Dr. Gan Xu was born in Shanghai, China and studied art history in the at Xi’an Academy of Art, China. He received his MA in Chinese Art History from Vanderbilt University, and his Ph.D. in Comparative Arts from Ohio University. His research and publications focus on Western and Chinese contemporary art. He has published two books and more than 30 articles in magazines and exhibition catalogs. He lectures nationally and internationally, and has taught at Eastern China Normal University, Sichuan Academy of Art, Langzhou University, and Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. He has led educational overseas travel groups to China, Japan, Korea, Italy and France.
Laurels
- Member of MECA&D’s Diversity Committee
- Former President of the Chinese Association of Maine
- “Word as Image: Contemporary Chinese Art in the West” published in Qinhua Art
- “Silent‐Feminist painter: Juanli Jia” published in Searching for Lost Dreams: Works of Juanli Jia, Today Art Museum
Extracurricular
Gan is a painter who has been exhibiting his work since the 1970s. He also teaches Chinese calligraphy and ink painting. He is fluent in Chinese and reads French and Japanese.