Pan Gongkai

1947

Ninghai Zhejiang China

The son of renowned 20th-century master Pan Tianshou (1897–1971), Pan Gongkai was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on January 24, 1947. He previously served as president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing. Pan Gongkai represented China at the Venice Biennale in 2011 and has exhibited in numerous museums across Asia. A contemporary master of ink painting, Pan has been one of the most ardent experimenters with its forms.

When studying the art of his father Pan Tianshou in the 1980s, the artist began to reckon the importance of xieyi, that is the expression of spontaneity and the spirit of a being through brush works. Through this expressive technique and his preservation of the traditional concept of ink and brush, Pan's works exude the elegance of the ancient literati. However, his firm belief in producing large-scale works in a large brush and big splashes of ink (da bi da mo) confirms his sensitivity of how ink paintings can fit in the contemporary art context.

Particularly occupied with the recent and rapid explosion of Western influence on China in the last century, Pan’s works explore the intersections and divergences between Eastern and Western art traditions. By combining elements of both perspectives, he presents a new relevancy of Chinese brush and ink painting in today’s world. This fusion of Chinese and Western techniques, once viewed as completely divergent artistic practices, results in a series of work that does not seek to reconcile the differences between the East and West but rather adapts their unique qualities to reflect a global perspective from today’s China.

BIOGRAPHY
1947 Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
1964-1968 Studied at the Middle School Attached to the Zhejiang Academy of Art
1968-1979 During the Down to the Countryside Movement in Cultural Revolution transferred to a rural region in southern Zhejiang
1978 Studied at the Chinese Painting Department of Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (now China Academy of Art)
1979-1986 Served as a teacher in Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts
1986-1987 Director of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts
1987-1992 Director of the Chinese Painting Department Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts
1992-1994 Visiting professor of Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley and offered an honorary doctorate degree by the San Francisco Art Institute
1994-1996 Director of the Research Department, China Academy of Art
1996-2001 President of China Academy of Art
2001 President, professor and Ph.D. candidate mentor of Central Academy of Arts, Vice Chairman of Chinese Artists' Association, member of the National Committee of CPPC
2014 Retired from the President of Central Academy of Arts
2021 Listed in Chinese Ink Art Year Book, Culture and Art Publisher, Beijing, China

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2016

Explore the Ink Brush: Ink Art by Pan Gongkai, China Art Palace, Shanghai, China

2013

Pan Gongkai – Dispersion and Generation, Today Art Museum, Beijing, China

2011

Melting, large multimedia installation, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

2010

Mis-conception and Transfer of Minds: Beyond Duchamp, Art Museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China

2006-2013

Still Water Running Dee: Pan Gongkai Solo Exhibition, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo, Japan; Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, Taiwan; Macau Museum of Art, Macau; Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong; National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022

Being, Zhi Art Museum, Chengdu, China

2016

Variations in Ink, Ink Asia, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, USA
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, USA
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, USA
Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo, Japan
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, China
Ningbo Museum of Art, Ningbo, China
Ningbo Bang Museum, Ningbo, China
Sichuan Art Gallery, Chengdu, China
Jiangsu Art Museum, Nanjing, China
Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an, China
Tianjin Art Museum, Tianjin, China
Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, Wuhan, China
Art Gallery of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, Shenyang, China
Shandong University of Art and Design, Jinan, China
Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, Taiwan
Macau Museum of Art, Macau
Macau Polytechnic Institute, Macau