BIOGRAPHY
1942 Born in Changsha, Hunan Province, China
1962 Studied traditional Chinese painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China. Discontinued for the reason of poor health
1966-74 Sent to work in a printing factory during the Cultural Revolution
1975 Art Editor at People's Literature Publishing House, Beijing, China
1978 Member of Research Academy for Traditional Chinese Painting under the Chinese Ministry of Culture, Beijing, China
1985 Organized the first
Modern Calligraphy Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China. This historic event marked the birth of Chinese modern calligraphy. First Chairman of The Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting
1986 Authored
The Formation of Modern Calligraphy, Beijing Sport University Press, the first book about modern calligraphy in China
1987 Invited by the University of Bonn and Fine Art Institute, Hamburg, Germany to lecture on modern calligraphy annually for six years
1990 Authored
The Three Steps of Modern Calligraphy first published in English, China Books Publishing House, Beijing, China (Chinese version published in 1992)
1991 Listed in
Who’s Who (Munich, London, New York, Paris edition)1996 Designed wine labels for Château Mouton Rothschild, Bordeaux, France. The first Chinese artist to have been thus honored
1998 Chief Editor of
Modern Calligraphy Characters series of books, Jilin Art Publishing House, Zhangchun, China. Chief Editor of
Buddhism Art and Painting 1998-2004, Eastern Publishing House, Beijing, China
1999 Helped to organize
Retrospective of Chinese Modern Calligraphy at the End of the 20th Century Exhibition, International Exhibition Centre, Chengdu, China.
Published a series of art books
The Re-glory of Celebrated Painters, Volume of Gu Gan’s Paintings From Realistic to Abstract, Auhui Fine Art Press, China.
Printed set of 10 limited edition prints in the UK. Sales worldwide ranked second behind Matisse’s prints
2000 Received the China National Outstanding Artist Award seven times since the 1970s
2002 Engraved stone inscription for Huang Bihong Art Museum, Jinhua, China
2004 Invited by Japanese Chess Society to design chess pieces using Regular script and script created by Gu Gan. Peking University Resource College established the ever first Art of Chinese Characters department, and Gu Gan’s book
The Three Steps of Modern Calligraphy was the major teaching material
2005 Organized
Art of Chinese Characters Exhibition-20th Anniversary of the Modernist Movement, China Millennium Monument, Beijing, China
2008 Created a series of 33 sport calligraphy-paintings to honor the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China. Honored as Sport Artist of the Year by United States Sports Academy
2014 Royal Academy of Arts listed Gu Gan as Chinese artist of 60th Anniversary of Cultural Relations between China and UK
Chief Editor of People's Literature Publishing House
Member of the Chinese Artist Association
Consultant of The Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting
Honorary Adviser of The International Calligraphers' Society
2020 Passed away in Beijing, China at the age of 78
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2014
2006
- Recent Paintings by Gu Gan, Goedhuis Contemporary, New York, USA
2000
- Collection of Gu Gan’s Paintings, Princess Diana Family Museum, UK
1998
- Michael Goedhuis, London, UK
1993
- Museum of East Asian Art, Cologne, Germany
1987
- University of Bonn, Bonn; Fine Art Institute, Hamburg, Germany
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
-
Line, Form, Qi: Calligraphic Art from the Foundation INK Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA (Apr 6-Oct 19. 2025)
- Reconstructed Realities: Gu Gan, Lee Chun-yi, Wucius Wong, Alisan Fine Arts, New York, USA
2024
2023
-
Beyond Tradition: The Metamorphosis of Chinese Art, Alisan Fine Arts, Cromwell Place, London, UK
-
Ink Asia, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
-
Substance and Elegance: A Narrative on Calligraphy, GIO China Rennaisance Art Centre, Beijing, China
2021
2018
2016
2015
2014
- Abstraction and Refinement: Contemporary Chinese Ink Paintings, Gajah Gallery, Singapore
2013
- Modern Chinese Calligraphy: Works by Gu Gan and Pu Lieping, organized by Shanghai International Culture Association, Institute of Modern Art, Valencia, Spain
2010
- Top Asian Art Show, China World Trade Centre, Beijing, China
2005
- INK, Goedhuis Contemporary, New York, USA
2004
- Seoul Art Fair, Seoul, Korea
2002
- Brushes with Surprise: The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China, British Museum, London, UK
- Goedhuis Contemporary, New York, USA
2001
- China without Borders, Sotheby’s, New York, USA
- International Art Fair, Shanghai, China
2000
- Taipei Art Fair, Taipei, Taiwan
1998
- Modern Chinese Calligraphy, British Museum, London, UK
1997
- Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
1995
- 10th Anniversary Exhibition of the Modernist Movement, Jiangsu Art Museum, Nanjing, China
1992
- Museum for Far Eastern Art, Cologne, Germany
1991
- Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy Invitational Exhibition, Jiangsu Art Museum, Nanjing, China
- Two-men exhibition, Gu Gan & Rene Boll (German artist, son of Nobel Laureate in Literature Heinrich Boll), National Parliament of Germany, Berlin, Germany
1986
- Contemporary Chinese Paintings, artists including Wu Guangzhong, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, USA
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
British Museum, London, UK
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK
Princess Diana Family Museum, UK
Museum of East Asian Art, Cologne, Germany
Art History Museum, Vienna, Austria
Olenska Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
Museum of Chinese Olympic Games, Beijing, China
Xunyao Chinese Characters Museum, Chengdu, China
