www.zhanghongnian.com
Zhang Hongnian is a celebrated Chinese-American oil painter whose works are represented in major permanent collections worldwide, including China’s National Museum, the National Art Museum of China, the National Geographic Society, and the New Britain Museum of American Art. His reputation rests on both his technical mastery and the emotional depth of his subjects, which range from cultural commentary, Tibetan pastoral life, contemporary life to ambitious historical narratives.
Zhang received his formal training at the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, where he distinguished himself among the country’s most promising young painters. His early career, however, was cut short by the Cultural Revolution. Along with his classmates, he was sent to a “re-education” camp, where he endured five years of forced labor.
After returning to Beijing in 1974, Zhang resumed his professional path with employment at the Beijing Art Institute. During this period, he began producing large-scale, multi-figure paintings informed by his travels, memories, and imagination. Ultimately, he turned to addressing his painful experience of the Cultural Revolution, creating powerful works that captured those years with unflinching honesty. These paintings resonated deeply with the Chinese public. Two of these paintings—No! and We Were Young Then—became iconic works of the influential “Scar Art” movement and were acquired by the National Art Museum of China for its permanent collection.
In 1985, Zhang immigrated to the United States, where he became one of the earliest artists to introduce Chinese realism to Western audiences. His early American exhibitions featured Tibetan pastoral scenes, but his work soon broadened to encompass contemporary life in both East and West, as well as expansive historical narratives. Over the past four decades he has exhibited widely across the U.S., with a record of solo shows, invitational exhibitions, and numerous awards in national and international competitions.
Zhang’s contributions extend beyond his paintings. In 2000, he and his wife, artist Lois Woolley, co-authored The Yin Yang of Painting, a book that articulates his philosophy and teaching methods, blending Eastern and Western traditions. In 2008, the People’s Fine Arts Publishers honored him by publishing a slipcased, hardbound monograph as part of their prestigious Living Masters series of Chinese Contemporary Distinguished Oil Painters.
Teaching has been another constant throughout his career. In the United States, he has taught oil painting in the graduate program at the New York Academy and at the Woodstock School of Art. From 2010 to 2016, he returned to China as a professor at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, where he influenced a new generation of painters. While there, he created mural sized history paintings, including The Travels of Marco Polo which is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of China.
Today, Zhang Hongnian continues to be recognized not only for his artistic achievements but also for his role as a cultural bridge, bringing Chinese oil painting into dialogue with Western traditions and shaping the global appreciation of Chinese contemporary realism.
Here is what our students are saying:
“I have been enjoying the classes and learning as much as possible….the instructor is fabulous!!!”
“Hongnian Zhang and Lois Woolley are great artists and excellent instructors. I appreciate how they continually provide new information to students.”
“Great Professor!”
“I’ve appreciated all of Hongnian’s online classes since March. He has introduced new concepts throughout all the still-life and landscape classes, so I have continued to enjoy and learn from the classes.”
