MANSHENG WANG is from Taiyuan, a city in north central China. He began studying Chinese calligraphy and painting on his own at age seven. Following graduation from the Classical Chinese Literature Department of Shanghai’s Fudan University in 1985, he worked for over a decade as a director and producer of documentary programs on Chinese and Tibetan art and culture at China Central Television in Beijing.
In the tradition of China’s scholars, Wang’s primary motivation for painting is self-cultivation. His paintings often reflect on the landscapes and images of China’s past. A favorite theme is the lotus. The Hudson River and the American Southwest are other sources of inspiration. Wang enjoys the expressive possibilities of ink and color on various types and textures of paper. He also experiments with Chinese brush on porcelain and pottery and employs woodblock and other print techniques on canvas and paper as well as working with oils.
Wang’s calligraphy and paintings have been shown both in China and the United States. Among his exhibitions, he has held shows at the Beijing Art Museum, at Wave Hill House Gallery in Bronx, New York, and at galleries and museums in the New York area and the Northeastern U.S.
He was one of four contemporary Chinese artists featured in Out of Time, Out of Place, Out of China: Reinventing Chinese Tradition in a New Century at the University Art Gallery, University of Pittsburgh. and Reinventing Tradition in a New World: The Arts of Gu Wenda, Wang Mansheng, Xu Bing and Zhang Hongtu at the Schmucker Art Gallery, Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania.
Wang has taught Chinese calligraphy at the China Institute in America in New York City and Chinese painting at the Rockland Center for the Arts in Nyack, New York. The Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York invited him to present workshops on painting on clay. He has lectured on Chinese art and culture and given demonstrations of his work at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and other museums and universities.
Mansheng Wang resides in Dobbs Ferry, New York with his family.
Art Classes, Lectures and Demonstrations Mansheng Wang
Lehigh University 1998 2000 China Institute 1999 2008 2009 New York University 1999 New York Clay Art Center 1999 Hammond Museum 2000 Wave Hill (Culture Center) 2000 2007 2008 Rockland Center for the Arts 2000-2003 University of Pittsburgh 2004 Gettysburg College 2004 Center Gallery at Old Church 2006 The Metropolitan Museum of Art 2006 Rubin Museum of Art 2006 Vassar College 2006 Rivertowns Arts Council 2000 2008 Boston University 2009
