Jiang Shuo was born in 1958 in Beijing, China. She studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Arts and Design, now the Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China from 1978–1982, and was one of the few women to do so. She studied under the sculptor Professor Zheng Ke for three years, becoming the first sculptress in China to complete a post-graduate degree. Jiang then became a lecturer at the school from 1986-1989. After winning a scholarship to a university in Austria in 1989, she immigrated with her sculptor husband, Wu Shaoxiang and their three-year-old son. They settled in Klagenfurt, Carinthia where they established a joint studio. Since then Jiang has widely exhibited her sculptures around the world, including Austria, Indonesia, Singapore, and Switzerland. Her works are also regularly sold through galleries, and at auctions in Beijing, Hong Kong, and New York. Many of her works are included in major private and museum collections as well.
Jiang's earlier works in bronze possess a folk-like quality. These achieved recognition in China before she left for Austria in 1989. Such sculptures hint at blissful childhood memories of innocent children enjoying themselves in sport, playing music, and returning their mothers' warm embrace – which suggest Jiang's strong family values.
However, Jiang became famous with her iconic "Red Guard" series begun in 2003. These anonymous, open mouthed warriors who wear the Red Guard uniform, are cast in the ancient lost wax technique. They carry either a red flag or The Little Red Book, and reflect both her personal experience as a young Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution, and her observations from abroad of China's emergence into a capitalistic machine.
In 1993, after her family gained Austrian citizenship, Jiang returned to China and witnessed first-hand the changes that were occurring, and the ironic situation that was taking place; the Red Guards who previously persecuted the "bourgeois" elements of society had now become the successful businessmen or capitalists driving China's burgeoning economy.
As Jiang's work progressed her Red Guard figures, for example, Cloud Rider - Terracotta Red (2008), and Run 2 (2006), began posing alongside material items that replaced The Little Red Book. They now sang karaoke, drank Coca-Cola, ate McDonald's, rode atop flashy automobiles – all reflective of the lifestyles of rich businessmen pursuing a life filled with commercial luxury.
Selected exhibitions and projects
Image and Concepts, Jiang Shuo and Wu Shaoxiang exhibition at Songzhuang Museum, Beijing, China, 2007Shanghai Art Fair 2007, Shanghai, China, 2007Jiang Shuo: Monument of Time, Plum Blossoms Gallery, Hong Kong, 2007ARTSingapore 2007, The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore, 2007Art Beijing 2007, Beijing, China, 2007China International Gallery Exposition 2007, Beijing, China, 2007Chase! Selected Sculpture Exhibition by Jiang Shuo & Wu Shao Xiang, Linda Gallery, Jakarta and Singapore, 2006China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE) 2006, Beijing World Trade Centre, 2006Individual exhibition, Red Guards Today, Plum Blossoms Gallery, Hong Kong, 2005Individual exhibition, Red Guards, Plum Blossoms Gallery, Hong Kong, 2004Group exhibition, organized by Plum Blossoms Gallery at The International Asian Art Fair, New York City, New York, USA, 2003Group exhibition, First International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Austria, Hüttenberg Exhibition Center, Austria, 2002Individual exhibition, Sculpting, AAI Gallery, Vienna, Austria Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Schloss Wolfsberg, Wolfsberg, Austria, 2001Group exhibition, Hundred Years of Chinese Art, China Guardian Auctions, Beijing, China, 2000Group exhibition, Salzburg Art Fair, Salzburg, Austria, 1999Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Gallery Dida, Graz, Austria, 1999Group exhibition, the International Contemporary Art Fair, Palace Degli Affari, Florence, Italy, 1998Individual exhibition, City Hall, St. Veit, Austria, 1998Individual exhibition, Central Gallery, Graz, Austria, 1997Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Gallery Dida, Graz, Austria, 1996Group exhibition, Gallery Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, 1995Group exhibition by the Austrian Art Association, City Gallery, Klagenfurt Austria, 1994The Spirit of Times, Gallery Hinteregger, St. Pölten, Austria, 1993Individual exhibition, Europe House, Klagenfurt, Austria, 1993Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Culture House, Klagenfurt, Austria, 1992Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Gallery Nemenz, Judenberg, Austria, 1992Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Gallery Akzent K, Stuttgart, Germany, 1991Joint exhibition with Wu Shaoxiang, Raiffeisen Bank, Klagenfurt, Austria, 1991International Art Exhibition, Stadtgarten Gallery, Norden, Germany, 1990Group Exhibition, the International Art Centre, Velden, Austria, 1990China National Exhibition of Fine Arts, China National Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1988Today's Fine Arts in China, Toronto Exhibition Hall, Canada, 1987Photo Exhibition of Prize-Winning Sculptures, China National Museum of fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1986Individual exhibition, Central Academy of Arts & Design, Beijing, China, 1985First National Urban Sculpture Exhibition, China National Museum of fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1984The Central Academy of Arts & Design Exhibition, China National Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 1982Selected commissions and collections
Bauhinia Rider, Departure Concourse, MTR Lok Ma Chau Station, Hong Kong, 2010Lion Rider, Art Museum Hong Kong, 2006Red Guards, Art Museum Hong Kong, 2005Red Guards- Going Forward! Making Money!, Langham Place Hotel, Hong Kong, 2004Christ, St. Margareten City, Austria, 2000Ancient Vase, Hong Kong New World Development, Hong Kong, 1996Enjoyable Life, County Attendant Centre, Moosburg, Austria, 1996Sculpture for Kärtner Landesversicherung, Austria, 1995Designed trophies for Evolution Club, Ferlach, Austria, 1993Hand (Fountain), Köck Villa, Velden, Austria, 1992Designed trophies for Advertising Award, 1991Designed trophies for The Chinese Film Festival, Beijing, China, 1989Fisherman, Mi Yun Power Supply Bureau, Beijing, China, 1989Designed trophies for the Ten Best Enterprises of China, 1988Summer, regarded as one of the best sculptures in ChinaSpirit of the Drunken City, 10 meters high, Qioatou Square, Luzhou, china, 1987Designed trophies for the best film of Culture Ministry of China, 1984Summer, Binghe Garden, Beijing ChinaThe Sea of Knowledge, The Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China, 1984Designed trophies for the best film of Culture Ministry of China, 1983Designed trophies for the best film of Culture Ministry of China, 1982