National Art College Teachers' Sketch Master Copy. 5

Author: Yu Chenhui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Yu Chen was born in Ziyun County, Guizhou in 1963. She graduated from Guizhou Art School in 1981. In 1988, she graduated from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, winning the academy award for three consecutive years. Since 1992, she has been teaching at the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 1983, she participated in the "7th National Printmaking Exhibition." In 1990, she participated in the "World of Women Artists" exhibition. In 1995, she participated in the second "World of Women Artists" exhibition. In 1996, she participated in the "Chinese Modern Printmaking Exhibition" held by the Portland Art Museum in the United States; the "Sino-Korean Modern Printmaking Current Exhibition"; the "Beijing-Nagoya Modern Printmaking Exchange Exhibition"; and the "14th National Printmaking Exhibition." In 1997, she held a solo exhibition in Paris, France, and another in Beijing. Yu Chen's works are autobiographical, recording the artist's feelings, perceptions, and inner journey regarding society, life, and her own inner world. However, they are also social, as they reflect the emotions and ideals of contemporary urbanites, their passion for life, courage to face challenges, as well as their inner conflicts, confusion, and helplessness. The figures in her works exist in the space of the artist's subjective imagination, giving seemingly realistic characters a dreamlike, ethereal quality. Yu Chen's works are rooted in traditional techniques, using simple forms like black and white, line and plane, light and shadow, to express the complex and intricate modern human psyche in a realistic manner. Although she has been influenced by Western philosophical thought, she remains a quintessential Eastern woman. Through her unique delicacy and subtlety as a female artist, she conveys the subtle changes and intertwined contradictions within the characters, as well as their reserved yet expressive personalities. This reserved yet complex spiritual state can only be found in Eastern people. Nevertheless, her works are not without surreal, non-realistic elements, as well as a degree of exaggeration and distortion. The artist employs various artistic styles and forms to achieve her artistic themes. Regardless of whether Yu Chen uses realistic, exaggerated, or distorted techniques, the themes she reflects are the authentic inner experiences of contemporary urbanites. In the self-portrait "Old Doll in My Memory," the artist embraces a dismembered old doll, filled with a longing for beauty and love, gazing at our chaotic era with clear, pure eyes in a serene manner.