Kong Baiji Biography

Born in Shanghai in 1932, Kong Baiji is a gifted self-taught painter. In 1956 he began teaching Fine Arts at the Shanghai Drama Academy and became head of the department in 1976. His first solo exhibition was held in Shanghai in 1964, and by 1979 he was considered an esteemed painter, likened to Zhu Qizhan, Yan Wenliang and Jui Guoliang. From 1979 to 1983 he made frequent visits to the Buddhist caves at Dunhuang in Gansu, and the Yongle Palace Murals in Shanxi, drawing inspiration from China's rich heritage. Subsequently, Kong created a series of Dunhuang Images depicting graceful bodhisattvas using oil paints on rice paper, a revolutionary approach in Chinese painting. The series was well received on the world stage and was exhibited in Japan and the United States. In 1982, he took part in a joint exhibition, Chinese Modern Paintings, which travelled to various museums in the United States. In 1986, he settled in the United States, and further experimented with incorporating elements of Western art in his creative practices. Harvard University organised one of his first solo exhibitions in the United States in 1988, only two years after his arrival. He passed away in Shanghai in 2018 at the age of 86.

Alisan Fine Arts was the first gallery in Hong Kong to exhibit Kong's works in a solo show in 2006. The year before, the Shanghai Art Museum held a solo exhibition of his works. He has staged solo exhibitions at the Fukuoka Art Museum in Kyushu, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. His paintings have been collected by Harvard University; First National Bank of Chicago; Fukuoka Art Museum; Peace Memorial Museum; Hokkaido Art Museum; Zhejiang Art Museum; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Shanghai Art Museum.