Wang Wenhai

1950 Born Henan Province
Lives and works in Yan'an

Wang Wenhai has been talking about Mao Zedong for nearly all of his life. Born in Henan in 1950, in his youth Wang Wenhai moved with his father to Yan'an, Sha'anxi, the cultural bed of the Chinese revolution and the end of the Long March. After graduating from college with a degree in philosophy, he worked as museum guide for the Yan'an Revolutionary Museum and it is here that he developed an intimate and special relationship with Mao. In the early 1970's, chairman Jin of the Chinese Art Association visited Yan'an on a fieldwork tour and invited Wang to do an oil painting. It was this experience that first introduced Wang Wenhai to the power of visual art as a means of expression, and he has been using sculpting ever since to articulate his understanding and love of his beloved Chairman Mao.

Selected Exhibitions
2004 le moine et le demon - Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon, France
2004 Beijing International Art Expo; International Exhibition Center, Beijing, China
2003 Power of the Public Realm, 25000 Cultural Transmission Center, Beijing, China

Selected Bibliography
New York Times; China's Long March is Retraced with Artistic Steps. Craig Simmons, August 18, 2004.