Born in 1957 and raised in Jinan, China, Yuan Cheng Bi’s career as an artist of various mediums began in his home country. Under the guidance and encouragement of his father, Bi began practicing art at age five. At the age of eleven, Bi was taken under the wing of one of China’s most prestigious art professors to learn landscaping, watercolor, and oil. This mentorship would go on for another ten years and prove to be a great factor in Bi’s later successful career in art.
By 1975, Bi had already established himself as an accomplished art instructor in Jinan’s local art club. In 1979, Bi moved on to attend the ZiangXi Art University, earning himself a Bachelor in Fine Art. Bi’s renowned gift for art continued to blossom at ZiangXi as he consistently found himself as a top student in not only his classes, but in the district. Upon graduation, dozens of Bi’s pieces were collected by the University’s Art Museum.
After graduating in 1983, Bi went on to work in landscaping and sculptural design at Shandong Architectural Company. In 1985, Bi’s sculpture titled “Teasing Swan” received second place in a provincial art competition and was re-created in marble, standing two meters tall for the City of Jinan’s Central Park.
Bi’s success in sculpture continued on the next year when he was chosen out of over 100 competitors from around the nation to design the sculptural landmark for Shandong Stadium – the province’s largest athletics facility. The finished product was a metal and concrete sculpture standing 30 meters high, symbolizing the unification of common people through sport. His work for the city continued on in 1989 for China’s National Day, where Bi designed a fountain standing in Jinan Center Square filled with water lilies, the city’s official flower.
With his rising career in sculptural design, the Province of Shandong gave Bi the nation’s highly distinguished and recognized title as a Chinese art master in 1987. 1989 was also an outstanding year for Bi as he was accepted into the prestigious Chinese Encyclopedia of Art.
Emigrating to Canada in 1990, Yuan Cheng Bi presently works and resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bi began his own studio in 1992 and has found his prominent work in original oil and acrylic painting as well as in mural painting. Over the past fifteen years, Bi has painted over 50 murals across Canada.