Yifei Gan is an internationally active artist and independent curator whose creative and academic practice spans more than four decades across China and the United States. He earned a BFA (1983) and a MFA (1989) from Southwest University.From 1990 to 1992, he pursued doctoral studies in Education at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, where he earned an MS in Education. Gan's professional career bridges rigorous artistic practice with extensive experience in higher education.
Gan began his academic career in 1983 as an Assistant Professor of art at Southwest University (formerly Southwest Normal University). From 1990 to 1992, he served as a visiting scholar at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. In 1992, he joined Howard Community College in Maryland, where he was promoted to full professor in 1999 and continues to teach. From 2018 to 2022, he served as a doctoral advisor at Southwest Minzu University.
In 2016, Gan founded a Sino-American Cultural and Artistic Exchange Center . He has held several leadership and advisory roles, including serving as Academic Advisor to the Beijing Songzhuang Museum of Contemporary Chinese Art Documentation since 2017 and, beginning in 2026, Yifei Gan serve as the Chair of the Board for the Chinese American Art Faculty Association.
As an artist, Yifei Gan's work explores the cross-cultural dimensions of contemporary art, the contemporary transformation of traditional Chinese art, and the relationship between artistic language and meaning. His creative practice focuses on themes of cross-cultural identity and human conditions in the modern world. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in the United States, China, Norway, Italy, and other countries, and has received numerous awards. His art is included in both institutional and private collections, including Lushan Museum of Art, Boya Art Gallery, Dantang Art Gallery, First Class Magazine Art Collection, Howard Community College (USA)...and others.
Since the mid-1990s, Gan has worked as an independent curator and art critic. He has been a regular contributor to major art journals on the Chinese mainland, such as Jiangsu Art Journal , Art China , and Art Observation , World Art and in Taiwan's art magazine Art Collection . He has published extensive commentary on contemporary art and has been invited to deliver lectures and public talks at prominent institutions in China and the United States, including Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing), Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Southwest University, Southwest Minzu University, Saint Benedict's College, William Paterson University… In 1999, Yifei Gan co-authored Conceptual Art Design with Tan Ping and Zhang Yonghe (Qingdao Publishing House). In 2016, he co-authored Reading in the Pixel Era: A Study of Contemporary Book Design with Dong Hongyu (Beijing University of Technology Press).
Yifei Gan has successfully curated numerous significant exhibitions, including: 2016 “South and Northward” : Zhang Daqian and Four Masters of the Republican Era (Lushan Museum of Art), 2016 “Floating World Elegance” : Yi Society / West Lake Painting Society Joint Exhibition (Luzhen Artist district gallery), 2014 “Beyond the Body” : International Touring Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Art (Oslo City Hall Art Museum, Norway), 2013 "Open Mind's Eye" : China Contemporary Art Invitational (505 Artist Colony Art Gallery, Xichang, PRC), 2012 "Tracing the origin" : China Contemporary Art Invitational (Blue Roof Museum of Art, Chengdu, PRC), 2012 "Beyond the Body" : International Touring Exhibition (Ross Museum of Art, Maryland, USA)
Gan's contributions to art and education have been widely recognized. His honors include Special Commendation from US Senator Ben Cardin (2009), American Success Award by Howard County Government, Outstanding Artist Award by Howard County Arts Council (2016), Distinguished Professor , by Southwest University (2020).
In 2018, Gan Yifei was included in Baidu Baike (Baidu Encyclopedia) . His artistic career has also been the subject of documentary films, including The Artistic Life of Gan Yifei (Chongqing TV, 2015; Sichuan TV, 2014).
甘一飞，艺术家、独立策展人，1983、1989先后于（中国）西南大学获艺术学士、硕士学位，1990-1992田纳西大学攻读教育学博士（肄业）获教育学硕士学位。1983年于西南大学（原西南师范大学）美术系始任助理教授起，开始了他横跨中美两国四十多年艺术创作实践和高校执教的经历。1989-1992年应邀赴美任田纳西大学访问教授，1992年入职任教于马里兰州豪尔德学院艺术人文系，1999年升任正教授至今，并于2018–2022年兼任西南民族大学博士生导师。2016创立中美文化艺术交流空间，2017年- 任北京中国当代艺术文献博物馆学术顾问，2025年，甘一飞 被选为全美华人美术教授协会理事会主席。
作为艺术家，甘一飞教授的研究方向集中于当代艺术跨文化特性、中国传统艺术的当代转型， 以及艺术的语言与语义关系。艺术创作聚焦于当代人跨文化身份与生存状态等主题，作品在美国、中国、挪威、意大利等地多次举办个展和参展并获奖。 不少作品为专业艺术机构及私人收藏。主要收藏机构有：麓山美术馆、珀雅美术馆、淡堂美术馆、头等舱杂志社，美国豪尔德学院……等，
作为独立策展人，甘一飞自1990年代中期以来，在中国大陆《江苏画刊》《艺术中国》《艺术观察》，台湾《典藏》等艺术杂志担任特约撰稿并发表大量有关当代艺术的评论文章，并多次应邀在中美重要高校如：北京中央美院、四川美院、西南大学、西南民大、圣本笃学院、威廉帕特森大学……作学术公共演讲和举办讲座。1999年与谭平、张永和合著《概念艺术设计》（青岛出版社）， 2016年与董红羽合著《像素时代的阅读：当代书籍设计研究》（北京理工大学出版社）。 甘一飞成功策划了大量艺术大展，其中主要展览有：2016年 “南来北往“- 张大千暨民国四名家作品展（麓山美术馆）， “浮世风雅”-逸社/西湖画会联展（麓镇艺术区美术馆）， 2014年 “超越肉身”-中国当代艺术国际巡回（挪威）展（挪威奥斯陆市政厅美术馆），2013年“澄怀观道”- 中国当代艺术邀请展（中国西昌505艺术创意库美术馆），2012年 “溯源之旅” - 中国当代艺术邀请展（成都蓝顶美术馆）， “超越肉身”-中国当代艺术国际巡回（美国）展, 美国马里兰罗斯美术馆……等。
甘一飞在艺术和教育领域的贡献为他赢得了众多荣誉，包括2009得美国参议员Ben Cardin特别表彰状、马里兰豪尔德郡政府“美国成功奖”，2016年获颁豪尔德郡艺术委员会“杰出艺术家奖”，2020年西南大学 “历届名师”荣誉称号。2018年甘一飞被收录于百度百科，其艺术生涯亦被拍摄为纪录片《甘一飞的艺术人生》（重庆电视台台2015，四川电视台2014）。
