Liu Xiaodong is one of China’s foremost contemporary painters. As massive social, industrial, and geographical change came post-Cultural Revolution, so did a “New Generation” of figurative painters aiming to combat the outdated aesthetics of Socialist-Realism. Liu Xiaodong uses Neo-Realism, often painting ‘en plein air’, as a means to focus on the ordinary world and present the realities of life in modern China. He paints with an interest in time, creating a documentary-like narrative around his subjects. Here, a typical Chinese bathhouse is depicted, its heat and steam captured in black and white. By cementing an everyday activity within the context of a rapidly evolving country, Liu gives it an implicit sense of value.