About Fan Yu

Fan Yu was born in Beijing, China, into a family deeply rooted in classical Chinese architecture. Growing up surrounded by art, structure, and traditional aesthetics, he developed an artistic sensitivity from an early age. Some of his fondest childhood memories are of spending entire days at the zoo with his father, sketching animals and quietly observing their forms, expressions, movements, and behavior.

Animals have been an essential part of Fan’s life for as long as he can remember. Long before sculpture became his primary profession, he had already devoted more than two decades to the world of purebred dogs.

As a professional handler and master groomer, Fan worked closely with many different breeds, managing and presenting dogs in China and internationally. He also competed in the United States and conducted professional grooming, handling, and sculpture seminars across Asia, Europe, and North America.

Those years profoundly shaped the way Fan sees animals. Working hands-on with dogs gave him an intimate understanding of anatomy, balance, movement, breed type, and, above all, individual character. He learned to notice the subtle details that distinguish not only one breed from another, but one individual from another — knowledge that cannot be gained from photographs alone.

Fan’s journey into sculpture grew naturally from this lifelong relationship with animals. Although he did not receive formal academic training in sculpture, years of drawing, observation, and hands-on experience gradually developed his understanding of three-dimensional form. His background in the dog world gave him a perspective that would become fundamental to his art: to understand an animal not only by how it looks, but by how it moves, behaves, and expresses its character.

In 2009, Fan created his first canine sculpture, a portrait of the legendary Kerry Blue Terrier Ch. Torums Scarf Michael, “Mick,” winner of Best in Show at both Crufts and Westminster. He later traveled to the United States and presented the sculpture to Mick’s handler, Bill McFadden. What began as a personal project became an important turning point in Fan’s life and the beginning of a new artistic journey.

In 2018, Fan shifted his primary professional focus toward sculpture, bringing together the worlds that had shaped his life — animals, dogs, movement, structure, and art.

Since then, his sculptures have been exhibited and honored internationally, including at the ARC Salon, the Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition, the Society of Animal Artists, the American Artists Professional League, and Allied Artists of America.

In 2023, Fan received the Marilyn Newmark Memorial Grant from the National Sculpture Society in recognition of his dedication to animal sculpture and the strength of his body of work. That same year, his sculpture Blaze of Glory received the Marilyn Newmark Memorial Award at the National Sculpture Society’s 90th Annual Awards Exhibition. In 2024, Fan was elected a Sculptor Member of the National Sculpture Society.

Fan has also been commissioned by national breed clubs, kennel clubs, private collectors, breeders, and institutions, including the AKC Museum of the Dog, to create bronze sculptures, trophies, medallions, and commemorative works. Through these commissions, his sculptures have come to represent not only individual dogs, but also the history, heritage, and character of their breeds.

For Fan, creating an animal sculpture has never been simply about reproducing physical appearance.

Anatomy and breed type provide the foundation, but character gives a sculpture life. Years of living and working with animals have taught him that even the smallest gesture — the position of the head, the tension within the body, the weight carried through the feet, or a subtle expression in the eyes — can reveal something about an animal’s personality.

Some of Fan’s sculptures portray celebrated show dogs and important representatives of their breeds; others preserve the memory of deeply loved companions. Each has its own story, but what Fan searches for remains the same: the presence of the individual animal.

His goal is not simply to reproduce what an animal looks like, but to preserve something of who that animal is.

Today, Fan lives and works in Claremont, California, with his wife, Amy. Her love, encouragement, and support have accompanied him throughout his artistic journey and remain an essential part of the life behind his work.

Surrounded by the animals that first inspired him and continue to shape the way he sees the world, Fan continues to create sculptures for collectors, breed clubs, and institutions around the world.