In the early 1980s, Chinese painter Wang Yani stunned the art world with her fresh take on xieyi-styled paintings of baboons, monkeys, cats and other animals.
As impressive as her paintings were, it was her very young age that was the primary source of the surprise and what dominated the reports about her. Wang started practising as an artist at two years old and was already exhibiting at the age of four. Garnering official recognition from across the country, her childhood work was featured on official Chinese postal stamps. By her early teens, Wang had found acceptance across the international art world with solo exhibitions in England, Japan, Germany and the US.
