Qi Zhilong attended the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing from 1987-1991 and then moved to the artists' village of Yuanmingyuan on the grounds of the old Summer Palace on the northwestern edge of the capital. There, a group of artists had come together to explore the increasingly popular currents of Political Pop and Cynical Realism.

Zhilong gained notoriety for his "Political Pop" paintings, most of which depicted Chinese women during the Cultural Revolution. In the mid-1990s, the East Asian artist first came to the attention of international platforms. With the onset of economic policies and the reform era in China, the artist developed an increasing critique of consumption, which he incorporated into his ®Consumer Icons¯ series.

Zhilong, who is associated with the Gaudy Art movement founded by critic and curator Li Xianting, is now considered one of the best-known Chinese contemporary artists. He lives and works in Beijing.

Qi Zhi-Long was born in Hohhot, in Inner Mongolia, in 1962. Qi graduated from the Print Making Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing in 1987. In 1992, he was working in the Yuan Ming Yuan artist's village. Now, he lives and works in Beijing. Since the Chinese Avant-Grade Art Exhibition in Taiwan (1993), Qi Zhi-Long's work has been exhibited around the world including Art Basel, Art Fair of Singapore. In post-1989 Chinese Political Pop, Qi Zhi-Long is the one of leading artists. His portraits are in fact an expression of the new Chinese style socialism to the market economy.