Lauded Chinese ink artist Shao Fan on his journey and seeking ‘a sense of presence’

Beijing-based artist Shao Fan’s first memories of Chinese aesthetics are linked to his grandmother’s stories – and her wardrobe.

Until late June, he presents simultaneous shows at two prestigious galleries: Mirrored Gardens at Vitamin Creative Space in Guangzhou, in China’s Guangdong province, and “Refrain” at White Cube Mason’s Yard in London.

Shao’s Guangzhou exhibition, “The Nature of Things”, is a concise survey of two of his best-known bodies of work: his ink paintings on rice paper and his sculptural furniture pieces.

Oil painting and Western influences

Shao may be known as an ink artist, but he was consumed by oil painting long before he ever picked up a maobi (ink brush). He never formally studied the medium, but both his parents taught Soviet-style painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and would bring home catalogues of Western avant-garde artists that spellbound him with their chaotic, subversive pieces.