Wang Wusheng (; 1945 – 7 April 2018) was a Chinese photographer known for his black-and-white photographs of Mount

Huangshan Huangshan ( zh, s=黄山),Bernstein, pp. 125–127. literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. It was originally called "Yishan", and it was renamed because of a legend that Em ...

Biography

Wang Wusheng was born 1945 in

Wuhu Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province of China, province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei City to the n ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

, China and graduated from the Department of Physics of

Anhui University Anhui University (AHU) is provincial public university in Hefei, Anhui, China. It is affiliated with the Anhui Provincial Government, and co-funded by the Anhui Provincial Government, the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education, a ...

. Beginning in 1973, Wang worked as a photographer for a news magazine in

Province, ''Anhui Newsphoto and Pictorial''. In 1974, he started shooting Mounts

. In 1981 he moved to Japan. He became a research member at the Japan Foundation in 1983. He studied at the Art Institute of

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

as he won grant from the Japan Foundation's endowment for Japanese art studies. During these years he met and married an American exchange student studying at The University of Tokyo. Beginning in 1986, he studied for three years at the Tokyo Arts University. In 1990, he moved to the U.S., spent a year in New York City and in the 90s his career blossomed at last. In 1998, Wang Wusheng held a solo exhibition titled "Himmelsberge" at the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien ( "Vienna Museum of art history, Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, i ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. It was the first exhibition of photography and the first solo exhibition for a living artist at the museum. Then in 2005, the Permanent Missions of China and Japan to the United Nations presented ''Spirit of the East'' a two-person exhibition of Wang Wusheng's photographs along with paintings by the late Japanese master artist Kaii Higashiyama, in the United Nations General Assembly's Visitor's Lobby. This exhibition was held in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the United Nations. Wang's photographs are represented in numerous public and private collections, including those of the

Friedrich Christian Flick Friedrich Christian Flick (born 19 September 1944), also known as Mick Flick, is a German art collector. Life Trained as a lawyer, he is one of the heirs to the Flick family industrial fortune, and the founder of the Friedrich Christian Flick ...

Collection in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, the

in Vienna,

National Art Museum of China The National Art Museum of China (NAMOC; ) is the national art museum of China and one of the largest art museums in the nation. Located in Beijing and opened since 1963, it is a level-1 public welfare institution funded by the Ministry of Cultur ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Shanghai Art Museum China Art Museum, Shanghai (Shanghai Art Museum) is a municipal art museum of Shanghai City. It is a public welfare institution funded by the Shanghai City Culture and Tourism Bureau. The museum is housed in the China Pavilion building, formerly ...

Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography The is an art museum concentrating on photography. As the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, it was founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and is in Meguro-ku, a short walk from Ebisu station in southwest Tokyo. The museum also ...

, Robert Klein Gallery in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Kunsthalle Krems A kunsthalle () is a facility that mounts temporary art exhibitions, similar to an art gallery. It is distinct from an art museum by not having a permanent collection. In the German-speaking regions of Europe, ''Kunsthallen'' are often operated ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Wang died in Shanghai on 7 April 2018, at the age of 73.

Group exhibitions

* 1997 : ''The Gravity of the Mountains: Mountains and Inner Worlds from the Romantics to the Present'' at Kunsthalle Krems, Austria * 2001 : ''The Photo Exhibition of National Treasure Ganjinwajo'' at the

, Japan * 2003 : ''Ganjinwajo: The Fine Art Photography Exhibition of 10 International Masters'' at the

Shanghai Library Shanghai Library (with a second name as the Shanghai Institute of Scientific and Technological Information) is a municipal public library in Shanghai, China. It is owned by the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The li ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China * 2008 : ''Yellow Mountain: China's Ever-Changing Landscape'', (showed the Chinese landscape paintings of the 17th century and the 18th century, and the photography of Wang Wusheng), at The

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery is an art museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., focusing on Culture of Asia, Asian art. The Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art together form the National Museum of Asian Art in the Uni ...

, Washington, D.C. USA * 2012 : Contemporary Chinese Photography ''Rising Dragon'', at the

Krannert Art Museum The Krannert Art Museum (KAM) is a fine art museum located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois, United States. It has of space devoted to all periods of art, dating from ancient Egypt to contemporary photography ...

