FANG JUN

Born in Guanyun, Jiangsu Province in 1943, Fang Jun studied in the Art Department at the Nanjing Normal University, and started teaching at the Nanjing Academy of Fine Arts after he received his M.F.A. degree in 1981. Trained in time-honored materials and techniques, Fang has been influenced by the traditions and ideals of the literati painters (wenren) in this historical city, the first capital of the Ming dynasty. Withdrawing from politics and enjoying tranquility in nature has been a dream common among Chinese literati for hundreds of years, and it is one that Fang Jun shares. The compositions of his landscapes evoke masterpieces from the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) , while his fresh and unorthodox palette provides a luminous vision of the waterways and peaks of the lower Yangzi River. Fang Jun achieves such effects by directly applying light colors to his mountains, trees, and rocks, without restricting himself to the rigid texturing technique called “cun”. He spends much time sketching in solitary communion with nature in the beautiful countryside outside Nanjing and integrates contemporary aesthetics in a context which links them into a historical perspective.