Hailing from Beijing, China, Yanbei earned his degree from the College of Fine Arts of Capital Normal University in 1988 and turned after graduation to a career as a fine arts teacher during 1989 to 2000. At the turn of the century, he shifted focus to form his own advertising and environmental art company, where he worked on several notable landscape architecture projects. Since then, Yanbei has devoted himself exclusively to his art and currently lives in Europe and dedicates to artistic creation. The result has been a spate of successful exhibitions, including the Shui Mo He Wei Exhibition at the Beijing Song Zhuang Art Festival (2017), the 14^th International Biennial presents in Brazil (2019), and his solo show “Restart” in the Macau Scientific and Cultutal Centre in Lisbon, Portugal (2019).

ART STYLE

Lisbon-based artist Yanbei explores an artistic space between calligraphy and topography with his use of bold, repetitive contour lines laid over subtle washes of inviting colours. Recalling the traditions of calligraphy and ink scroll paintings, both practices central to Chines history. Yanbei thus uses his art to recall his cultural past while carrying it forward into the realm of the elegantly abstract. Collections like his “Fingerprint” series showcase this blend with its pairing of precise repetition and spiritual mysticism.