LU Nan
呂楠（馬小虎）
Lu Nan is a contemporary photographer who was born in Beijing, China in 1962. After working for National Pictorial for 5 years, he decided to become an independent photographer. From 1989 to 1990, he shot a series of images of the living conditions of patients in Chinese mental hospitals. From 1992 to 1996, he shot a series of images about Catholicism in China. From 1996 to 2004, he shot a series images of the daily life of Tibetan farmers. Lu Nan is known as "the most legendary photographer in China". He is also the only Chinese contemporary photographer chosen by Aperture magazine as a topic colon.
Lu is constantly invited to participate in numerous exhibitions; however, he is extremely selective about the exhibitions he is involved with. Lu also refused to have his portrait taken by others, so it's very rare to see any photo documentations of him. For fifteen years, Lu has been leading a life that is almost like a monk, spending his time working and studying, as he believes that “good stuff comes out of reticence.”
Chronology
1989 - Started to photograph The Forgotten People: The Condition of China’s Psychiatric Patients which was completed in 1990
1992 - Started to photograph On The Road: The Catholic Faith in China which was completed in 1996
1996 - Started to photograph Four Seasons: Everyday Life of Tibetan Peasants which was completed in 2004
2006 - Started to photograph Prisons of North Burma which was completed in 2006
Publications
2000/2008/2014 – On The Road: The Catholic Faith in China
2007/2014 – Four Seasons: Everyday Life of Tibetan Peasants
2009/2015 – Prisons of North Burma
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2011 - Underground Chinese Catholic Community: Photography by Lu Nan, Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, USA
2010 - Heaven and Hell, St. Thomas Royal Monastery, Avila, Spain
2010 - Prisons of North Burma, Art Museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing
2009 - The Hidden Spiritual World: 15-years Photography by Lu Nan, Art Museum of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Tianjin
2009 - Prisons of North Burma, Inter Art Center, Beijing
2008 - The Eternal Measure: 15-years Photography of Lu Nan, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou
2008 - China’s Independent Photography, Houston FotoFest, Texas, United States
2007 - 15-years Photography of Lu Nan, Songzhuang Museum of Art, Beijing
2007 - Four Seasons: Everyday Life of Tibetan Peasants, Inter Art Center, Beijing
2005 - 15-years Photography of Lu Nan (slide show), Lianzhou International Photo Festival, Guangdong Province
2005 - 15-years Photography of Lu Nan (slide show), Pingyao International Photography Festival, Shanxi Province
Selected Group Exhibitions
2012 - Image Anxiety, Photo España, Madrid, Spain
2010 - Faces of Life—China’s Contemporary Portrait, CAFA Museum of Art, Beijing;
2010 - One Dot in Space-time—Collection of Contemporary Art by Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou
2010 - One Dot in Space-time—Collection of Contemporary Art by Guangdong Museum of Art, Taiwan National Gallery, Taichung
2010 - Reshaping History: China New Art from 2000-2009, China National Convention Center, Beijing
2010 - 10 Chinese Artists and Their Twenty Years Old, Angle Gallery, Beijing
2008 - The People·History, CAFA Museum of Art, Beijing
2007 - Guangzhou International Photography Biennale, Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou
2006 - Chinese Contemporary Photography of 20 years, Sifang Museum of Art, Nanjing
1997 - Absolute Landscape between Illusion and Reality, Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan
