Lan Zhenghui
Introduction
Lan Zhenghui originally went to college to study engineering, however, in a brief yet impactful moment of observing colour combinations on some small labels, he changed course and switched direction toward art. He was accepted a few years later by the prestigious Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, from which he graduated in 1987. He then taught at Chongqing University until 1993, before devoting himself full-time as an artist, reaching a pivotal point in his career with his selection for a solo exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in 2006. He currently lives and works in Beijing.
Lan's large-scale, often monumental abstract ink paintings, occupy an aesthetic confluence between traditional Chinese ink painting and Western abstract expressionism. Preferring to focus on the relationship of integration and macroscopic processes over detail and realism, he allows the ink to flow freely and paints with bold, kinetic strokes. Through his many years researching the language of vision, Lan's artistic philosophy has evolved to reflect the mantra of one of his favorite artists, Wu Guanzhong: "Good art will shock you." The viewer does not need to understand the specifics of the painting, but rather connect to a quasi-spiritual experience beyond the work, a feeling that is exciting, yet almost jarring, approaching the border of the magnificent.
Lan Zhenghui's work has been collected by Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey; Rubell Family Museum, Miami, United States; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou; Consul General of British Consulate in Guangzhou; Consul General of German Consulate in Guangzhou; Artron Group, China, to name a few.
BIOGRAPHY
1959 Born in Sichuan, China
1985 Active participant in the "85 New Wave" Movement
1987 Graduated from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts
1987-93 Teaching at Chong Qing University, Chong Qing, China
1988 Attended the Huangshan Conference, an important event about the creation of Chinese Modern Art
1992-93 Listed in the Year Book of Chinese Art Collection, by Shenzhen Art Research Society, Shenzhen, China
2002 Moved to Toronto, Canada
2007 Return to Beijing, China
2010 Endorsement artist for German BMW
2012 Endorsement artist for French Citroën DS and Italian tailor-made costume, Kiton
2013 Honored guest for the Mephisto Art Seminar, Beijing, China
Limited-edition product co-designed for Schiesser, Germany. Video “Germany Schiesser Culture Tour: Co-operative design by ink artist Lan Zhenghui”
2015 Endorsement artist for GGerman Mercedes-Benz special Project
2020 Listed in the Chinese Abstract Art Archive Programme, Songzhuang Contemporary Art Archive, Beijing, China
Present Lives in Beijing, China & Toronto, Canada
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
- Lan Zhenghui: Infinite Form, Eastover Contemporary Art Space, Lenox, Massachusetts, USA
2022
- Lan Zhenghui: De-Ink, Crossing Art, New York, USA
2019
- Lan Zhenghui: Full Moon at West Lake, Art West Lake, 2nd International Ink Wash Fair, Alisan Fine Arts, Hangzhou Peace International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hangzhou, China
- Lan Zhenghui Solo Exhibition, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
2017
- Lan Zhenghui Re-thINK, Ethan Cohen Fine Art, New York, USA; Salotto Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
2016
- Solo exhibition, Ruth Marder Gallery, Maryland Institute of Art, Maryland, USA
2015
- Lan Zhenghui: Mana Contemporary residency project & solo exhibition, New York, USA
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Ink Painting by Lan Zhenghui, Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Customer Experience, Mercedes-Benz special Project, Dadu Museum of Art, Beijing, China
2014
- The Phaeton and Lan Zhenghui Ink Painting, Author Gallery, Shanghai, China
- Colour Extending, Canadian Fine Arts Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2013
- Vigorous Splash-stroke of Heavy Ink: Lan Zhenghui Solo Exhibition, Sanshang Art, Hangzhou, China
2012
- Lan Zhenghui Solo Exhibition, Castle of Malcesine, Verona, Italy
2010
- The Great Ink: My Road of Abstraction Lan Zhenghui, Jindu Art Centre, 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China
- Light Ink Deep Feeling, Qie Lu Gallery, Beijing, China
2009
- Cross Flow-Motion, Energy Gallery, Toronto, Canada
- Mighty Rain: Lan Zhenghui Solo Exhibition, O House Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia
2006
- Heavy Ink Painting by Lan Zhenghui, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2004
- Contemporary Ink Painting Special Show by Lan Zhenghui for 1000 Years Celebration of Porcelain, Jingde Zhen, China
2003
- Running Ink, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
- Creation of the Work Stride, Performance Art, IS Gallery, Toronto, Canada
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2020
2018
- West Bund Art & Design Fair 2018, Alisan Fine Arts, West Bund Art Centre, Shanghai, China
