic duo known internationally as the Gao Brothers, was arrested while visiting family in China in August 2024. He has been in official custody since then.

He was sentenced by the Sanhei People’s Court in northern Hebei province, according to his wife, Zhao Yaliang.

The charges against Gao relate to artistic works that China’s authorities deem insulting to revolutionary figures. One was a 2009 statue called “Mao’s Guilt,” which shows the former leader and founder of modern China kneeling in repentance, and another was the “Miss Mao” series of caricatures depicting Mao with breasts and an engorged nose.

Shane Yi, a researcher at Chinese Human Rights Defenders, who has been advocating for Gao’s case, described the sentence as “a very clear case of a violation of a person’s freedom of expression.”