YUAN YUNSHENG

 

Yuan Yunsheng was born in Nantong, Jiangsu Province on April 4, 1937. Studied under the famous artist Dong Xiwen, Yuan Yunsheng graduated in 1962 from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). His early career was marked by political adversity. Labeled as a "Rightist" in 1957, he underwent re-education at Shuangqiao Farm. His graduation piece, Memories of the Water Village, sparked controversy for its modernist style. Subsequently, he was assigned to work for 18 years at the Workers' Cultural Palace in Changchun, Jilin Province.

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During his sketching trip to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan in 1978, Yuan used “lines” as the most potent medium to capture the region's essence. For Yuan, line drawing was not merely observation but an act of liberating vital energy. "I prefer not to sketch preliminaries; I hold a blueprint in my mind and develop it as I draw. This is more meaningful because it is a test for myself." Yuan’s Yunnan Line Drawing Sketch Series garnered significant acclaim for its rhythmic and lyrical quality.

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In 1979, Yuan participated in the creation of murals for the Beijing Capital Airport. His seminal work for this project, Water Splashing Festival – Ode to Life, ignited public debate because of its modern decorative style and depiction of nude figures. For Yuan, this was both an artistic expression and a challenge to prevailing conventions: "To depict a bathing scene, people cannot be clothed. More importantly, I believe the human body should not be taboo." The mural represented a radical departure from the dominant social realist idiom, marking a crucial step in Chinese artists' exploration of formal language and becoming a significant cultural event in the early years of China's reform era.

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In 1980, Yuan joined the Mural Department at CAFA. He was invited to the United States in 1982, teaching at Harvard University and other institutions. From 1988, he settled in New York as a professional artist, engaging with figures like Willem de Kooning and Robert Rauschenberg. In 1996, he returned to China at the invitation of Jin Shangyi, assuming roles as Director of the Fourth Studio of the Oil Painting Department, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor at CAFA. He later served as Vice Chairman of the CAFA Academic Committee and led the major national project "Reconstructing the Chinese Art Education System," for which he was honored as a "National Professor of Special Contribution."

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Through his representative works like Transporting Grain (oil painting; CAFA Art Museum), Solitude (ink and color painting;Taikang Art Museum) and Struggle (Long Museum), Yunnan Line Drawing Sketch Series and Wordless Stele (Long Museum) , Yuan advocated for grounding art education in Chinese artistic heritage. He emphasized cultural confidence and transmission of indigenous aesthetics. Championing the ethos of "forging a Chinese path," Yuan Yunsheng dedicated his career to "pursuing the true spirit of national art". His exploration has significantly advanced dialogue between Chinese modern art and traditional aesthetics, establishing him as a representative of cultural confidence and artistic innovation.

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His solo exhibitions include: Yuan Yunsheng: CIRCUIT, Platform China, Beijing, China, 2024; Revel in the Universe's Infinite Flux-Yuan Yunsheng and His Dream of Murals Painting, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, 2023; Back to Nantong - Yuan Yunsheng Art Exhibition, Nantong Art Museum, Nantong, China, 2023; Journey of Yuan Yunsheng, Long Museum West Bund, Shanghai, China, 2022; Yuan Yunsheng - Ode to Life, Platform China, Beijing, China, 2019; Towards Cultural Consciousness: Yuan Yunsheng Art Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China, 2017; Cooked Rice? - Yuan Yunsheng Solo Exhibition, Galerie 99, Aschaffenburg, Germany, 2015; Nantong Native Masters Series - Yuan Yunsheng Works Exhibition, Nantong, Center Art Museum, Nantong, China, 2014; Setting Out from China: Yuan Yunsheng Painting Exhibition, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2001; Yuan Yunsheng Painting Exhibition, Xuan Men Art Center, Taipei, China, 1993; Yuan Yunsheng Solo Exhibition, Los Angeles Oriental Art Center, L.A., USA, 1992; Yuan Yunsheng Solo Exhibition, Harvard-Radcliffe Art Center, Cambridge, USA, 1984; Yuan Yunsheng Solo Exhibition, Amherst College Museum of Natural History, Amherst, USA, 1983; Yuan Yunsheng Line Drawing Exhibition, Central Academy of Crafts Art, Exhibition Hall, Beijing, China, 1979; Yuan Yunsheng Line Drawing Exhibition, Yunnan Arts University, Kunming, China, 1978.

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His works also showed in many group exhibitions, including: Platform China 15th Anniversary Special Exhibition, Platform China, Beijing, China, 2020; The Path of Ink to Modernity - 2018 Shenzhen Art Museum Contemporary Art Exhibition, Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China, 2018; Ten Masters of the Art World - Invitational Exhibition of Master Works from a Century of Painting, Poly Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2014; The Third Path: Paintings by Yuan Yunfu and Yuan Yunsheng, Beijing Inside-Out  Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2014; New Century Chinese Oil Painting Exhibition, Dadu Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2014; Chinese Style: Research Exhibition on the Language of Chinese Oil Painting, Beijing Dadu Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2013; Asian Art Collection Exhibition, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, USA, 2013; Integration and Innovation: Paintings by Artists Returned from Overseas, Millennium Monument, Beijing, China, 2013; The Path of Masters - Invitational Exhibition of the Most Influential Painters, National Art Museum of China National Academy of Painting, Beijing, China, 2012; Modeling: Faculty Works Exhibition of the School of Fine Arts, CAFA, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2010; 20th Century Chinese Painting Masters Invitational Exhibition, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China, 2009; Facing the Wall, Creating Splendor: Master Artists and Dunhuang, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China, 2008; Ping X Fu Artists Group Exhibition, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China, 2003; Fusion and Interpenetration: New Works by Contemporary Chinese Artists, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China, 2002; The 2nd Shenzhen International Ink Painting Biennale, Shenzhen, China, 2000; 47th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy, 1997; Asian Art Exhibition, Sydney, Australia, 1989; Asian Art Exhibition, Galerie Thomas, Munich, Germany, 1988; Exhibition at Blunden Oriental at Cadogan Contemporary, Blunden Oriental at Cadogan Contemporary, London, UK, 1987; Painting the Chinese Dream: 30 Years of Art in New China, 1978-1981 (Paintings and Sculpture), USA, 1982; Joint Exhibition of Three Artists: Yuan Yunfu, Yuan Yunsheng, and Fan Zeng, Art Department of Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China, 1980; 5th National Exhibition of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1980.