Mu Pan (b. 1976, Taiwan) studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York, earning a BFA in Illustration and an MFA with honours in 2007 after emigrating to the city in 1997. Working primarily in acrylic on wood and paper, his highly detailed paintings assert a multiplicity of cultural identities through expansive, narrative compositions often staged as dynamic battle scenes. Blending references from East Asian art histories and American pop culture, his work constructs hybrid mythologies populated by animal deities and cartoon-like figures, using these layered narratives as a vehicle for sharp social commentary on migration, urban change, and contemporary society.
Solo Exhibitions include For the Life of the Creature, Galerie LJ, Paris, France (2025); Enter the Dragon, Galerie LJ, Paris, France (2024); Another Journey to the West, Galerie LJ, Paris, France (2023); To Have A Mother Means Milk, Hashimoto Contemporary, New York, USA (2022); Don’t Concentrate On The Finger, Galerie LJ, Paris, France (2021); Mu Pan And Other Beasts, Exhibition Retrospective, Colección Slo, Madrid, Spain (2019); The Sword of MUtual Demise, Galerie LJ, Paris, France (2019); Bright Moon Shines On The River, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, USA (2018); Art Central Hong Kong, with Galerie LJ, Hong Kong (2018); Treat Your Mother Right, Galerie LJ, Paris, France (2017): Your Mother Should Know, Poulsen Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (2016); Fake Cover, Galerie LJ, Paris, France (2015); One Inch Punch, Copro Nason Gallery, Santa Monica, USA (2014); The Way of The Dog, 3rd Ward, Brooklyn, USA (2012); Art Taipei, Exposition personnelle dans le cadre du prix Artist Wanted/3rd Ward Open Call, Taipei (2011): The Other Mountain and The Other Sea, KunstRaum H&H. Cologne, Germany (2011).
Selected Group Exhibitions include (Upcoming) Tainted Love, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2026); Iconostasis, Museum of Contemporary Art, Bangkok (2026); Beasts of Legend: Animals in East Asian Art, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA, USA (2026); Carnival, Deitch Projects, New York, USA (2025); Rakugaki 7, Giant Robot, Los Angeles, USA (2025); Hybrides: Composed Creatures From Sagas, Myths and Legends, De Warande, Turnhout, Belgique (2024); Where the Wild Roses Grow, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Schloss Görne, Berlin, Germany (2023); Zona Maco, Mexico DF, Represented by Hashimoto Contemporary, Mexico (2023); Asia Now, Paris, with Galerie LJ. Paris, France (2022); The New Ark, curated by Art Can Die and Director Jacq, River City, Bangkok (2022); The Garden of Earthly Delights: A Contemporary Perspective on Bosch’s (2021); Masterpeice, Matadero, Centro de Creación Contemporanea, Madrid, Spain (2021); Poulson Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (2020); Art Madrid, with Galerie LJ, Madrid, Spain (2020); Art Herning, with Poulsen Gallery, Denmark (2020); Summer show, Poulsen Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (2019): Pulse Miami, with Poulsen Gallery, Miami, USA (2019); Art On Paper, with Poulsen Gallery, New York, USA (2019); Art Central, with Galerie LJ, Hong Kong (2019); Solid State, curated by Louie Cordero & Jordin Isip, Blanc Gallery, St. Ignatius, Philippines (2019): La Belle Peinture, Spacejunk, Grenoble, France (2017); La Belle Peinture, Spacejunk, Lyon, France (2017);La Belle Peinture, Spacejunk, Byonne, France (2017); Art Central, with Galerie LJ, Hongkong (2017); Pulse Art Fair, with Poulsen Gallery, Miami, USA (2016); YIA Art Fair, with Galerie LJ, Paris, France (2016); Japanese American National Museum, Giant Robot Biennale IV, curator Eric Nakamura, Los Angeles, USA (2015); Samurai, Worcester Art Museum, Exposition collective, curator: Eric Nakamura (2015); Samurai curator Eric Nakamura, Group Exhibition, Worcester Art Museum, Boston, USA (2015); Group Show, Galerie LJ, Paris, France (2014); Hey ! Part !!, Musée de l’Art Brut, Paris, France (2013); Futur-ology,Copro Nason Gallery, Santa Monica, USA (2013); SommerLoch 2012 Silly Season 2012, KunstRaum H&H, Cologne, Germany (2012); Permanent Collection, Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, USA (2012); The Ace is Wild, Copro Nason Gallery, Santa Monica, USA (2012); Dark Water, Copro Nason Gallery, Santa Monica, USA (2011); Sommerloch 2011, KunstRaum H&H, Cologne, Germany (2011); La Luz de Jesus 25th Anniversary Group Show, Los Angeles, USA (2011);Verge: Art Brooklyn, New York, USA (2011); Silly Season 2011, KunstRaum H&H, Cologne, Germany (2011): UNICEF’s Tap Project, GR2, Los Angeles, USA (2011): Silly Season 2010, KunstRaum H&H, Cologne, Germany (2010).
Highlights and Awards
Mu Pan has been commissioned an image for the opening scene of the movie Midsommar by Ari Aster in 2019. Pan has also been commissioned for a main poster for the film “Catch Me Daddy” by Daniel and Matthew Wolfe. Mu Panhas been awarded with multiple prizes amongst them the Artist Wanted 3rd Ward Summer Open Call Grand Prize 2007 Catherine Rhodes Scholarship in 2011 and the MFA Illustration Departmen4t Merit Scholarship in 2006 and the Alumni Scholarship Award in 2001.