National Art College Teachers' Sketch Master Copy Collection

Author: Yu Chen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Yu Chen was born in Ziyun County, Guizhou Province in 1963. He graduated from Guizhou Province Art School in 1981. He graduated from the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1988 and won the academy award for three consecutive years. He has been teaching at the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts since 1992. In 1983, he participated in the "7th National Printmaking Exhibition." In 1990, he participated in the "World of Women Artists" exhibition. In 1995, he participated in the "Second World of Women Artists" exhibition. In 1996, he 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, he held a "Solo Exhibition of Yu Chen" in Paris, France, and another "Solo Exhibition of Yu Chen" in Beijing. Yu Chen's works are autobiographical, recording the artist's feelings, perceptions, and inner journey toward society, life, and his own inner world. However, they are also social, as they reflect the emotions and ideals of contemporary urbanites, as well as their passionate engagement with life, courage in facing challenges, and inner contradictions, 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, lines and planes, light and shadow, to express the complex and winding modern human psyche in a realistic manner. Although she has been influenced by Western philosophical thought, she remains a quintessential Eastern woman. She conveys the subtle changes and the interwoven contradictions and reserved personalities of her characters with the delicacy and subtlety typical of women artists. This reserved yet complex spiritual state can only be found in Eastern people. However, her works are not without surreal non-realistic elements and a certain degree of exaggeration and distortion. The artist employs various artistic styles and forms to achieve her artistic themes. 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 Dolls in My Memory," the artist embraces a limbless old doll, filled with a longing for beauty and love, gazing at our chaotic era with clear, pure eyes in a serene manner.