Painting has been revitalized in recent years by a sense that the old rules don’t apply to a new generation of artists. Figuration is ahistorical—abstraction can’t be political—it’s all too “market friendly.” They don’t want to hear it. Whether it is abstraction or figuration, politics or fantasy, the historic or the mundane, the ambitious painters of the moment draw on the medium’s history to generate techniques and aesthetics to call their own, while grappling with the urgent issues of representation that ripple throughout our media-saturated society. In this special feature, two of ArtAsiaPacific’s editors look at the themes connecting several of the most dynamic artists laying paint on flat surfaces today. Associate editor Alex Yiu examines how four painters interpret scenes reflecting the “quotidian psyche,” while assistant editor Anna Lentchner analyzes the “body politics” at play in dynamic scenes that explore sexuality and conceptions of the self.