Hsia Yan was born into a wealthy family in Xiangxiang, Hunan Provence, but raised as an orphan in Nanjing after his parents passed away early in his life. When the war began, the young artist served in the military and drifted from cities to cities before settling in Taiwan in 1949. Here, he studied art with Lee Chun-shan and founded one of the most important artist group called Tongfang Art Group with fellow students including Hsiao Chin, Huo Gang, Chen Daoming, O-yang Wen-yuan, Hsiao Ming-hsian. In 1963 he went to Paris to study art and it was during the five years that he spent there when he developed "fuzzy man," his signature style that symbolizes the absurdity and sense of isolation of modern existence as well as the artist's sadness for a life of vagrancy. Soon after Paris, Hsia moved to New York and explored photorealism before returning to Taiwan again in 1992. Currently he lives in Shanghai, where he continues to explore different styles and forms of contemporary art with concepts that emanate an Eastern charm that is both robust and spiritual.
