JIANG TIEFENG

Born in Ningbo, China in 1938, Jiang Tiefeng showed a very early talent for painting and sculpture. In 1959 he entered the renowned Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing. Upon graduating in 1964, he and several other artists went to the province of Yunnan on the Vietnamese border. During this time he painted the now famous poster of Chairman Mao, featuring the large red face. The colorful area of Yunnan inspired Jiang, who along with two other artists, founded the Yunnan School of Art style, originally called the "Heavy Colorist" school.

Jiang continued his hugely popular style with great success and popularity throughout China. But early in the 1980s the repressive policies of the Chinese communist regime chose to return to Social Realism, thus de-popularizing Jiang and his style of art.

About this same time, his works were introduced in the United States, where they found a sizable following and sold well. In 1983 he came to the U.S. as part of a cultural exchange program at the University of Southern California, and shortly thereafter moved to Minnesota. His works have been both popular and commercially successful ever since, making him one of the best selling and renowned of the Chinese artists.

Changes in government and philosophy have caught up with Jiang, and in 2003 he once again was recognized in his native land, being commissioned by the Chinese government to return and create a mural in the style that has made him so popular ... a style strikingly evident in his images, and perhaps best described by the artist himself:

“An artist is not a photographer: my work is my understanding of life. It is difficult for me to remember what distances I have traveled, how many mountains I have climbed, how many rivers I have crossed, and how many villages I have passed through. I can only recall the countless joyous moments and hardships of the past years from the many pictures I have painted. My deep love of the colorful earth and for Xishuangbanna, a region of the Yunnan Province, has encouraged me to explore and create unceasingly. Such a mysterious land, blessed with unique beauty offers innumerable subjects to be painted. My paintings are not only pictures, they are also music and poetry that is bewitching, sweet dreams that are being dreamed.”