Lu Fusheng, born in Dongyang, Zhejiang, in 1949, is a renowned art theorist, critic, and painter. He began studying Chinese classical literature and philosophy at the age of six and composed his first poem at seven. Early on, he studied Chinese painting and poetry while also writing fiction in his spare time. In 1972, he began creating oil paintings and comic illustrations. In 1982, he graduated from the Department of Chinese Painting at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou.
Throughout his career, he has published numerous works on Chinese painting and the historical development of Chinese calligraphy, including Man and Nature, On Calligraphy Ecology, and A Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Literati Painting, among others. He has also been invited to speak on Chinese painting and art history at several important symposia, including the Shanghai International Symposium on Painting at Shanghai Xi Jiao Guesthouse in 2001, the International Symposium on Twentieth-Century Chinese Painting at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 1995, and an event at the University of Kansas in 1992.
He later received the Silver Award at the 6th National Art Exhibition in 2014 and the Bronze Award for Theoretical Research at the 8th China Calligraphy Lanting Awards in 2024. In 2019, the Lu Fusheng Art Museum was established in Dongyang, Zhejiang.
Currently, he serves as a doctoral supervisor at China Academy of Art in Hangzhou and Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts at Shanghai University; a member of Shanghai Research Institute of Culture and History; president and editor-in-chief of Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House; a council member of China Artists Association; and vice chairman of Shanghai Artists Association. He previously served as a member of the 9th and 10th Shanghai Municipal Committees of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and as a deputy to the 13th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress.
Among his important recent solo exhibitions was Between Knowing One and Knowing Two, held at National Art Museum of China in Beijing in 2013. He also held solo exhibitions at Shanghai Art Museum (2007), Beijing Fine Art Academy (2011), Shanxi Art Museum (2012) and Xingtan Art Museum in Beijing (2015). In 2025, his works were exhibited in Above the Waves: A Reunion Across Time and Space, a Shanghai School painting and calligraphy group exhibition.
Alisan Fine Arts presented a solo exhibition of Lu Fusheng’s works A Scholar Painter: Lu Fusheng in 1995 and then included his work in Alisan Fine Arts’ booth at International Asian Art Fair in New York in 1996, and a group exhibition Chinese Portrait Paintings in 2007. In 2026, Alisan celebrates its 45th anniversary with the exhibition series "Then and Now," featuring the group exhibition Tradition Renewed showcasing Lu's new works as well as pieces from the 1990s.
His works are in the collection of Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, USA; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Hong Kong Museum of Art, to name a few.
