Zhang Songnan (1942) is from Shanghai. In 1964, he graduated from the Central Art Academy and subsequently worked in a district propaganda unit in the Chaoyang District, Beijing, until 1978. In that year, he enrolled as a postgraduate in the Central Art Academy. Upon graduation, he joined the Fresco Painting Department at the same Academy. In 1984, he studied at the National Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. He currently lives in Canada.