He is a leading figure in contemporary Chinese ink art, a national-level artist, a member of the Art Creation Steering Committee of the China Academy of Art, vice president of the China Academy of Painting, and a researcher at the Wu Guanzhong Art Research Center at Tsinghua University.
Sang Huoyao graduated from the Department of Chinese Painting of the China Academy of Art with a master's degree, and founded the art theory of "Situationism", using "square superimposition" as the core creative symbol, fusing the mood of traditional Chinese ink and wash with the forms of Western abstract expressionism to form a unique artistic style. He also founded the art theory of "Realism".