Painter and printmaker Jiang Tiefeng, also spelled Tie-Feng Jiang, was born in 1938 in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province in China. As a child, he displayed a great love and talent for painting and drawing, and was encouraged to pursue visual art. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1963, one of the last students to be taught in the traditional Chinese techniques as Mao's power grew. 

From 1966 to 1973, the Chinese Government assigned Tiefeng and other artists to produce "Socialist Realism" propaganda posters and sculptures in the Yunnan Province. Stifled by this sterile exercise, Jiang worked at night on his bed in a small room to create his own style. Along with two other artists, he secretly found what is now known as the "Yunnan School," risking arrest by the Red Guard. The Yunnan School focused on colorism and self expression, and would eventually become one of the foremost influences of contemporary Chinese artists. Tiefeng was commissioned to make a mural for the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and in 1982, the Yunnan School's first exhibition outside of Communist China took place at the Institute of Art and Design in Hong Kong.

That same year a National Geographic reporter, covering life in China, saw Jiang's paintings and asked to take some of his works to the U.S. to see if they could find him representation. Tiefeng's work was met with great success, and in 1983, he traveled to the United States as part of a cultural exchange program with the University of Southern California, where he eventually took a teaching position, and exhibited his work throughout the Northeast. He moved permanently to U.S. in the 1984 and exhibited throughout the US and, later, once more in China. 

Tiefeng continues to live and work in the United States. 

Selected exhibitions:
1970, '74, '80: Yunnan Museum, Kunming, China
1979: The Great Hall of the People, Beijing, China
1981: China Fine Arts Gallery, Beijing; Tianjing Museum, Tianjing, China
1982: No. 1 Art Design Institute, Hong Kong
1983: University of Southern Californa, CA, USA; Int'l Exhibition of Children's Book Illustration, Italy
1985: New England Center for Contemporary Art, CT, USA
1986: Portland Museum, MA, USA
1987: Springfield Art Center, OH, USA
1988: Connecticut College Art Gallery, CT, USA
1989: Museum at Northeastern University, MA, USA
1990-'91: Olin Fine Arts Center, PA; Art and Culture Center, FL; Valdosta Museum at Valdosta State University, GA; Michelson Reves Museum, TX; Springfield Art Museum, OH; Everson Museum, NY
1992: New Eengland Center of Contemporary Art, CT
1993: California Institute of Fine Arts, CA
1998: Liuhaisu Museum, Shanghai, China; Guanshanyue Museum, China
2002: Westlake Int'l Exhibtion, Hangzhou, Cina; China Int'l City Sculpture, Exhibition and Symposium, Beijing
2006: Hangzhou Stadium, China
2007: Hangzhou Grand Hall, CHina; Ningbo Art Gallery, Ningbo, China
2008: Asia Society and Museum, New York, USA