Ce Chen is an artist and a researcher based in Cornwall, UK. His artistic practice traverses a diverse spectrum of media, ranges from graphic-based drawings to 3D installations; he plays with linearity, definition, materiality, and the concept of time-space.
Ce's fascination with the Cornish landscape took root many years ago. He was drawn to the idea of how specific landscapes can shape identity and the symbolic potency they can possess. Ce is currently in the final year of the PhD research program at Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL. His research focuses on the Cornish landscape and identity from the unique perspective of an outsider, exploring these themes through the ethnographic lens.
Ce approaches painting as an agent of provocation. He believes that authorial illustration has introduced a multitude of possibilities for narrative visualization. Traditional elements such as words, themes, and compositions can be harnessed in unique ways to decisively influence the outcome. In the words of Gary Powell, it's about going "back to basics." Ce has immersed himself in these fundamental elements to provoke or invent questions. He employs cross-disciplinary approaches to systematically challenge what seems to be "matter of course" - even if the context is idealised or needs to be fabricated, tuning his practice to challenge the stability of a system, 'like tossing a stone in a dead pond', stimulating response, generating reflection, catalysing new idea.
Education
2014 - 2017, University of Brighton, BA (Hons) Illustration
2019 - 2020, Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London, MA Fine Art Painting
2020 - 2021, Falmouth University, MA Illustration: Authorial Practice
2022, Art on the Celtic Fringes 1880 - 1945, short course, University of Oxford
2021 - on going, CCW, UAL, Research Programme PhD
Teaching Experience
2025, seminar & workshop for MA Fine Art Drawing, Camberwell College of Arts, Bakhtinian lens to Cornishness & Identity; Thinking Cross-disciplinarily
2024, seminar & workshop for MA Illustration, Camberwell College of Arts, Initiate Cross-disciplinary Research as an Outsider
2024, seminar & workshop for MA Fine Art Drawing, Camberwell College of Arts, Cross-disciplinary Research in the Context of the Cornish Studies
2022, seminar for Graduate Diploma, Chelsea College of Arts, Research as an Outsider
Exhibition & Commission Experience
2024.11, Right to Roam, Fish Factory, Penryn
2024.3, Illustration commission, contributed to Wassa Jesus
2023.11, Nostalgia for Rural Wonderland, Rosso Art Space, Shanghai
2023.9, Spirit of Cornwall, RCM, Truro
2022.7, Poly Summer Exhibition, Falmouth
2022.5 - 6, Off Grid, Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance
2022.3, Meta?, HOAA, Milano; Melbourne
2022.2, Pathway, solo exhibition at Fish Factory, Penryn
2021.11, PerSpectra, Copeland Gallery, London
2021.10, Subject Matters, Lewisham Art House, London
2021.8, Ebb & Flow, Falmouth University Graduate Show, Falmouth
2021.6, Repair, Cornish Bank, Falmouth
2020.10, UAL Graduate Showcase, Online
2020.9, New Faces, Sprout Art, London
2018.11, work commissioned by Shanghai Xirui Co., Ltd.
2018.3, Una Mirada a Andalucía, Solo exhibition, Zuheros, Spain
2017.10-11, contributed to Oh Comely Magazine
2017.7, contributed to Average Art Magazine
2017.7, Two Folds, Bargehouse, London
2017.7, shortlisted in Royal Ulster Academy 136th Annual Exhibition
Contact
Ins: @cechenpaints