1957年生于浙江杭州，中国美术学院版画系学士、史论系博士，1993年从湖北省美术院调入深圳画院，曾任深圳画院研究员及副院长。现生活于深圳、杭州。
严善錞多年来潜心于艺术理论研究与创作实践，尤其在中国的文人画与西方的抽象画方面别有会心，他将多种绘画语言进行融合发展，不断推演它们在视觉方面的可塑性。其创作以蚀刻铜版画与综合材料两种媒材来表現对故乡杭州西湖及富春江山水的追忆和感受，画风简约高华、寄意深远，开创了自己独特的表达方式和艺术风格，具有醇厚的历史魅力和前瞻动力。其作品先后为美国大都会博物馆、洛杉矶郡立美术馆、中国美术学院美术馆、OCAT艺术中心等重要的海内外美术机构收藏展出。其专著有：《当代艺术问题》《文人画的趣味、图式与价值》（与黄专合著）《文人与画——正史与小说中的画家》等。
Yan Shanchun, born in 1957 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, holds a bachelor’s degree in printmaking and a doctorate in art history and theory from the China Academy of Art. He is currently living in Shenzhen and Hangzhou.
Yan Shanchun has been dedicated to studying art theory and creative practice over the years, especially in Chinese literati painting and Western abstraction. He integrates various painterly languages, playing out their visual plasticity. His art practice adopts copper plate engraving and mixed media to express his memories and feelings about the West Lake in his hometown Hangzhou, and the landscapes around the Fuchun River. With a minimal and sophisticated style and profound metaphorical meanings, Yan invents a unique expression and artistic style that are rich in historical appeal and forward-looking dynamics. His works have been acquired and exhibited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Art Museum of the China Academy of Art, and the OCAT Art Terminal, among many art institutions at home and abroad. His publications include Issues on Contemporary Art, Taste, Motifs and Value of Literati Painting (both co-authored with Huang Zhuan) and Literati and Painting – Painters in Official History and Literature.
