Born in Lanzhou , China on April 28, 1954, Sun Yan completed the majority of his academic artistic training in China . He earned his B.F.A. in Painting and Drawing from the Northwest Normal University, China in 1982. He continued his academic training earning a M.A. in Chinese Art History from Xi'an University of Fine Arts in 1988. After moving to the United States in 1993, Sun Yan earned another M.F.A. in Painting and Drawing from Texas A. & M / Commerce in 1996. He gained valuable experience working as a graduate assistant, teaching assistant, and assistant professor at these Universities. He is currently the Assistant Professor of Art in Ohio .

“My art expresses a perplexing vision, namely that of the difficult and fated condition of mankind. I strive to express the life and the powers of painting thus give the viewers an opportunity to ponder a variety of figurative symbols, illusionistically painted. I strive to create a world of imagination, and to compress life and meditation in my language of art. Each work of art does not describe a specific story, but rather it attempts to challenge the mind and the soul of the beholder to reflect upon philosophical ideas about life itself, time and space……..Chinese philosophy emphasizes the oneness of inner feeling and external observation. It is objective reality and subjective feeling that make cognition possible. Some artists work from mental constructs, and some artists fine their inspiration in nature, but in my art work I try to fuse both MIND and NATURE ………Some contrasting things such as brilliancy and utter darkness, motions and heart-stopping stillness are presented in my paintings, all of these opposites co-exist. Because of the co-existence of opposites, both artist and the audiences feel a kind of endless exploration of heart. I tried to explore the contradiction between limitation and endlessness of Life—Time—Space.”