Lao Dan was born in Beijing in1968. He graduated from graphic design department of China Social University in 1990; currently lives and works in Beijing. solo exhibitions 2005 New Humanity, HART Center of Arts, Beijing. 2003 Lao Dan Experimental Process Exhibition, HART Center of Arts, Beijing. 2001 Move Canvas, Stanley Gallery, Shanghai. group exhibitions 2009 Beautiful Worlds, Stella Downer Fine Art, Sydney. 2007 Asian Art Fair, Marlborough Gallery, New York; ShContemporary, Marlborough Gallery, Shanghai. 2006 Not Only Black, Hart Center of Arts, Beijing; Asian Art Fair, Marlborough Gallery, New York; CIGE-China International Gallery Exposition, Marlborough Gallery, Beijing. 2005 Water Amongst Mountains, Hart Center of Arts, Beijing. 2004 Urban Hieroglyphics, Hart Center of Arts, Beijing. 2001 Ink & Paper, Gallery Le Quai de la Batterie, Arras, France. collections Private collections in Australia, England, China including: Jeremy Segay, Director of Festival de Cannes, France; Rose Nan-ping Chen, Rose Foundation, U.S; Darrell A. Jenks, Director of the American Center for Educational Exchange, USA; Edgardo Bermejo, Second Secretary, Mexico Embassy to China; Cristina Perez Gutierrez, Counsellor of Spain, Embassy to China; Charles J. Hecht New York, USA; Lehman Brothers, New York; Rossi & Rossi, London; T.A.G Fine Art, England; Joost vanDenBerg, London/Netherland; Crown Casino/Hotel, Macau. residencies 2000 Residence, Gallery Le Quai de la Batterie, Arras France.

Time Lines

I use Chinese ink, which links me with a tradition thousands of years old. This medium helps me align ancient thought and ancestral artistic practice with the present, something very important to me. Every day I work with both calligraphy and drawing, and the Time Lines series is a hybrid of these two. A recent visit to Stonehenge left a profound impact on me, and since then I have been fascinated with finding a way to express the eternal knowledge of those who came before us. I put faith in the importance of science, intellectual endeavour and research, and my work reflects an ongoing fascination with the colour spectrum, natural phenomena, ancient mystical sites and supernatural activity. Modern art today is just fashion, I am reconciling the divide between art and thought C I am thinking and creating.

When I paint, the motion is not unlike that of traditional Chinese calligraphy. Even the brushstrokes are in keeping with calligraphic practice C broad, narrow, delicate, sweeping, wet, dry. However, what is rendered is not recognisable as Chinese script at all. The coming together of lines at times gives the illusion of recognisable forms C a face, a bird C but your eyes are swept along before they can linger too long. Compare my work to that of early Chinese Neolithic rock painting. In the same way that these early predecessors were compelled to record their beliefs and world view through line, pattern and symbol, I too draw on these tenets C the expression of essential ideas through fervently organic mark making.

My choice of medium and colour has been a long and patient journey. While the Western idea of colour is straight like a line, the Eastern colour system is more like a circle, round and comprehensive with no end points. Black, the colour of Chinese ink, has five distinct tones to what we may perceive as simply black. My palette may seem limited, but is actually a study of the unlimited scope of just a few tones. Maybe one day when I am very old, my works will be full of colour.

Although working in a modern manner, I am not a contemporary artist and I will not leave tradition behind. I embrace the wealth of knowledge past and artistic philosophy left in clues for us to read, and these pieces are a bridge of communication between past and present.

Lao Dan