Yang Jiechang

Place: Foshan

Born: 1956

Biography:

Yang Jiechang was born in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China in 1956. He is a contemporary artist of Chinese origin, known for his proficiency in traditional Chinese media. Yang Jiechang grew up during the Cultural Revolution and received a traditional education from his grandfather. He learned calligraphy and other traditional Chinese techniques, such as paper-mounting, ink painting and meticulous color painting as an apprentice at the Foshan Folk Art Institute. He then studied Chinese painting at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, where he taught until 1988. Yang Jiechang was part of the first generation of art students after the Cultural Revolution and the beginning of his artistic career coincided with China's political opening in the late 1970s and 1980s. In 1988, French curator Jean-Hubert Martin invited him to take part in the exhibition 'Magiciens de la terre' in Paris. Yang emigrated to Europe in 1988, where he still lives and works today.