Born in a family of musicians in Beijing, Fan Yan was a classically trained violinist and viola player from a young age, while at the same time she was drawn to painting. She came to Hong Kong to study at Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 1987. After graduation, she played with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for 20 years and has lived in Hong Kong ever since. In 2011, she began to devote herself to painting, realising her life’s dream. Fan folds and dyes rice paper to divulge patterns reflective of the repetitive nature of musical score. With this experimental artistic practice, she constantly explores the interpretation of various elements of music with an unique visual language.
In 2020, she developed a Music Series called Polyphonies, which won several awards, namely the UOB Art Academy’s Art in Ink 2020, and the Ink Global 2020 award. Fan's works were selected for Cathay Pacific Airways’ “Gallery in the Skies” project in 2024, a curated exhibition program for the business class cabins of a new fleet of commercial airplanes. In the same year, Alisan Fine Arts presented her immersive music practice room at Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong, with critical acclaim. In 2025, Alisan Fine Arts' booth presentation at Shanghai West Bund Art & Design marks Fan’s debut at the art fair. In 2026, her solo exhibition Practice Room was held at OCT Loft Creative Park in Shenzhen. It was an extension of French May Arts Festival associated exhibition Fan Yan: Jeux Thèmes Variations in 2023.
She has also exhibited in Russia, Korea, Singapore, and Indonesia. In 2025-2026, her work was showcased at several major group exhibitions in mainland China and Hong Kong, including Shanghai International Paper Art Biennale, Fengxian Museum, Shanghai; Off The Axis, Chengdu Blue Roof Museum, Chengdu; and Think in Ink, Hong Kong Central Library, Hong Kong; Spirit in Flux, Alisan Atelier, Hong Kong.
BIOGRAPHY
1968 Born in Beijing, China, in a family of musicians
Classically trained violinist and viola player from a young age
1987 Came to Hong Kong to study at Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
After graduation, she played with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for 20 years
2011 Began to devote herself to painting
2024 Selected for Cathay Pacific Airline's latest project "Gallery in the skies", Hong Kong
2025 Debut at West Bund Art & Design Fair, Shanghai, China
Present Lives and works in Hong Kong
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
2021
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
20262023
2022
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016 & 2017
2016
2013
SELECTED AWARDS
2024 Selected for Cathay Pacific Airline's latest project "Gallery in the skies", Hong Kong
2021 Bronze award, Abstract Open Category, 2020 UOB Art in Ink Award
2020 Selected into Ink Global, one of the 500 ink painting of the year
