Fang Jun
Fang Jun was born 1943 in Jiangsu, China. In 1965, he graduated from the Department of Fine Arts of Nanjing Normal College, and in 1981 he finished his postgraduate studies of Chinese painting at the Department of Fine Arts of Nanjing Institute of Arts. Since 1983 he worked as a teacher at Nanjing Institute of Arts, and in 1990 he became Head of the Department of Fine Arts.
Jun is a member of the Chinese Painting Institute of Jiangsu province, and one of the directors of Jiangsu Artists Association as well as a member of the Jiangsu Art Committee. He has been given the Noma Literary Prize, a UNESCO award, and he has been awarded the outstanding artwork prize in the Sixth National Art Exhibition. His works can be found in art collections worldwide.
Fang Jun uses traditional Chinese painting techniques and practices Shan Shui; quite literally meaning ‘mountain water’ these pieces often explore the dichotomy and serendipity between earth and water or, as is seen throughout Jun’s work, land and river.
The pigments for the ink paintings are produced by the artist himself, mixing minerals with water. In this way, the landscapes take on a natural appearance, with a limited palette of colours in the traditional blues and greens of the Shan Shui technique. Like all well-esteemed traditional Chinese painters, he combines painting with poetry.
His still life landscapes communicate a story to the viewer, drawing inspiration from Shandong, a northern province in China, they are more abstract than traditional forms on Shan Shui, creating space for the viewer's imagination.
Exhibited previously:
2000 Zai Hua Art Gallery, Guangzhou, China
2001 20th Anniversary of Helongjiang Province Painting Academy, China​
2003 Fine Art Section of China Academy of Art Studies, China
2005 Cathay Gallery "The Spirit of Chinese Landscape Painting", Paris, France
2006 "Contemporary Chinese Landscape Paintings", Zhengzhou, China
2008 Culture Center of Jakarta Chuang Jia Academy, Jakarta, Malaysia
Public Collections:
National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
Jiangsu Art Museum, China
Awards:
Noma Literary Prize
UNESCO Award
Outstanding Art Works Prize, Sixth National Art Exhibition