A short life of the author
Wang Yani (born 1975 in Gongcheng, Guangxi Province, China) is a Chinese painter who began painting at age two and a half under the guidance of her father, Wang Shiqiang, also a painter. By her early teens she had produced over 10,000 works in the traditional Chinese ink-wash painting style — landscapes, animals (particularly monkeys, cats, and birds), and nature scenes of startling spontaneity and technical command.
Her work was exhibited at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in 1989 — making her the youngest artist to have a solo exhibition there — and at galleries in Europe and Asia.
A Young Painter: The Life and Paintings of Wang Yani — China’s Extraordinary Young Artist (1991, by Zheng Zhensun and Alice Low) documented her early life and artistic development for an international audience.
Collecting Yani
Books about Wang Yani and catalogues of her exhibitions are collected by enthusiasts of Chinese art and child art. Original paintings occasionally appear at auction. Her published works are modestly priced as books but her original paintings command significant prices in the Chinese art market.