Wang Yani Biography
1975 By Allie Tay
Wang Yani
• Born in 1975
• Grew up in Gongcheng – a small town in
southern China
• Born child prodigy – self taught, with the
talent to paint
• Simply loves to paint, loves to paints monkeys
and cats
Wang Yani
• 2 ½ years old – brought by her father to his
studio where he paints
• 4 years old – her first art exhibition in
Shanghai
• 6 years old – completed over 4,000 paintings
• 8 years old – one of her 4-year-old paintings
was made into a Chinese postage stamp
Little Monkey
Age 3
5 ¾ x 6 ¼ in.
Scratching an Itch for Mother
Age 4
Age 5
• Her father
always
encouraged her
• paints from
memory
•Has a big
imagination
Wang Yani
• To encourage her to paint freely – her father
quit his career, her brother was discouraged to
paint
• 14 years old – had a one-person show at the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.
• Toured countries in Asia, Europe, North
America
Wang Yani
• More interest in nature as she grew up
• Paints other subjects including people
• Uses special writing brushes, ink, paper, and
different pigments