CHEN JIANG HONG
a d a m g a l l e r y CHEN JIANG HONG CHEN JIANG HONG 24 Cork Street London W1S 3NJ Tel: +44 (0)20 7439 6633 e:info@adamgallery.com www.adamgallery.com
Chen Jiang Hong s work connects traditional Chinese techniques with a more universal abstraction. Chen explains: It is important for me to bring the culture to which I am attached to life, to allow it to cross boundaries, and to allow others to be a part of it. I try to paint in such a way that it becomes universal. These paintings combine the ancient Chinese medium of Indian ink with a contemporary twist of unusual raw materials like wood sawdust. His distinctive colours are minimal yet have a powerful impact. They are very close to the earth: using primarily red, ochre and black. They focus on two elements from Chinese imagery: bamboo and lotus flowers. In Asian art, bamboo often symbolizes the path towards enlightenment, whilst the lotus symbolizes birth and rebirth. These symbols relate to fertility, creation and purity and can be connected to the artistic creative process itself. Chen uses calligraphic techniques and paints on the floor with long wolf-hair brushes. Each brush stroke is a definite, irreversible moment that cannot be changed. The compositions are made up of strong black brush strokes balanced by smoky volutes and tactile sawdust. The subjects are often oversized and blurred, as if Chen has captured a fleeting moment in time. The large-scale close-ups have an immediate impact on the viewer, emphasising the materiality of his painting. Chen s work translates the vitality of nature with a rare elegance and an extraordinary energy. It would appear to embody the philosophy of Oriental sumi-e where the aim is not to reproduce the appearance of the subject, but to capture its soul: the unseen. Isabel Kidel 1 Mixed media on canvas 81 x 100 cm
2 Mixed media on canvas 130 x 130 cm
3 Mixed media on canvas 100 x 100 cm
4 Mixed media on canvas 80 x 80 cm Mixed media on canvas 81 x 100 cm 5
6 Mixed media on canvas 150 x 150 cm
7 Mixed media on canvas 80 x 80 cm Mixed media on canvas 100 x 100 cm 8
9 Mixed media on canvas 150 x 150 cm
10 Mixed media on canvas diptych 200 x 100 cm
11 Mixed media on canvas 150 x 150 cm
12 Mixed media on canvas 100 x 100 cm
13 Mixed media on canvas 100 x 100 cm Mixed media on canvas 81 x 100 cm 14
1 5 Mixed media on canvas 150 x 150 cm
Chen Jiang Hong Selected exhibitions 2011 Adam Gallery, London 2009 Forbes Galleries, New York Galerie Taménaga, Paris 2008 International Fine Art Fair, Dubai International Art Fair, Shenzhen, China 1963 Born in Tianjin, China 1979-82 Decorative Art School, Tianjin 1984-87 Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China 1988 Academy of Fine Arts, Paris Chen s work is held in numerous private and public collections in Europe, Asia and America. 2007-8 Pavilion of Art and Design, Paris Art Paris: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 2007 Galerie Taménaga, Paris and Tokyo International Art Fair, Shanghai 2006 Galerie NoSmoking, Strasbourg, France Asian Film Festival, CID-Deauville, France Galerie Cathay-Paris, Saint-Honoré, Paris 2005-6 Galerie Pierre Foucher, Honfleur, France 2005 Galerie Gulliver, Carpentras, France 2004 Public exhibition, Town Hall, Cergy-Pontoise, France Honorary Exhibitor, Cimaises d automne, Vendargues, France 2003 Galerie WAM, Caen, France Musée du Louvre bookshop, Paris 2001 Le French May Arts Festival, Hong Kong 2001-3 Milliamem Gallery, London 2000-2 Galerie Katze 5, Berlin 2000 NerodiCino, Krizia Space, Milan, Italy Contemporary Art Fair, Hamburg/ Berlin/ Paris 1999 Chromalies, Valence, France Contemporary Art Fair, Hamburg/ Berlin/ Paris/ Lausanne/ Brussels 1999- Galerie L. Fletcher, Geneva, Switzerland 2000 Galerie Arquebusier, Paris 16 Mixed media on canvas 146 x 114 cm
Selected exhibitions continued 1998 Salon de SAGA, Grand Palais, Paris Soleils Levant, l Oise Public Library 1998 Galerie Depypere, Kunrne, Belgium -2003 Lineart Art Fair, Belgium 1997 Espace Thérèse, Palais-Royal, Paris Échirolles Library, Grenoble, France Galerie François Miron, Paris Descours Présentation-l hôtel particulier, Paris 1997 Contemporary Art Fair, Paris -2004 Permanent exhibition, Galerie Lotus Rouge, Paris 1987 First Solo Exhibition in China: Chinese Artist Gallery, Beijing Contemporary Chinese Art, Boulogne Public Library, France 1996 Galerie Tenri de Japon, Paris Exhibition of Arte-télévision, Paris Markovitch Gallery, London Salon Arts & Antiquaires, Paris La Chine profonde, Galeries Lafayette, Paris Galerie Comptoir de Shanghai, Paris 1991 Espace Bateau-Lavoir, Paris Avant-Garde : Art of the Eighties, Pacific Asian Museum, Pasadena, USA. International Contemporary Art Fair, London-Olympia Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London Salon des Indépendants, Grand Palais, Paris 1991-4 Touchstone Gallery, Hong Kong 1990 Artcade Gallery, Brussels Hancock Gallery, London Salon de Mars, Paris 1989 Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris Galerie Jacques Barrère, Paris Galerie Arts & Communications, Paris Smith Gallery, Cambridge, UK Cadogan Gallery, London International Fair for Young Painters, Cannes, France Salon d Octobre, Brives, France International Festival of Contemporary Art, Toulouse, France 1988 Galerie Tronc Bijoux, Paris Galerie Jacques Barrère, Paris 1995 Ten year retrospective, Salon des Arts, London L Apparemment Café, Paris Mairie de Tautavel, Pyrénées-Roussillon, France Agency Gallery, London Galerie Sylvie Guimiot, Paris Itinerary 1995, Levallois et Fecamp, France 1994 Galerie Façade, Paris International Espace Magant, Paris 1994-6 Open Studios, Paris 1993 Espace de l Hôtel Atria, Paris Espace Descours, Place d Italie, Paris 1992 Young Painters Studio, Angers, France Academy of Fine Arts, Paris Artists from the Street, Versailles, France Salon de Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, Martigues, France
g a l l e r y www.adamgallery.com 24 CORK STREET London W1S 3NJ t: 0207 439 6633 13 JOHN STREET Bath BA1 2JL t: 01225 480406