STEVEN PAN
Stephen
Pan has been immersed in fine art all of his life. For generations,
his family has been renowned in China for calligraphy and poetry and
gave him his first lessons in drawing and painting techniques. Bo Yin
Pan's work was included in Chairman Mao's personal collections and
has been displayed in official circles as the highest standard of excellence
in Chinese art and literature.
Ironically, in spite of his close relationship with formal Chinese traditions
in art, Pan fell deeply in love with the paintings of the Renaissance and French
impressionist periods. By 13, his artwork had been featured in a One-Man Show,
and he had won the first of a series of National Art Excellence awards in China
for his beautifully rendered oil paintings.
Ironically, in spite of his close relationship with formal Chinese
traditions in art, Pan fell deeply in love with the paintings of
the Renaissance and French impressionist periods. By 13, his artwork
had been featured in a One-Man Show, and he had won the first of
a series of National Art Excellence awards in China for his beautifully
rendered oil paintings.
Born in Shanghai in 1963, Pan entered Chinese society at the height
of the Red Guard’s power; the destruction of all things not
purely Chinese was in full force. Even after the Red Guard was disbanded,
it was years before China opened its doors to welcome outside cultural
influences. Pan began his teaching career in Shanghai at age 20 years
old, his oil painting "Red Cross" was acquired by the Beijing
Central Art Museum, an extraordinary honor for a Chinese artist.
That same year, 1985, Pan got into trouble when he and an artist friend
began a painting of a nude female figure from a live model. Pan answered
a knock at the door of the studio; it was the police. Both artists
were questioned and their drawings confiscated. The detailed accuracy
of Pan’s drawing were "proof" that the nude model
was a prostitute; his friend was forced to confess and was sent to
jail for four years for illicit conduct. It was then Pan vowed he
would leave China and devote his life to drawing and painting anew.
His uncle sponsored his immigration to the United States to continue
his artistic career.
In 1997, he was offered a position at the Academy of Art College in
San Francisco. His mastery of the figure and use of light in creating
subtle textures and expressions served him well. His students voted
him Best Teacher in the Fine Art Department. He was invited to take
on more students, but declined in order to devote himself full-time
to oil painting.
Pan is an extremely versatile artist in the classic European oil painting
tradition. His singular artistic expression is easily recognized
in his sublimely elegant and serene paintings. Since 1987, he has
focused primarily on original figurative oil paintings on canvas.
In order to make his work available to greater audience, Pan has
begun to publish limited editions from some of his best images, through
Collectors Editions, Inc.
Stephen Pan’s paintings are included in the collections of
art lovers all over the world--including Harry and Margot De Wilt
of San
Francisco and international celebrities Marcel Marceau, master of
mime, and Sylvester Stallone, actor.