Born in 1911 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Died in 2002 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Born in early 1911 in a family of county officials in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, his given name was Jun and his courtesy name was Bonian. He used the artistic name Wang Suxue. From a young age, he received education in traditional Chinese culture as well as Western finance. After graduation, he became an employee at the Bank of China while also beginning his artistic journey in photography. In 1934, he published his renowned work Drawing Water from a Well which pioneered the field of nude photography in China. Luo Bonian's works integrate both Chinese and Western techniques, with most of his pieces reflecting traditional Chinese aesthetic values. He is considered one of the representative photography artists of the Republic of China era. His landscape, portrait, and still-life photography captured precious moments of Chinese society during that specific period. Through his lens, one can see scenic landscapes, pedestrians and flying birds, as well as many still-life compositions and experimental works in the new artistic trend. His collage photography is regarded as a precursor to contemporary photography in China.
His notable works include: Drawing Water from a Well, The West Lake in Spring, and Heavy Loads and Distant Journeys, which are featured in significant photography journals and collections from the Republic of China period, such as Fei Ying, Chinese Photography Magazine and Special Feature: Art Photography.
Upcoming
2026 Global Pictorialism, Tate Modern, London, the UK.
Selected Exhibition History
1937 Photo Exhibition: Friendship, with inscriptions from Yu Dafu, Shanghai, China
2015 Jinan International Photography Biennial, Jinan, Shandong, China.
2016 The Chinese Photobook Collection – Luo Bonian, Yang Fudong, Three Shadows +3 Gallery, Beijing, China.
2017 Shanghai Aura: Exploring Photographic Modernity in Early 20th Century China, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China.
2017 Literati Photography: Lyrical and Epic, Zhejiang Exhibition Hall, Zhejiang, China.
2018 Shape of Light: 100 Years of Photography and Abstract Art, Tate Modern, London, the UK.
2018 The 2nd Lang Jingshan Cup: Chinese New Pictorial Photography Biennale, Huai'an International Photography Museum, Jiangsu,China.
2019 Archive and Collections: Photography in China and the Establishment of CAA Art Museum's Department of Photography, Art Museum of China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
2019 1949: The Artistic Choices, Taikang Space, Beijing, China.
2021 Professional Amateur and Emerging Modernity: Luo Bonian and His
Contemporaries 1930s–1940s, Taikang Space, Beijing, China.
2024 Glinting Light: An Exploration of Luo Bonian's Photography, Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, JIMEI ARLES 2024, Xiamen, China.
Public Collections
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA
Tate Modern, London, UK
The Art Museum of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Taikang Art Museum, Beijing, China
Three Shadows Photography Art Centre, Beijing, China
Photography Museum of Lishui, Zhejiang, China
Dali Photography Museum, Yunnan, China
Publication
2016 Luo Bonian, Three Shadows Photography Art Centre. Chinese Photography Book Collection Series - Luo Bonian. Beijing: Beijing United Publishing co., LTD.
