Mu Yu Ming

1971 — Present

Journey

From Kunming to Oslo, from studios to temples, from oil paint to social sculpture.

Life

Born in Kunming

Born in Kunming, Yunnan — a city of mist, ethnic diversity, and deep artistic tradition in the heart of Southwest China. The landscape and rhythms of Yunnan would become a lifelong source.

1971
Education

Central Academy of Art and Design, Beijing

Moved to Beijing to study at the Central Academy of Art and Design, immersing himself in the crosscurrents of Chinese contemporary art at a pivotal moment in the country's cultural opening.

1993
Education

Central Film Academy, Beijing

Enrolled at the Central Film Academy, deepening his understanding of visual narrative and the relationship between stillness and motion — influences that still surface in his paintings today.

1997
Education

National Art Academy, Oslo

Awarded a Norwegian Government scholarship to study in Oslo — the first encounter with Scandinavia's stark light and silence. The distance reshaped his palette and gave him new eyes to see his own culture.

1998
Exhibition

Solo Exhibitions — Oslo, Paris, Amsterdam, Kunming

A decade of solo exhibitions across Europe and China. Shown alongside international artists, he established a voice rooted in Chinese ink sensibility but spoken through oil on canvas.

2000–2006
Project

Lijiang Studio

Established a studio and artist residency in Lijiang, Yunnan — a gathering place for artists, thinkers, and travellers. He later called it the seed of everything that followed: community, inquiry, and art as a way of living.

2004
Project

ChuangTzu Project

Founded the ChuangTzu Project in Anning, Yunnan — a long-term community art initiative named after the Taoist philosopher, documenting the meeting of Eastern thought and contemporary practice.

2019
Work

The Hundred-Day Journal

During a period of studio isolation, Mu began a hundred-day daily journal on WeChat — raw, philosophical, intimate. Simultaneously, the Second Face / Maska series explored identity and the self seen from outside.

2021
Project

Five Hundred Luohan

The Five Hundred Luohan project culminated in a global online premiere — a meditation on Buddhist arhats, collective humanity, and presence in the digital age. Thousands of images. One shared inquiry.

2022
Travel

Fieldwork — Thailand & Cambodia

Extended fieldwork across Thailand and Cambodia — visiting temples, meeting artists, building intellectual ground for what came next. At MAIIAM in Chiang Mai, he found a kindred spirit in the work of Navin Rawanchaikul.

2023
Project

She Nian Fo (舍念佛)

The She Nian Fo project at Pa Pae meditation centre in Chiang Mai — a social sculpture rooted in Buddhist practice. A 44-page document of deep retreat, presence, and the art of letting go.

2025
Travel

No.12 Art Camp

On the road in Wenzhou, meeting the host of No.12 Art Camp — described as a living arhat, a man who speaks to gods and travels lightly through the world. The journey continues.

2026

The journey continues