Wang Chuan

Born in 1953 in Chengdu, China, Wang Chuan was an active proponent of the 1980s New Wave Movement. In 1978, he was admitted to the guohua department at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Chongqing, where he studied traditional guohua painting and oil painting. After graduating in 1982, he, like artists of his generation, produced realistic oil paintings. It wasn’t until 1984 that he became highly interested in abstract ink painting. In 1986, he organised the National Symposium of 85 New Wave Movement Artworks in Zhuhai, and curated the first street exhibition Zero in Shenzhen. In 1989, he participated in the important exhibition Modern Chinese Art held at the National Art Museum of China, in Beijing. In the late 1980s, he moved to Shenzhen, and in 1990 he settled in Guangzhou. In 1997, he contracted stomach cancer. In a recent letter to the gallery he stated “after being informed, Mrs. King asked her daughter to write a cheque of ten thousand dollars to treat my illness. For me it was truly a timely assistance. Mrs. King is indeed my savior and benefactor.” During this period he expressed his feelings towards the diagnosis in a body of ink paintings. He was artist-in-residence at Shenzhen Art Academy in 2005 and currently lives in Beijing.