Born in 1965 in the Shandong Province of China, Tian Zhong Quan graduated from the Shandong University in China in 1991. He subsequently furthered his studies at the Zhejiang Fine Arts Academy and a year later, in 1994, he won the Excellence Performance Award in the Chinese Oil Painting Contest.

He has participated in many exhibitions including ones in China, Singapore and New York. Following his second involvement in the China National Art Expo in 1997, he was awarded the Young Artist Award. In 2003, he held a solo exhibition entitled 'Reminiscence of the Orient' in the HaKAren Art Gallery in Singapore.

In his time at the Zhejiang Fine Arts Academy, he often found himself nose-deep in books of works by
the great masters such as Rembrandt Harmensz Yan Rij, Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin, Johannes Vermeer and Alma Tadema. Through their works, he was inspired to paint still life objects, albeit with a
Chinese slant.

A pivotal moment for him was when he visited Xi An in China, home to the terracotta army in the tomb
of the First Emperor. He was awed by the stone tower and the terracotta warriors. Recognizing that they represented the ancient culture and history of China, he decided that they would be used as the subjects of his paintings. Today, his works are collected by private organizations, collectors and foreign
embassies.