Shao Fan

executed in 1996, this work is unique

France, Amiens, Picardie National Museum, New Phenomenon in Contemporary Chinese Art, 2000
Beijing, Invitational Arts Exhibition French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, Who am I?, 2001

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Shao Fan 

Shao Fan, born 1964 in Beijing, is a designer, sculptor and painter.  Known for being multi-faceted in his approach, he excelled in painting in his childhood, but went on to amalgamate furniture design with visual art. 

After graduating from the Beijing Arts and Crafts College in 1984, he began focusing on three-dimensional installations including furniture, woodwork, and ceramics.  In particular, Shao was influenced by Ming furniture, believing it to be the nucleus of Chinese philosophy.  Shao Fan is most widely recognised for his reinterpretation of Ming furniture by adding modern elements.  He infuses his background in Ming furniture with modern practices, materials, and forms, expressing the social challenges in China through his work.  Together with his friend Ai Weiwei, Shao is one of the first Chinese designers to deconstruct furniture.  His use of mundane materials such as elm and catalpa are a tongue-in-cheek play on the modern trend of furniture imitation in China.  Versatile, Shao Fan is also an oil painter, specializing in the ‘literati’ style of painting. 

Internationally renowned, Shao is the first modern Chinese artist to be exhibited in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.  As a social expressionist, a modernized furniture designer inspired by ancient works, a sculptor, and a talented painter, Shao Fan is the emblem of China’s modern transformation.