Sun Xun

Sun Xun is one of the youngest and most prolific video artists today, recognized for his black and white animation films that critically explore time and world history, with a particular focus on China's political landscape.

Biography of Sun Xun

Sun Xun was born in 1980 in Fuxin, Liaoning Province, China. In 2005, he graduated from the Printmaking Department of the China Academy of Fine Arts. A year later, in 2006, he established the Pi animation studio.

In 2010, he received the Best Young Artist Award from the CCAA, the Young Art Award from Taiwan Contemporary Art Link, and the Arts Fellowship from the Citivella Ranieri Foundation in Italy.

His work has been showcased in prestigious venues, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s first exhibition on contemporary ink art. Sun Xun's films have also been featured at numerous international film festivals, such as the 8th International Rome Film Festival (2013), the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival (2012), and the 67th Venice International Film Festival (2010).

His recent solo exhibitions include "Parallel Circus" at TANK Shanghai in Shanghai (2024), "Tears of Chiwen" at Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock (2023), "An Infinite Journey" at ShanghART in Shanghai (2022), "Mythological Time" at Vancouver Art Gallery in Vancouver (2021), and many more.

Additionally, Xun's works have been featured in numerous group shows held at various galleries and museums worldwide, including TAG Art Museum, Mingyuan Art Museum, MAO Asian Art Museum, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Royal Hawaiian Center, and White Rabbit Gallery, among others.

Currently, the artist lives and works in Beijing, China. 

Sun Xun's Art Style

Sun Xun’s artistic practice merges meticulous craftsmanship with bold stylistic experimentation across various media. Seamlessly blending drawing, painting, animation, and installation, his work employs a diverse range of materials. He often combines painting, woodcuts, traditional Chinese ink, and charcoal drawings to form the basis of his expressionistic stop-motion animations. These films are then showcased within immersive environments, creating a theatrical space of memory filled with both realistic and fantastical imagery for the viewer.

One of his ambitious projects, "A Country Based on Whale," exemplifies his innovative approach. Inspired by Singapore's journey to independence, Sun Xun created over 40 artworks, including passports, national flags, and citizen guidebooks, to conceptualize a new country named Jing Bang. This temporary nation, existing for just six weeks, provokes thought about the creation of a country and the meaning of citizenship. The project is a critical investigation into the anatomy of a nation, reflecting Sun Xun's interest in ontological and political themes.