Shen Fan
Introduction
Shen Fan was born in Shanghai in 1955 and graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the Shanghai Light Industry Institute in 1986. He started painting abstract works in 1980s and deconstructing forms and space in his paintings. He is one of the pioneers who incorporated classical Chinese elements into contemporary context. During 1990s, while his works are composed of monochromatic patterns and Western Minimalism, they keep the distinct characters of classical Chinese art by painting on rice paper and applying numerous calligraphy-like black strokes to his work. Starting from 1998, he has been applying Chinese elements to his paintings on various mediums and materials, exploring the possibilities of painting and new media. He created groundbreaking installations for the 2006 Shanghai Biennial, which were created in tribute to Huang Binhong and reexamined the brushstrokes and composition of classical Chinese paintings. We will be displaying his Chinese elements-embodied abstract works from the early 1990s.
BIOGRAPHY
1952 Born in Jiangyin, Jiangsu, China
1962 Moved to Shanghai, China
Graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Shanghai Light Industry Institute (Now known as Shanghai Institute Technology), China
1997 Professor, Shanghai Huashan Fine Arts School, China
2008 Artist in Residence, The Collection Studio, Lincoln, UK
Present Lives in Shanghai, China
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2008
- I have Been Here, Usher Gallery; The Collection of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
- The Collection, Shen Fan Solo show, The Collection Studio, Lincoln, UK
- Shen Fan, Gallery Jochen Holtje, Tubingen, Germany
- New Painting by Shen Fan, Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA
- Shen Fan, 14-1 Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany
- Shen Fan, Consulate General of France, Shanghai, China
- Un/Limited Space, #1 Shen Fan, Consulate General of Germany, Shanghai, China
- Shen Fan, Max Planck Institute, Tubingen, Germany
- Shen Fan's Works on Paper, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023-2024
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Delight in the Invisible: Abstract Narrative of Momentary, Ming Yuan Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2023
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7th Guangzhou Triennial, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
2021
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Ink Dreams: Selections from the Fondation INK Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA
2020
- Waves and Echoes: A Process of Re-contemporarization in Chinese Art Circa 1987 Revisited, Inside-out Art Museum, Beijing, China
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Shanghai Waves Historical Archives and Works of Shanghai Biennial, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China
2018
- Chinese Abstraction, Art Basel Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
- The Stars: Art Education Achievement Exhibition, Jingan Culture Centre, Shanghai, China
- Redefining the City with Context • Beyond the Wall: Xi’an Contemporary Art Exhibition 2018, Xi’an Art Museum, Xi’an, China
- The Reason Why Classic Is, Artron Art Centre, Shenzhen, China
- Mass Energy 1862 HBC Contemporary Art Exhibition, Shipyard 1862, Shanghai, China
- Wu Speech, China Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- China 8, Contemporary Art from China at the Rhine and Ruhr, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany
- Trace: 2014 Xin Tian Di Contemporary Public Art Exhibition, Xin Tian Di, Shanghai, China
- Another Utopia, Shanghai Abstract Art Exhibition (Home), Mingyuan Art Center, Shanghai, China
- Images and Words: Since Magritte Era, The National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
- A New Way to Play with Ink-Contemporary Chinese Ink Art in Three-Dimensional Context, Zendai Contemporary Art Space, Shanghai, China
- Brussels Oriental Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium
- New Ink Art, ART HK 01, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
- Shanghai, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, U.S.A.
- Ding Yi, Shen Fan, Yang Jiechang, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
- Out of Shanghai, Museum gegenstandsfreier Kunst, Otterndorf, Germany
- Human As Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, Taiwan
- Five Years of Duolun, Chinese Contemporary Art Retrospective Exhibition, Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
- Heading with Times Group Exhibition of Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of Reforming and Opening up Policy in the Yangtze River Delta Area, 1978-2008, Shanghai Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China
- Pu Jie and Shen Fan, ArtChina, Hamburg, Germany
- Shanghai Kaleidoscope, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto, Canada
- China Today Art Week, Prism: New Media Arts Exhibition, Art Gallery of Austria chancellor's office, Vienna
- The Nobleness Found on Paper, Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, Guangzhou, China
- 6th Shanghai Biennale, Hyper Design, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- Alien Illusion, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- Beyond Dimensional Space, Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
- Chinese Maximalism, Millennium Art Museum, Beijing; University at Buffalo Art Galleries and Museum Studies, State University of New York at Buffalo, USA
- Wind aus Shanghai, Kunst der Gengenwart aus Shanghai, Architekur Centrum Post an Stephansplatz, Sortierhalle, Hamburg, Germany
- Quick Look!, Shanghai Zhejiang Jiangsu Anhui Contemporary Art Exhibition, Consulate General of Switzerland, Shanghai, China
- 2002 Shanghai Abstract Art Group Show, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- Metaphysics 2002, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- Wind aus Shanghai - Kunst der Gegenwart aus Shanghai, Architekur Centrum Post an Stephansplatz, Sortierhalle, Hamburg, Germany
- Ost + West-China Contemporary Art Exhibition, Kuenstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria
- Metaphysics 2001, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- Gallery Artists, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
- Shanghai Art Museum Collection Exhibition, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- Fortune Global Forum, Contemporary Art Exhibition, Jinmao Podium Bldg., Shanghai, China
- BM99, Bienal da Maya, Maya Art Center, Portugal
- New Voices: Contemporary Art Dialogue Among, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China; Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong; National Taiwan Art Education Institute, Taipei, Taiwan
- China! Touring Exhibition, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, German
- 1997: Hong Kong China, Liu Haisu Museum, Shanghai, China
- Four Artists from Shanghai, The Center of World Trade, Bremen, Germany
- Outburst, The College of Fine Art of Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
- Quotation Marks, Chinese Contemporary Paintings, National Art Museum, Singapore
- China! Touring Exhibition of Modern Art, Artist's House, Vienna, Austria; Charlottenburg Exhibition Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark; Zacheta Modern Art Mudrum, Warsaw, Poland
- Direct d`Art, Salon International D' ART Contemporain, Palais der Expositions, Nice, France
- China!, Touring Exhibition, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany
- Shanghai Fax Art Exhibition, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Shen Fan and Qiu Jie, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
- "M", Performance & Conceptual Art Exhibition, Hongkou District Cultural Centre, Shanghai, China
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
M+Collection, Hong Kong