, Illinois, USA * 2012 : Contemporary Chinese Photography ''Rising Dragon'', at

Katonah Museum of Art The Katonah Museum of Art is a non-collecting institution geared towards visual arts, located in Katonah, New York. It does not have a permanent collection, but holds temporary exhibitions. The museum was founded in 1953, in one room at the loc ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, USA * 2013 : Contemporary Chinese Photography ''Rising Dragon'', at The

San Jose Museum of Art The San José Museum of Art (SJMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum in downtown San Jose, California, United States. Founded in 1969, the museum holds a permanent collection with an emphasis on West Coast artists of the 20th and 21st cent ...

, San Jose, USA * 2015 : Chinese Photography : ''Twentieth Century and Beyond'', at

Three Shadows Photography Art Centre Three Shadows Photography Art Centre (Chinese: 三影堂摄影艺术中心), is a non-profit art centre in Beijing established in 2007 by photographers RongRong and ''inri''. Three Shadows is the first contemporary art space dedicated exc ...

, China * 2016 : ''Celestian Realm, Mt. Huangshang'' at La Galerie, Hong-Kong

Solo exhibitions

* 2014 : ''Celestial Realm'' at Brucie Collections Gallery,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, Ukraine * 2013 : ''Celestial Realm'' at Barry Friedman, Ltd.

, USA * 2010 : ''Hometown'' at Shanghai Mart,

, China * 2008 : ''Yellow Mountains'' at Robert Klein Gallery,

, USA * 2006 : ''Spirit of the East'' (with

Kaii Higashiyama was a Japanese writer and artist particularly renowned for his Nihonga style paintings. As one of the most popular artists in post-war Japan, Higashiyama was awarded the Japan Art Academy Prize in 1956 and the Order of Culture in 1969. Biograph ...

), Higashiyama Kaii Memorial Hall, Ichikawa, Japan * 2005 : ''Spirit of the East'' (with

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, New York, USA * 2002 : ''Mount Huangshan'', Gallery epSITE,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan * 2000 : ''Celestial Mountains'' at the

, Tokyo, Japan * 1998 : ''Himmelsberge'', at the

, Austria * 1996 : ''Verve of Mt. Huangshan'' at Asakura Gallery,

, Japan * 1995 : ''Verve of Mt. Huangshan'' at

, Shanghai, China * 1994 : ''Verve of Mt. Huangshan'' at Galleria Prova, Tokyo; Oxy Gallery, Osaka; Isetan Art Hall, Niigata; Iwataya Art Gallery, Fukuoka;

, Beijing * 1993 : ''Verve of Mt. Huangshan'', at Mitsukoshi Main Store Gallery, Tokyo, Japan * 1988 : ''Visions of the Tranquility of Mount Huangshan'', at Seibu Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan

Publications

* 1981 : ''Mt. Huangshan: Works of Wang Wusheng'', People's Fine Arts Publishing House, Beijing, China * 1988 : ''Visions of the Tranquility of Mount Huangshan'', Kodansha Ltd. Publisher, Tokyo, Japan 2011 * 1993 : ''Verve of Mt. Huangshan'', Kodansha Ltd. Publisher, Tokyo, Japan, Hometown, Anhui, China * 1994 : ''Artistic Interpretation of the Huangshan Mountain'', Kodansha Ltd. Publisher, Tokyo, Japon & China Youth Publishing House, Beijing, China * 1998 : ''Himmelsberge Catalog'',

in Vienna, Austria & Skira Editore Publisher, Milan, Italy * 2000 : ''Celestial Mountains Catalog'', Japan-China Association, Tokyo, Japon * 2005 : ''Celestial Realm: The Yellow Mountains of China'', Abbeville Press Publisher, New York, USA/London, UK Abbeville Press, Celestial Realm : The Yellow Mountains of China, http://www.abbeville.com/bookpage.asp?isbn=0789208679 * 2006 : ''Huangshan, Montagnes Célestes'',

Imprimerie Nationale IN Groupe () is a French company specialized in the production of secure documents such as identity cards and passports, which it designs and sells to various governments and companies. It is the continuation of the Imprimerie Nationale () of ...

Publisher, Paris, France

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Wusheng 1945 births 2018 deaths Artists from Anhui Chinese photographers People from Wuhu Chinese expatriates in Japan Chinese expatriates in the United States Anhui University alumni

Biography

Group exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Publications

See also

References