Yan Huang Biography
Huang Yang was born in Jilin Province in 1966, graduated from Changchun Normal Academy in 1987 and is currently a professor at Changchun University. Huang began his career as a poet, later becoming a renowned painter, using a variety of media such as ox bones, Mao busts, flowers, musical instruments and, above all, the human body. In 2008, he was awarded the Art Gallery Ontario's first Grange Prize, affording him a residency anywhere in Canada. The artist is also a published author, his books mainly focus on the emergence of new contemporary Chinese artists. His gallery, Must Be Contemporary Art, is based in Beijing. A prolific and multimedia artist, Huang Yan combines painting, photography and sculpture with the traditional form of Chinese art to create his fascinating works. Huang often uses the human body as a canvas, painting classical Chinese landscapes, patterns, flowers and themes onto the faces and bodies of individuals, connecting ancient Chinese tradition, where the naked body is taboo, with modern art. His porcelain busts of Mao attracted attention when they were banned from being taken out of the country for an exhibition in France, as they were considered disrespectful to the deceased leader. Huang seeks to challenge the limitations of traditional Chinese landscape painting and make his viewers question how they perceive Chinese tradition in today's world.
