Born in Datong, Shanxi, in 1964, Wei Ligang has been at the forefront of contemporary ink painting’s development from its beginning on the mainland, and he was one of the organizers of the June 1999 “Bashu Parade: ’99 Chengdu Retrospective of Chinese Modern Calligraphy at the End of the 20th Century” exhibition. In 1981, at the age of 17, Wei was admitted to Nankai University in Tianjin to study mathematics. He became the president of the calligraphy society at the university, which enabled him to connect with leading local calligraphers. After graduating in 1985, Wei was assigned to teach mathematics at the Teachers’ Training School in the industrial city of Taiyuan, but he succeeded in persuading the school to allow him to teach calligraphy in 1988. Wei Ligang moved to Beijing in 1995 to concentrate on his art. His training in mathematics has contributed to his abstract form of calligraphy. Many of his works are based on “Wei Squares,” a formula inspired by the square framework printed on practice paper for the characters that students copy repeatedly when learning calligraphy. Different from his gold-ground paintings, in which individual brushstrokes are not discernable, the Wei Square calligraphic paintings subtly combine painting and calligraphy: the density of ink ranges from solid black with dry brushstrokes to pale grays. Wei Ligang constantly deconstructs and re-forms the characters in his paintings while hinting at traditional script-forms (such as formal, running, or “grass” script), thus declaring his deep roots in Chinese culture. His works were included in the pioneering exhibition organized by Gordon Barrass at the British
Museum in 2002.

1964
Born in Datong City, Shanxi Province, China
1981
Major in mathematics, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
1981
Student of Tianjin famous calligraphers Li Henian, Wang Xuezhong and Sun
Boxiang
1985
Taught mathematics in Taiyuan City, China
1985
Began to study Fushan style calligraphy
1991
Graduated from advanced course at Sha menghai Calligraphy College, Ningbo,
China
1992
Documentary programme produced by UNICEF “Xi’an, Fen River Loves You”
Introducing his modern calligraphy
1995
Settled in Beijing, China
1997
Organized “7 Artists at Yuan Ming Yuan,” Song Feng Xuan Gallery, Beijing, China
1998
Attended symposium “The Development of Chinese Modern Calligraphy,” Gaoyou,
Jiangsu Province, China
1999
Published calligraphy album Pseudo-Masters
1999
Organized “Bashu Parade-99 Chengdu Retrospective of Chinese Modern
Calligraphy at the End of 20th Century” with Pu Lieping
2000
Programme introducing his modern calligraphy produced by Reuters
2001
Invited to give lecture on Chinese calligraphy by Australia
2001
Organized a Chinese-foreign group exhibition, Beijing, China
2001
Guest of symposia, He Xiang Ning Art Gallery, Shenzhen & Artist Commune,
Hong Kong
2005
Fellowship grantee of the Asian Cultural Council Hong Kong
2005
Traveled to New York to do research on recent development in contemporary art
2005
Professor at Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai Campus, China

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2010
Contrast Gallery, Shanghai, China
2008
The New Ink Painting: Wei Ligang, Goedhuis Contemporary, New York, USA
2007
Wei Ligang Calligraphy art, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2006
New Works by Wei Ligang, Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong
China in Ink & Wash: Exhibition of Wei Ligang’s Works, Shanghai Art Museum,
Shanghai, China
2004
On the Journey, He Xiang Ning Art Gallery, Shenzhen, China
1999
Diary in Rongcheng, Taiyuan, China
1996
Solo exhibition, Beijing, China
1992
Retrospective exhibition, Taiyuan, China
1988
Calligraphy and Seal Carving, Tianjin, Beijing, Taiyuan, China

Selected Group Exhibitions
2010
Calligraphy under the context, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
2009
The Third Abstract, Contrasts Gallery, Shanghai, China
The Orchid Pavilion--the Art of Writing in China, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, 40th Europalia,
Belgium
Ink not Ink touring exhibitions in Philadelphia U.S, Poland and Romania.
2008
New Ink Scene, Dresden National Art Museum, Dresden, Germany
Ink not Ink, Shenzhen Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Water Color, Today Museum, Beijing, China
2007
Chengdu International Art Biennale, Modern Art Museum, Chengdu, China
2006
Cursive—Yin Mei's Modern Dance, New York City University, NY, USA
Chinese Ink Painting during the Past 30 Years, Nanjing, China
Long Menzhen Modern Calligraphy, Luo Yang Art Museum, Henan, China
2005
Crossing Boundaries: Works by Asian Cultural Council Fellows 2005, Lee Garden,
Hong Kong
The Act of Writing and Non-writing: The Open Space for Chinese Calligraphy.
International Exhibition of Modern Calligraphy", China Academy of Art, Hangzhou,
China
2004
Chinese Characters: A Confusing Situation", Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Chinese Characters As a Resource", Sydney, Australia
2 Ink Brushes, Chinese Calligraphy Bi-exhibition: Jat Seeyeu--Classical HK; Wei
Ligang-- Contemporary Beijing", Artist Commune, Hong Kong
2003
New Experiences in Chinese Characters and Its Writing During the Past Twenty
Years, Artist Commune, Hong Kong
International Contemporary Art of Ink, Xi’an, China
Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China
2002
The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China" British Museum, London, United
Kingdom
Group exhibition of oriental abstract paintings, Creation Gallery, Beijing, China
2000
The International Calligraphy Literature", Taiwan Museum of Art, Taiwan
1995
The First International Biennial Exhibition of Modern Calligraphy, Hangzhou,
China

Selected Collections
The British Museum, London, England
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
Bank of Switzerland
The International Education Fund
The Swiss Chamber of Commerce in China
China Red Cross
Chengdu International Convention and Exhibition Center, China
Olenska Collection, Geneva, Switzerland
Origo Foundation, Switzerland