- International Ink Artists, Ink Asia 2018, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
2017
- Imperial Park: Shenzhenism, Selected works exhibition from China-Italy Biennial, Shenzhen, China
- Boundless: Ongoing Chinese Ink Art 2017, Art Museum of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Sichuan, China
- Art Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Art Central, Hong Kong
- Ink in the Present Days, Shanghai Himalayas Museum, Shanghai, China
- Art Stage, Singapore
2016
- Traces of Heart, Yuan Art Museum, Beijing, China
- Ink Asia, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong
- Art Miami, Miami, USA
- Art Central, Hong Kong
- Art Stage, Singapore
2015
- Art Toronto International Art Expo, Toronto, Canada
- 3rd Biennial China-Italia, Turin, Italy
- In Riotous Profusion: The New Possibilities of Ink Art, De Markten Gallery, Brussels, Belgium; Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing, China; Research House for Asian Art, Chicago, United States; Ten-Po Art, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- Venice Biennial: Creating Identities, Venice, Italy
- Abstract Art of China, 798 Shone-show Gallery, Beijing, China
- Art Central, Hong Kong
- The Being of Nihility: Lan Zhenghui’s Art Appraisal Event, Europ'Art China, Shanghai, China
2014
- Art’s New World 2014: 1st International Shapers Art Fine Art Expo, Zhongshan, Guangdong, China
- Art Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
- Art Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Rendering the Future: Chinese Contemporary Ink Painting, Asia Art Centre, 798 Art Zone, Beijing, China
- Memory: 2nd Biennial China-Italia, Beijing, China
2013
- 28 Chinese: The Rubell Family Collection, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas, USA
- Freedom Degree 4: The Chinese Contemporary Ink Exhibition, Nina Torres Fine Art, Miami, USA
- Beyond Abstraction: Explorations in Contemporary Chinese Ink, Poligono Gallery, Marbella, Spain
- 3rd Beauty of Crossover Art Show, Comfort Magazine, Shanghai, China
- Forms of the Formless: Exhibition of China Contemporary Art, Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan, China
- Undoing Shuimo, Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
2012
- Art Stage, Singapore
- 4th Guangzhou Triennial, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
- Taipei International Modern Ink Painting Biennial, Taipei, Taiwan
2010
- Art Dubai 2010, Dubai, UAE
- Toronto Art Expo 2010, Toronto, Canada
- Ink-Painting Mode and Space, Ink and Wash Union of Song Zhuang, Beijing, China
- The Era of Ink Painting, Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
2009
- Meditation from the East, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
- Ink Painting Today: 2009 Shanghai New Ink Art Exhibition, Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai, China
- Return to Modern, 09 Chinese Abstract Art Exhibition, West Lake Art Gallery, Hangzhou, China
2008-09
2008
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Contemporary Ink Art: Evolution, Museum of Contemporary Art, Beijing, China; RAAB Galerie, Bonn, Germany; Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University, USA; National Dr Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, Taiwan
- China Blue: Chinese Contemporary Ink Painting Exhibition, Katrinetorps, Sweden
- Seoul International Modern Calligraphic Art Exhibition, Seoul, Korea
- Abstract Art Exhibition, Palace Museum, Beijing, China
2007
- Love for Ink: 2nd Invitational Exhibition by 100 Renowned Artists, Ink and Wash Union of Song Zhuang, Song Zhuang Art Centre, Beijing, China
2006
- Ink and Wash and the Contemporary Era: 1st Invitational Exhibition of the Ink and Wash Union of Song Zhuang, Song Zhuang Art Centre, Beijing, China
2005
- China Day Exhibition, Cortland University, New York, USA
- Asian Heritage Month GTA: The Great Waterfalls Painting Show, Toronto, Canada
2004
- Running Ink Travelling Exhibition, Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater, Toronto, Canada
2001
- Emotion Accumulation: Five Artists Oil Painting Exhibition (artist and curator), Fan Gallery, Beijing, China
1999
- Ink Painting Installation Exhibition, Artist Commune, Hong Kong
- 14th Asia International Art Exhibition, Fukuoka, Japan
1993
- 1st China Art Fair, China
1989
- 1st China Modern Art Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
SELECTED AWARDS
2006 Art Committee Annual Award, Ontario, Canada
2013 "Comfort" Cross-over Art of the Year, Ford, Shanghai, China
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Florida Gulf Coast University, California, USA
Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, USA
Rubell Family Collection Museum, Miami, USA
Chinese Cultural Centre, Greater Toronto, Canada
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
MoCA Beijing, Beijing, China
Song Zhuang Ink Painting League, Beijing, China
Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
Consul General of British Consulate in Guangzhou, China
Consul General of German Consulate in Guangzhou, China
Artron Group, Shenzhen, China
