Gu Gan 古干

Born in 1942 in Hunan Province, Gu Gan is now internationally recognized as the pioneer of the Modernist movement in calligraphic painting in China and is its most charismatic exponent. He has long been the chairman of the Modern Calligraphy and Painting Society in China. More than any of his contemporaries, he has explored the potential of abstract art and developed classical Chinese form to express a reality of contemporary life. In 1998 he was invited by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild to design the wine label for the Mouton Rothschild 1996 vintage. Gu Gan is the first Chinese artist to ever have been thus honored.