Person
Artist
Guo Jian
郭健
Date of birth
1962
Place Of birth
Duyun, Guizhou, China
Biography
Born in 1962 in Duyun, Guizhou Province, a member of the ‘Boyi’ ethnic minority, Guo Jian studied painting at Beijing’s National Minorities ‘Minzu’ University, after first serving in the People’s Liberation Army and working as a Propaganda Officer. His experiences of the tumultuous events of China’s recent history – his childhood during the Cultural Revolution, military service after leaving school, and first-hand experience of the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989 – influenced an autobiographical approach to painting. Returning to Beijing in 2005 after many years in Australia, Guo Jian set up a studio and began exploring the possibilities of installation and photography. In 2014 he was deported from China, after giving a frank interview to the US Financial Times. Guo Jian’s work has been shown in significant solo and group exhibitions in China, Australia and internationally. His work is in a number of private and public collections including the Queensland Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Australia. Guo Jian now lives and works in Sydney.
