1959 - Born in Hangzhou, China
1975 - Third prize in China's Young Artist Competition
1977-82 - Studied traditional Chinese painting under Zheng Dehan, Prof. Pan Yun, and Ding Zhengxian at Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, China
1982 - First prize from the Zhejiang Province Artists Association, China
1984 - Relocated to the Federal Republic of Germany
1992 - Obtained German citizenship
1985-87 - Studied at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg under Prof. K.P. Brehmer, graduated with a diploma
1998 - Director at Design-Factory International College of Communication Art and New Media
2001-2020 - President of the International School of Communication Design, Beijing Normal University Zhuhai, China
2006 - Awarded the "Medal for Art and Science" by the city of Hamburg, Visiting Professor, China Academy of Art
2007 - Honorary Doctorate from Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, England
2008/09 - Honorary Professor granted by Eastern China Normal University, Shanghai, Visiting Professor, Donghua University Shanghai
2010 - Founding President of the current Brand University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg
2011 - Appointed Professor for Intercultural Art at the current Brand University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg
Since 2014 - Member of the Free Academy of Arts Hamburg
Since 2020 - Member of the Academic Council of Tsinghua University, China
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1985 - Museum of Arts and Crafts, Hamburg
1987 - Kunsthalle Worpswede
1988 - Artist House Bonn, Kunsthalle Wuhan, China, Gallery Hans Hoeppner, Hamburg
1989 - "International Festival of the Arts", St. Gallen, Switzerland
1992 - "Association of Museums of Leningrad", St. Petersburg, Russia, Exhibition Hall Alma Ata, Kazakhstan, Homeland Museum Viburg, Russia, Joint Gallery, Hong Kong
1995 - Gallery Hoeppner, Essen
1996 - Gallery Hans Hoeppner, Frankfurt, Kunstverein Lüneburg
1998 - German Center, Jakarta, Gallery Regent in Jakarta, Indonesia
2000 - Gallery Hoeppner, Essen, Gallery Weterlin Teo, Singapore
2001 - Jin Cai Gallery Hangzhou, China, Shanghai Art Fair 2001, China
2002 - Gallery Millennium London, England, Gallery Weterlin Teo, Singapore, Roh Gallery Seoul, South Korea
2003 - Gallery Hans Hoeppner, Essen, Hanart Gallery Hong Kong, Jincai Gallery Hangzhou, China, Kol Gallery Jakarta, Indonesia
2004 - Gallery Hans Hoeppner "Zeche Zollverein Essen", Museum for Contemporary Art Shenzhen, China, Weterlin Teo Gallery, Hong Kong, Hanse Gate, Kunstkontor Hamburg
2005 - Duolun Museum for Contemporary Art Shanghai, China, Wu Chuan Shu Museum Anji, China
2006 - Liao Wen Studio Beijing, China, Gallery White Space Beijing, China, Alexander Ochs Galleries, Guan Shan Yue Art Museum Shenzhen, China
2007 - Today Art Museum Beijing, China, Gallery Hans Hoeppner Essen
2008 - "Painting of Slowness", Gallery Urs Meile, Lucerne, Switzerland, Songzhuang Art Museum, Beijing, China
2009 - "Painting of Slowness", State Museum of Art and Cultural History, Oldenburg, Germany, "Painting of Slowness", Sigg Collection, Castle Mauensee, Switzerland, Gallery Hoeppner, Essen, Germany
2010 - "HOMELAND Painting the Moment – Painting Slowness", Gallery Urs Meile, Beijing, China, "HOMELAND Painting the Moment – Painting Slowness", Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, China
2012 - "Transformation", Kunsthaus Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, "Industrial Landscapes", Wenzel Hablik Museum, Itzehoe, Germany, "Transformation", Suzhou Museum, Suzhou, China
2013 - "Painting the Moment", Chinese Painting Biennale, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China, "Painting the Moment", Shenzhen Fine Art Institute, Shenzhen, China, Painting the Moment, Tap Seac Gallery, Macao, China
2014 - Beijing Today Art Museum, Beijing, China; Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne, Switzerland; TCA International Arts Museum, Hangzhou, China; Jin Cai Gallery, Hangzhou, China; WEI Gallery, Shanghai, China
2016 - Free Academy of Arts, Hamburg
2021 - "Bamboo Dialogues", Artcenter China Merchants Bank
2022 - "Sturm schwillt an", Free Academy of Arts Hamburg; "Bamboo Dialogues", Tom Reichstein Contemporary, Hamburg
2024 - "Oneness of Body and Bamboo: Shan Fan's Artworks", Suzhou Museum West, China
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1990 - "Young Art from China", Stadtgalerie, Saarbrücken
1995 - "Farewell to Ideology – New Art from China", Kampnagel Factory, Hamburg
2001 - "Horizons Perspectives", Museum for Hamburg History, Hamburg
2006 - "Adventurous Views – Chinese Artists Look into the 21st Century", Stadtgalerie im Elbeforum Brunsbüttel; "Far West – KP Brehmer, Xu Jiang, Shan Fan, Wu Shanzhuan. Four Artists Between Germany and China", Kunsthaus Hamburg; Shenzhen Biennale, Shenzhen, China; Art Cologne, Cologne
2007 - Galerie ArtChina Hamburg; "Far West – KP Brehmer, Xu Jiang, Shan Fan, Wu Shanzhuan. Four Artists Between Germany and China", ArtCenter Shanghai
2008 - "Unpack – Chinese Experiment Art", China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China
2009 - Kunstverein Plauen, Germany
2012 - "Future and Reality", 5th Beijing International Art Biennale, Beijing, China
2013 - "Abstractions", Shenzhen Fine Art Institute, Shenzhen, China
2014 - "Secret Signs", Deichtorhallen International Art, Hamburg, Germany; Artmuseum Provinz Henan, China; HE-Artmuseum, Wuhan, China
2016/17 - "Weather Report – About Weather Culture and Climate Science", Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
2017 - "Gravity and Lightness", M+ Museum Hong Kong; "When the Gods Made Time, They Made Plenty of It", Shan Fan and Rolf Bergmeier, Künstlerhaus Frise Hamburg
2018 - "Inky Bites", Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg
2019 - "A Chinese Journey", Sigg Collection, Noordbrabants Museum, Netherlands