Paul Chan (BFA 1996) is an artist, writer, and publisher who works in a variety of media: from video, animation, and multimedia projects to charcoal drawings, and conceptual typefaces. Chan received his BFA from SAIC in 1996 and also served as F Newsmagazine editor while at the school.

In an interview with F Newsmagazine from 2010, Chan says of his time at SAIC, “I think in a way I came at a time when I needed a place that would give me a lot of freedom so I could learn on my own, and the Art Institute gave me that, so I got a lot out of it.”

Born in Hong Kong, and raised in Nebraska, Chan currently works and resides in New York. In 2005 his work was described by then senior editor of BOMB magazine, Nell McClister, as a “peculiar blend of the literary and the political, the age-old and the cutting-edge, the religious and the erotic.” Paul Chan first gained recognition in 2004, with a digital animation titled, My Birds…Trash…the Future.

Since, Chan has had numerous solo exhibitions, and his work is included in the collections of the Walker Art Center, the Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum among others. In 2010 Chan took a break from art making and founded the publishing company Badlands Unlimited. He returned to the art world in April 2014 with the show Selected Works. He was awarded the 2014 Hugo Boss Prize, a biennial award that honors artists who have made visionary contributions to contemporary art.