Nan Zhao

Nan Zhao — Artist Biography

Nan Zhao (b. 1987) is a Chinese visual artist based in Munich and Berlin. Her practice explores identity as something continuously constructed rather than a fixed form or expression.

Working across figurative and abstract visual languages, Nan examines how identity is shaped through the interaction of language, the body, perception, and visual structure. Her paintings bring together elements of lived experience and cultural context with abstract systems of line, color, space, and layered form, exploring how forms emerge, shift, and acquire meaning.

Rather than presenting identity as a stable category or personal narrative, Nan creates visual environments in which identity remains fluid, relational, and constantly evolving. Her practice is informed by her experience of living and working across China, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and Germany.

Before developing her artistic practice, Nan worked in animation design in China. After moving to the UK in 2016, she became increasingly engaged with contemporary art and returned to painting. Since 2022, she has focused on developing a practice that moves between representation and abstraction.

Nan’s paintings are held in private and institutional c...

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual and Craft Arts(BFA)
Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT)

Solo Exhibition

2022
• Blooming Melody — Galerie VLK, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2026
• DU BIST AM ZUG — Public Space Poster Exhibition / Urban Art Project, Berlin, Germany
• Summer Leisure Collection — Nuovo Gallery, Beijing, China
• Artspring Berlin Festival — Open Studios (Ateliers), Berlin, Germany
• Never Before in All the Universe Had There Been a Spring So Green — Nuovo Gallery & Taidu Contemporary Art Vault, Beijing, China
• Truderinger Kunst Tage 2026 — Kulturzentrum Trudering, Munich, Germany
• Male Figure XV — kunstbehandlung Galerie, Munich, Germany
2025
• Verdant Unfolding — Pure Yearing Art Space, Wuhan, China
• This is Gender — Cripping the Lens Collection, Online Curated Exhibition / Digital Collection, Global Health 50/50
• The Unrequested — Notagallery, Berlin, Germany
2024
• Re:Humanization — Green Hill Gallery, Berlin, Germany
• Home: A Journey to Identity and Belonging — Chromart Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2023
• #social 2023 — CICA Museum, South Korea
• Art Parma Contemporary Art Fair — Parma, Italy
• Horizons — Galleria Cael, Milan, Italy