GU WENDA (B. 1955)

Gu Wenda studied at the Shanghai School of Arts and Crafts and later received his master’s degree from Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in 1981 under the tutelage of great modern painter Lu Yanshao. In 1987, Gu moved to the United States. Gu Wenda was a true rebel among his fellow classical paintings classmates. His inspiration stemmed from the big, miswritten characters on propaganda posters used during the Cultural Revolution, hence the creation of his pseudo-Chinese script which remains the main idea of his artistic direction. Gu attempts to explore the limitations and possibilities of Chinese language and writing and transforms the role of calligraphy in traditional landscape compositions.