Born in 1955 in Fujian, China
Lives and works in Hangzhou, China
Xu Jiang graduated from the oil painting department at the China National Academy of Art in 1982, and later studied at Hochschule für Bildende Kunste Hamburg in Germany. He currently serves as president, professor, and doctoral advisor of the China Academy of Art; vice chairman of the China Artists Association; vice chairman of the China Oil Painting Association; chairman of the Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles; and chairman of the Zhejiang Artists’ Association. He is also an extensively published arts author. He was ranked among the 2004 Power 100 by ArtReview.
Many of his past solo exhibitions pivoted around the imagery of the sunflower garden, which for him represents the idea of home. Spanning the immensity of space and time within a grand composition, Xu Jiang conjures an acutely solemn sense of history, imbuing his visual narrative with a tenacious spirit, a poetic concern about history, nature, society, and life. His work, both painting and writing, epitomizes his creative advances in art making, as well as his trenchant commentary on modern-day consumerism.
Xu has exhibited internationally, including at Art Basel in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China (2013); Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, China (2010); Constructed Dimension — 2010 Chinese Contemporary Art Invitational Exhibition, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China (2010); Redemption of a Sunflower Garden: New Works of Xu Jiang, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China (2009); Overlooking: Xu Jiang’s Painting, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China (2007); 10thVenice Biennale of Architecture, Venice, Italy (2006); Pintura Contemporánea China (Contemporary Chinese Painting), MAC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago, Chile (2002); Landscapes of Historyin conjunction with a residency, Bethanien Art Center, Berlin, Germany (2001); and Hamburg Kulturforum, Hamburg, Germany (1989).