Born in 1955 in Chongqing, China, with ancestral roots in Wenling, Zhejiang. In 1977, he enrolled in the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), graduating in 1981 and remaining as a faculty member. He earned his master’s degree from CAFA in 1987 and received the First Prize for University Young Teachers from the China National Education Commission and the Huo Yingdong Education Foundation in 1988.
In 1990, he accepted an invitation from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and relocated to New York as an Honorary Artist, where he resided until 2007. In 1999, he was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship (the “Genius Grant”), the highest honor in American cultural circles. In 2003, he received the 14th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize. In 2004, he was honored with the inaugural Artes Mundi Prize (the Welsh International Visual Art Award) and the 96th “Friend of Youth Award” presented by the New York City Department of Education and the High School Art Education Committee. He was also named one of the “15 Most Notable Figures in the International Art World of the Year” by Art in America magazine (2004 People in Review).
In 2007, the Society of American Graphic Artists awarded Xu Bing the “Lifetime Achievement Award in Printmaking.” His works have been exhibited and collected by major museums worldwide and are featured in numerous authoritative textbooks on global art history.
