Kong Baiji

1932-2018

Shanghai China

Kong Baiji is recognized worldwide for his Dunhuang paintings of graceful bodhisattvas. In 2009 the US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Shanghai's mayor Han Zheng in front of Kong Baiji's large mural at the Xijiao State Guest House, China's equivalent of Camp David, in Shanghai.

Born in Shanghai in 1932, Kong Baiji is a gifted self-taught painter. In 1956 he began teaching Fine Arts at the Shanghai Drama Academy and became head of the department in 1976. His first solo exhibition was held in Shanghai in 1964, and by 1979 he was considered an esteemed painter, likened to Zhu Qizhan, Yan Wenliang, and Jui Guoliang. From 1979 to 1983 he made frequent visits to the Buddhist caves at Dunhuang in Gansu, and the Yongle Palace Murals in Shanxi, drawing inspiration from China’s rich heritage.

Subsequently, Kong created a series of Dunhuang Images depicting graceful bodhisattvas using oil paints on rice paper, a revolutionary approach in Chinese painting. The series was well-received on the world stage and was exhibited in Japan and the United States. In 1982, he took part in a joint exhibition, Chinese Modern Paintings, which travelled to various museums in the United States. In 1986, he settled in the United States and further experimented with incorporating elements of Western art in his creative practices. Harvard University organised one of his first solo exhibitions in the United States in 1988, only two years after his arrival. He passed away in Shanghai in 2018 at the age of 86.

Alisan Fine Arts was the first gallery in Hong Kong to exhibit Kong’s works in a solo show in 2006. The year before, the Shanghai Art Museum held a solo exhibition of his works. He has staged solo exhibitions at the Fukuoka Art Museum in Kyushu, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. His paintings have been collected by Harvard University; First National Bank of Chicago; Fukuoka Art Museum; Peace Memorial Museum; Hokkaido Art Museum; Zhejiang Art Museum; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Shanghai Art Museum.

BIOGRAPHY
1932   Born in Shanghai, China
1944-48   Studied traditional Chinese painting with a master
1952   Graduated from Secondary School of Commercial Art, Shanghai, China
1956   Taught Fine Arts at the Shanghai Drama Academy, China
1966   Paintings destroyed during the Cultural Revolution
1976   Professor and Head of the Fine Arts Department, Shanghai Drama Academy, China
1979&83   Visited Buddhist cave at Dunhuang in Northwest China & the Yongle Palace, Shanxi, China
1986   Listed in the Japanese “Who’s Who in Art”，Emigrated to the United States
2005   Commissioned to paint a huge oil painting on paper for the conference center of the Xijiao State Guest House, Shanghai, China
2008   Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng in front of Kong Baiji’s large mural at Xijiao State Guest House in Shanghai. Industrialist Terry Guo and Shanghai Vice-Mayor Yang Xiong also at the venue.
2009   U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng in front of Kong Baiji's large mural at the Xijiao State Guest House in Shanghai
2018   Passed away in Shanghai at the age of 86

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016

The Life in Blossom, Hailan Gallery, Shenzhen, China

2012

Retrospective Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China

2007

Shanghai Art Museum, China

2006

Kong Baiji, Modern Master: Innovations in Oil on Rice Paper, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2005

Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China

2000-3

Kudo Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

1999

Arts of Pacific Asia Show, New York, USA

1998

Gifu Art Museum, Gifu, Japan

1996

Wall Street Art Museum, New York, USA

1993

Tagashimaya Art Gallery, Nagoya; Maruzen Gallery, Tokyo; Gifu Art Gallery, Gifu, Japan

1992

Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima, Japan

1991

Shangari Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Fukuoka Art Museum, Kyushu, Japan

1990

Sogetsu Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan

1989

Hanart Gallery, New York, USA
Central Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

1988

Art Waves Gallery; Ronin Gallery, New York, USA

1987

Queensborough College Art Gallery, New York, USA
Harvard University, Boston, USA

1985

Travelling exhibition, 16 cities, Japan

1982

Smith College Museum of Art, North Hampton, USA

1981

Travelling Exhibition by the Japanese Contemporary Artist Association, 15 cities, Japan

1980

Dunhuang Images, Shanghai, China

1964

Portraits of Peasants, Shanghai Arts Hall, Shanghai, China

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018

Forever Icons, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong

2011

Post-Mao Dreaming: Chinese Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, USA

2010

Shanghai Expo, Shanghai, China

2009

Post-Mao Dreaming: Chinese Contemporary Art, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, USA

2007

Infinite Shades: Contemporary Chinese Ink, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA

2001

Modern Paintings in the World, New York, USA

1999

Art Fair, New York, USA
Sotheby's International Modern Paintings, New York, USA

1997

25 Years of Chinese Art, London, UK
Spring International Art Exhibition, New York, USA

1996

Contemporary Chinese Art Exhibition, London, UK

1994

Contemporary & Modern Chinese Painting Exhibition, Discovery Museum, Connecticut, USA

1987

Beyond the Open Door: Contemporary Paintings from The People's Republic of China (the first North American exhibition of contemporary Chinese art after the Cultural Revolution), USC Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, USA
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, USA

1984

Joint Exhibition with Qiu Deshu, Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, USA

1982

Modern Chinese Painting Exhibition, Smith College Museum of Art, Massachusetts; Boston City Hall; Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA

1979

Joint Exhibition of Yan Wenliang, Zhu Qizhan & Jui Guoliang, Shanghai, China

1978

The Twelve Artists Show, Shanghai, China

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Lincoln Center, New York, USA
Harvard University, Boston, USA
Queenborough College, New York, USA
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA
First National Bank of Chicago, Chicago, USA
Kinpusen Temple, Nara, Japan
Sogetsu Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Fukuoka Art Museum, Kyushu, Japan
Fukuoka University, Kyushu, Japan
Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima, Japan
Hokkaido Art Museum, Hokkaido, Japan
Gifu University, Gifu, Japan
Fukui University, Fukui, Japan
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Xijiao State Guesthouse, Shanghai, China
Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, China
Fujian Art Museum, Fuzhou, China
Hubei Art Museum, Wuhan, China