Artist Biography

JIANG, TIE-FENG

At age 19 he was accepted to the prestigious Central Art Institute in Beijing. In 1963 he graduated with honors – the last class to be schooled in the traditional Chinese art disciplines due to Mao’s unleashing of his Cultural Revolution. Jiang moved to Yunnan Province where he was forced to create propaganda posters and sculptures. Risking severe punishment, Jiang worked in secret to create his new modern style, rejecting the Red Guards and their “Social Realism”.

This was the beginning of the Yunnan School, characterized by the use of bold, heavy colors and abstract imagery. Interwoven into Jiang’s work are symbols illustrating the unique folklore and customs of the minority peoples of Yunnan.

In 1980 Jiang completed a monumental mural that is permanently installed at the Great Hall Of The People in Beijing.

In 1982 the Yunnan School was first exhibited outside communist China in Hong Kong at the Institute Of Art And Design.

In 1983 Jiang came to the United States on an exchange program to teach art at The University of Southern California. Later, in 1984, he permanently moved to America.

Jiang’s themes are universal. His paintings depict primordial human emotions, motherly love, fertility and strength. Jiang feels there are close bonds among all living things and a harmony of peace that we should always strive to achieve.