'Chinese traditional culture has had a huge influence in my creation, for instance, the harmony between yin and yang, as well as the concept of essence, qi and spirit. The dynamic invisible qi not only exists in the traditional Chinese painting but also in my vibrant works. What my viewers can perceive are the vigour of life, the force of nature, confrontations between different species, and most importantly, the imbalanced relationship between nature and humans.'
Whitestone Gallery is honoured to present Inevitability, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Chinese artist Chen Yingjie. On view at the gallery's Taipei location, this exhibition marks his second solo presentation in Taiwan. The show will introduce over 30 new paintings and manuscripts the artist created in 2021, including works from four series: Breaking Loong, Reconstructed Universe, Gravity and Stay Hungry. Integrating Chinese ink painting and Western graffiti techniques, Chen embodies a range of surging emotions with his tactile and dynamic compositions. Abandoning the paintbrush used in traditional Chinese ink paintings, the artist utilizes spontaneous body movements in his creative process and adopts splashing and spraying techniques illustrating his interpretation of a contemporary Chinese landscape.
Inspired by 'be formless and shapeless, like water,' a philosophy by Chinese martial artist Bruce Lee, Chen adopts contemporary media such as acrylic, spray paint and gold leaf to create Breaking Loong 42. The Mobius circle-like dragon symbolizes the infinite cycles of space and time in this work, acting as a metaphor for the influence and change between history and modernity. Lion, another traditional Chinese cultural symbol in Reconstructed Universe 16, often appears in festive celebrations around the world, especially in China Town. It represents a shared cultural identity and respect towards traditional culture. The seemingly improvisational technique is a unity of body and mind and the consciousness of complete control, serving as a narrative imagery reflection.
Chen Yingjie (known as Huatunan) was born in 1991 in Foshan, Guangdong, China, where he continues to live and work. He studied at Raffles Design Institute Singapore. The artist was listed as one of the '25 Contemporary Chinese Artists You Need to Know' by American magazine Complex and was selected as '30 under 30' by Forbes China. His works have been exhibited in many cities, including Take Contemporary as an Approach in Powerlong Museum, Shanghai, China (2021), as well as shows in Paris, London, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore and Brussels. Chen's works have been the subjects of prominent collections internationally, such as the Contemporary Museum of Honolulu, BMW China Automotive Trading Ltd., Cartier Shanghai, WWF Hong Kong, CapitaLand Group Singapore, Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore etc.
Established in 1967, Whitestone Gallery is a leading Japanese gallery presenting a broad spectrum of Japanese art from the post-war to contemporary in spaces across East Asia.
