Liu Ye, Du Haijun and Liu Lei are three young, up-and-coming artists you’ve probably never heard of before. But in Leo Gallery’s latest exhibition, they are proving that China has leapt beyond its heyday of political pop art and into the country’s next generation of artistic development.

China’s one child policy and the country’s increasing wealth sure get a lot of flak.

The idea of a nation filled with spoiled little emperors and empresses, renminbi spilling out of their wallets, has its social implications of course. But for artists, this is fertile ground for shaping a strong, individual voice.

It’s also a stark contrast to iconic Chinese political pop art, which first gained ground in the 1980s as China grappled with its recent past and the uncertainty of its future. Artists generally had a common voice, as most sought to articulate the rapid changes happening around them.

“Now, there’s more of a step towards self interest. With China’s economic prosperity, there isn’t such a preoccupation with struggle and survival in art,” says Leslie Kuo, gallery manager for the Leo Gallery and curator of its ‘Young Artist Show’.

“A lot of people talk about the social issues of this generation of single children. But for an artist, they gain confidence and their own way of thinking. Their household is all about them, so it’s easier to develop their own voice. For anything else it may be a problem; for artists it’s a boon.”

It’s this artistic introspection that’s showcased in the varied works of Du Haijun, Liu Lei and Liu Ye. Each has their own story to tell; their own perspectives mapped out on canvas.

Du Haijun’s work for example, shows an obsessive curiosity towards urban life, a trait that has grown from his upbringing in the small town of Yixing in Jiangsu province.

Street scenes, architecture and windows are major elements in his artwork, but he delves into the individual lives within these exterior walls even deeper. Vibrant colour and energy pop from the window perimeters of neatly arranged buildings, portraying the soul and distinct biographies of people existing inside.

“Every day I go into the city and all I see are buildings and windows, one after another, which made me want to paint all these images and turn its emotion into texture and brush strokes,” says 31 year old Du, who relocated to Shanghai three years ago to work as a painter. “Through these series of block colour compositions, I’ve been given a new understanding of the city.”