Chinese contemporary artist Xu Zhiguang (born 1973) currently lives and works in Beijing. For many years, his artistic practice has centred on an ongoing dialogue between humanity and nature. At the heart of his work is a sustained focus on the enduring vitality of the natural world—living things that survive harsh winters and scorching summers before ultimately emerging in full bloom and bearing abundant fruit. With a keen sensitivity to the resilience and cyclical nature of life, Xu employs metaphor to reposition these forms within the narrative of painting history, inviting viewers to reflect on their broader meanings.

Xu Zhiguang graduated from the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in 2018, where he received a Master’s degree. He currently holds the professional title of First-Class Artist and serves as a research fellow in a research group at the Oil Painting Institute of the Chinese National Academy of Arts, an external postgraduate supervisor at Shandong University of Art & Design, a professor at Hebei Academy of Fine Arts, and a visiting professor at Krirk University, Thailand.

Since 2000, Xu Zhiguang has exhibited extensively at major art institutions in China and internationally, including the National Art Museum of China, Guan Shanyue Art Museum in Shenzhen, the Art Museum of the Oil Painting Institute of the Chinese National Academy of Arts, and ION Art Gallery in Singapore. He has presented 20 solo exhibitions.

His works are held in numerous private and institutional collections in China and abroad, including the National Art Museum of China, CAFA Art Museum, the Art Museum of the Oil Painting Institute of the Chinese National Academy of Arts, Shandong Art Museum, Guan Shanyue Art Museum in Shenzhen, Hebei Art Museum, Hulunbuir Art Museum, The Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge, the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford, Singapore Xingyi Oriental Art Centre, and the Soka Gakkai Malaysia Art Gallery, among others.