MEILIN, HAN (1936 - ) (After.)

“Owl” (c.1990)
Ink on paper
30 x 30cm
Signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Han Meilin is a contemporary Chinese artist known for both his paintings and sculptures of animals. Han notably created the Fuwa (good-luck dolls) mascots for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He studied at the Central Academy of Arts and Design in Beijing, graduating in 1960. During the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s, the artist was arrested for befriending foreigners and spent nearly five years imprisoned. After his release in 1972, Han devoted himself to producing beautiful objects devoted to animals. In 1979, he was elected to the China Artists Association, and exhibited all over the USA, where he was given the key to the city of San Diego as an honorary citizen and the city of Manhattan declared October 1, 1980 as Han Meilin Day. In 1983 six of his work were printed on Christmas cards issued by the United Nations. In 2015, on October 15 at the UNESCO Headquarters, he was named the UNESCO Artist For Peace. “In recognition of his long-term commitment to promoting art and artistic education in China, his support to providing quality education to young people, notably through projects led by the Han Meilin Art Foundation, and his dedication to the ideals and aims of the Organization.