Sun Xiaodong

       Sun Xiaodong is a painter from Beijing, originally from Liaoning Province, a member of a democratic party, and a renowned contemporary artist who has held positions or served as an academic advisor for numerous cultural and artistic institutions under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Education. He has also served as a professor, visiting professor, or doctoral supervisor at multiple universities. He has been honored with titles such as Outstanding Chinese Artist, Cultural Ambassador of Chinese Civilization, and Meritorious Artist, and is among China’s most artistically accomplished and collectible artists today.

       Sun Xiaodong’s works have been exhibited extensively both domestically and internationally, and he has held numerous solo exhibitions and group shows with master artists. He has published multiple art albums and enjoys significant international influence. He approaches painting with seriousness, lives with generosity, reveres art, and loves the people. Over the past forty-plus years, he has devoted his heart and soul to the cause of culture and art. His achievements have been featured by nearly two hundred news media outlets, including CCTV, Beijing Television, People’s Daily, China Daily, Beijing Evening News, Xinhuanet, China.org.cn, and Phoenix News. Domestic magazines such as Educational Exploration, Adult Education, and World Knowledge have conducted in-depth interviews with him, and his life and work have been included in numerous authoritative publications, including The Records of China’s Reform, The Monument of Reform, Talent of the National Committee of the CPPCC, Selected Works of Chinese Painting, 100 Masters Who Influenced China’s Art Scene in the Century of the Founding of the CPC, Chinese Art Masterpieces of the Century, Memories of the Republic, and Who’s Who in the World.

       In 2012, China Literature and Art Publishing House published the album “Three Masters of Art” featuring Fan Zeng, Sun Xiaodong, and Liu Dawei. In 2013, Tianjin People’s Fine Arts Publishing House released the album “Contemporary Masters of Ink and Brush,” featuring Fan Zeng, Sun Xiaodong, and Liu Wenshi. In 2016, China Book and Culture Publishing House published the album “International Art Master Sun Xiaodong,” which had its world premiere and free distribution at the Picasso Museum, and was subsequently distributed at major international art events, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Musée d’Orsay in France, the New York International Art Fair, and the Cologne International Art Fair. In 2019, during the grand celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the World Knowledge Picture Press of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a special issue titled “National Gift Master,” prominently featuring Sun Xiaodong’s artwork on its front page alongside other eminent artists such as Wu Weishan, He Jiaying, and Zhan Jianjun. This special issue was distributed globally to Chinese diplomatic and foreign-affairs institutions, representing Chinese artists in promoting Chinese culture. In 2022, he was appointed Art Ambassador for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. As an outstanding Chinese artist and cultural ambassador of Chinese civilization, he and his peers have contributed significantly to the development of Chinese art and its global outreach. While diligently studying painting, Sun Xiaodong is also a philanthropist who remains detached from fame and fortune. As early as the 1990s, through his personally funded education foundation, he assisted over two hundred disadvantaged students in completing their education. During the severe floods of 1998, he invested substantial resources to send monthly free science and technology publications on agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry to more than ten thousand impoverished villages across the country for six consecutive months, effectively helping local residents escape poverty. In recent years, he has repeatedly participated in charitable activities, donating money and goods to children suffering from illness and disability; many charitable organizations—including the Yanran Angel Foundation, the China Charity Federation, and schools for intellectually disabled children—have received his generous donations. He often says: “If an artist overly values fame and profit, it becomes difficult to create great works. On the path of art, one must be willing to become a pilgrim.” It is precisely because of this profound vision and unwavering pursuit that he has reached such a lofty artistic realm—a true embodiment of the integration of art and virtue in Sun Xiaodong’s career.

       Observing Sun Xiaodong paint, one finds no rigid conventions—he picks up his brush and begins with mountains, trees, clouds, or water; no matter how he starts, he always completes a monumental masterpiece filled with awe-inspiring momentum. His brushwork draws upon the strengths of countless masters, mastering both ancient and modern techniques with equal proficiency: splashing ink, sprinkling water, loose brushstrokes outlining contours, bold washes of color—all reminiscent of the style of Fu Baoshi. Few contemporary ink painters possess such mastery in landscape technique. Sun Xiaodong’s landscape paintings primarily exhibit three styles: traditional, modern, and abstract ink. Whether traditional or modern, each reveals his solid and profound artistic foundation—an extraordinary rarity in today’s art scene. His traditional landscapes are richly composed, clearly layered, sometimes delicate and refined, sometimes grand and majestic. Each painting resembles a poem: mountains endlessly transform, strokes flow like drifting clouds, mountains surrounded by clouds, clouds revealing mountains—all executed in one swift motion, seemingly divinely created. His modern-style landscapes are even more distinctive. He frequently creates large-scale landscapes, drawing inspiration mainly from the famous mountains and rivers of western China, characterized by full, vigorous compositions and majestic, powerful scenes. Sometimes entire mountains loom oppressively, suffocating the viewer; at other times, rolling clouds evoke boundless serenity and exhilaration. Through modern techniques, he integrates the spiritual essence of Eastern and Western cultures with traditional Chinese painting methods, infusing his works with a strong sense of contemporary vitality. His abstract ink art is truly remarkable. He says he has painted too many earthly scenes and now seeks to explore the techniques of cosmic painting. Thus, in recent years, he has focused intensely on abstract ink experimentation, creating major series such as Meteorite, Polar Regions, and Celestial Light, establishing himself as a pioneer in using ink techniques to explore cosmic themes. He asserts that fame and fortune are secondary to him; the essence of an artist lies in being ahead of one’s time, always leading the era. One can trace his journey through his paintings; when you enter his artistic world and understand his plein-air experiences, the answers naturally unfold.

       In the 1980s, Sun Xiaodong immersed himself in the study of traditional Chinese painting, working late into every night. Two depressions remain on the floor of his studio—indentations left by his daily standing posture while painting. He believes that reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles are the most essential pursuits in any scholar’s life. To attain the highest artistic realm, he rode his bicycle alone on extended sketching trips across China, during an era when road infrastructure was underdeveloped and many regions lacked roads. He traversed seventeen provinces and autonomous regions, visiting China’s famed mountains and rivers: climbing the Taihang Mountains, crossing the Lüliang Ranges, living in cave dwellings in northern Shaanxi, passing through the Hexi Corridor, paying homage to the Dunhuang Grottoes, entering the Taklamakan Desert, and crossing the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. His footsteps have graced every corner of the land—from south to north, inside and outside the Great Wall. On the Loess Plateau, he drank no water; on the Gobi Desert, he braved wind and露宿; atop snowy peaks, he shared the wild with wolves. These arduous journeys provided him with abundant inspiration and material for his future creations. The Qing dynasty painter Shi Tao once said, “Collect all marvelous peaks to draft your sketches.” Sun Xiaodong truly lived this principle—he has painted every river and mountain in China. Such firsthand experience is the finest foundation for any painter. Within the past century, no artist has traveled as far or endured as much hardship as he has. As a painter, Sun Xiaodong is the epitome of immersion in life. If Van Gogh achieved fame through his selfless devotion to art, then Sun Xiaodong has likewise earned acclaim by positioning himself as a “pilgrim on the path of art”—freeing himself from worldly distractions, daring to innovate, and forging a new path never before taken. His artworks shine brilliantly and possess tremendous impact. His selfless spirit and exquisite technique were cultivated through reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles. If you are fortunate enough to view his monumental masterpiece “Tian Hui,” created thirty years ago, you will immediately sense that he is the master who dares to knock on the gates of the universe and recreate heaven and earth anew.