Ce Chen is a self-promoted artist and illustrator. He experiments with various material and formats. He firstly developed the interest in Cornish landscapes while in his BA study; the he was intrigued by how a particular landscape can be used to define an identity, and devoted to explore the symbolic power of landscapes. Through his explorations, he articulates the statement:
To paint as a shit-stirrer – at least that was the encouragement. Authorial illustration introduced many feasibilities to narrative visualisation. Those conventionally tooled elements: words, themes, compositions, a different manner of utilisation could decisively alter the outcome. As Gary Powell once said, “back to basic”, I sank to the very fundamental essence of these elements to depict an invented dilemma. I mess around with linearity, definition, materiality, and time-space as I maintain that art systematically challenges things in a specific context – even if this context is too idealised or needs to be invented. This is the approach I adopt to settle the never-ending self-debate about my identity as an artist, an illustrator or a researcher; it is also a peace treaty to my personal history and a negotiation to the future.
Many of Tolstoy’s quotes state the affiliation between individual experience and history as a grand narrative & collective consequence. As I suggest, the deconstruction of history should, perhaps, pause for humanistic care, and respect personal histories; information gap, sociological context and perspective leaves me the space to stir its ingredients. I experiment to verify this methodology for a forthcoming research question: how images of landscapes are used to define identity?
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
2022.2 - 2022.4, Art on the Celtic Fringes 1880 - 1945, short course, University of Oxford
2022.7 - 2022.8, Cambridge University Summer Programme
2021 - on going, Chelsea, UAL, Research Programme PhD
Professional Experience
2022.5 - 6 Off Grid, Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance
2022.3 - Meta? - joint exhibition at HOAA, Milano; xBAL Pop Up Gallery, Melbourne
2022.2 - Pathway - solo exhibition at Fish Factory, Penryn
2021.11 - PerSpectra - joint exhibition at Copeland Gallery, London
2021.10 - joint exhibition at Lewisham Art House, London
2021.8 Ebb & Flow, Falmouth
2021.6 Repair Show, joint exhibition at Cornish Bank, Falmouth
2020.10 - UAL Graduate Showcase, Online
2020.9 - New Faces, joint exhibition at Sprout Art, London
2019.2 - Work highly recommended, Red Line Art Works
2018.11 - Work collected by Shanghai Xirui Co., Ltd.
2018.3 - Solo exhibition, Zuheros, Spain
2017.10 - 2017.11 - Contributed to Oh Comely Magazine
2017.7 - Work featured in Average Art Magazine
2017.7 - Two Folds, Bargehouse, London
2017.7 - Work shortlisted in Royal Ulster Academy 136th Annual Exhibition
Contact
+44 7479 389 110
https://cechenpaints.wordpress.com
Ins: @cechenpaints