Wang Xiaosong (Chinese: 王小松; born 1964) is a Chinese artist and professor. Having studied in Beijing and Berlin from 1983 to 1997, Wang uses a confluence of Chinese and Western art in his works.
Since childhood, Wang was fond of creating clay figures. His grandfather and grandmother were a craftsman and a housewife, respectively. His mother was a singer in Wuhan. One of his uncles played the piano, another played the flute, and his aunt was a dancer. Wang noted in an interview that his "living environment was full of the arts".[2]
Wang began to learn drawing and calligraphy as a teenager. He attended Wuhan Experimental School, where he "practiced sketching and colors".[2] In 1983, he began his studies at the Central Academy of Arts & Design in Beijing—now known as the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University. Under the supervision of professors Liu Jude and Yu Binnan, Wang majored in Book Decoration, graduating in 1987.[1][3]
In 1990, Wang moved to Berlin, where he majored in Visual Communication at the Berlin University of the Arts with professors Spohn and Bernhard Boës. In 1992, he settled in Berlin, working as a freelance artist and designer.[1] In 1994, Wang was accepted as a member of the German Artists Society (Association of German Artists).[4]
In 1996, he became a Director and Cultural General Supervisor at the Germany-China Cultural Exchanges Association. From 1997 to 2003, he taught at Victor Gollancz Volkshochschule Steglitz in Berlin.[4] In 2003, he moved back to China and has since served as a doctoral advisor, professor, and dean of the Visual Communication Design Department in the Academy of Fine Arts at Zhejiang University.[4][5]
In addition to his activities as an artist and lecturer, Wang, in cooperation with Berlin architect Peter Ruge, maintains an architectural office in Hangzhou, where numerous new buildings and urban designs are conceived, organized, and realized.[6]
Wang's early work occupies an ambivalent middle ground between the abstract (textures, shapes, and patterns) and the figurative (wounds and anthropomorphic figures on the surface).[2][15] In some of his works, such as Offenes China, cuts similar to those used by Lucio Fontana break the unity of the canvas, giving it a three-dimensional dynamic.[15]
The concepts of generation and decease are central in Wang's oeuvre, which becomes political when it addresses overpopulation, mass control, and uniformity.[15]
In Wang's later works, such as Ohne Titel (blau), these themes remain at the center of his oeuvre. However, for the artist, there is no more need to rely on representative symbols of birth and annihilation, such as cuts and people.[16][failed verification]
„Return“; Mountains and Rivers: A Tour of Exhibitions of Contemporary Chinese and German Artists, Lübeck Museum, Lübeck, Germany, 2007[1]
Imagery Mt. Wuyi: The Debut Interactive Creation of Chinese, Vis-a-vis German Artists, International Travelling Exhibitions, Sanshang, Art Beijing, Shanghai Art Museum, China, 2006[1]
Pressure and Power in Changeable Era, International Art Camp in Song Village, Beijing, China, 2006[1]
Imagery Mt. Wuyi: Exhibition of the debut interactive creation of Chinese vis-a-vis German Artists, Villages in Mt. Wuyi, Wuyi Mountain Villa, Fujian, China, 2005[1]
Not Dawn Yet, The Courtyard Gallery, Beijing, China, 2005[1]
Wang Xiaosong, Unruly Ants, German/English/Chinese, 235 p., Hirmer Verlag, Munich 2012. Catalogue of the exhibition "Unkontrollierte Ameisen": 24 August - 15 September 2013, Künstlerhaus Wien
Le Nuove Opere Di Wang Xiaosong, Italian/English, 145 p., Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence, 2013. Catalogue of the exhibition "Breaking Boundaries": 8 August - 3 September 2013, Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Empty Layer - Collections of Wang Xiaosong, Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, China, 2010
Collections of Wang Xiaosong (1992-2002), Hentrich & Hentrich Verlag, Germany, 2003
Pinocchio ist züruck ("Pinocchio has returned"), Shoten Publishers, Japan, 1998
