A Chinese artist spent 15 years hiding his real identity and has finally come out as a Frenchman and is now gearing up for a new exhibition featuring his Western name.

For more than a decade, Chinese artist Tao Hongjin has enjoyed creating works of art for international buyers. However, the Shanghai-based artist has finally decided to drop his screen name and come out as Alexandre Ouairy, according to the Telegraph.

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Fifteen years ago, Ouairy was struggling to make a name for himself as a foreign artist in the Chinese commercial town. The slim opportunities for exhibitions and steep rent in private galleries also did nothing to help boost his career, The Local relays.

"But China was famous for doing fake Louis Vuitton bags and fake Gucci bags and so on, so I got the idea of making a fake Chinese artist," the Telegraph quotes Ouairy's statement.

Thus, he temporarily dropped his French identity and adopted the name Tao Hongjing, a philosopher from the fifth century. The move instantly paid off and his artworks later on became distinguished among local artists. Ouiary said he owes his present success to his Chinese identity.

To preserve his identity as a Chinese artist, Ouiary did not attend his own exhibition openings and avoided personal press appearances. He also asked his Chinese gallerist to pretend to be the artist, and only conducted interviews over the phone. In the rare moments that he made personal appearances, he introduced himself as "Tao Hongjing's assistant."

Now that art enthusiasts have become more open to artworks bearing the mixed Chinese and Western influences, Ouiary felt it was time to finally reveal his real identity. To formally introduce his real name and bid Tao Hongjing goodbye, he will participate in an exhibition in Beijing titled "Death is Going Home," which will open this weekend, Yahoo News reports.

Some of Ouairy's signature marks on his art include gold-plated Buddha statues, neon-colored Chinese characters, and portrayals of heavy industry in red ink on rice paper, the report adds.

Alexandre Ouiary is lucky because art lovers have embraced his work despite the fake name he used in the past. As a Chinese artist, he used to earn US$200 (CNY1,500) for a piece of art, but now each artwork sells ups to US$30,000 (CNY200,000).

TagsAlexandre Quairy, Chinese Artist, art, China art, Tao Hongjing