HILO CHEN

Hilo Chen began his artistic career in abstraction and was the youngest member of the Ton Fan Group, the first Chinese Modern Art group. In 1968, Chen saw The Bather of Valpinçon by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres at the Louvre, an encounter that deeply inspired him. This encounter marked a shift in his artistic practice towards figurative painting during the 1970s, with the emergence of the ‘Beach’ series as his most iconic and celebrated works. The series established his artistic stature in New York which is on par with other photorealism masters like Chuck Close.

Chen explores the beauty of the female form in his paintings of bikini-clad women, which he paints from photographs. Employing both airbrush and traditional brush techniques to capture women on the beach, Chen skillfully depicts the exquisite suppleness of female flesh, incorporating intricate details such as pores, hair, and glistening beads of sweat. The plump elasticity of flesh in Hilo Chen’s paintings challenges the traditional boundaries between art and erotica.

Hilo Chen’s works can be found in prestigious collections, including The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, San José Museum of Art, Newport Art Museum, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.

Courtesy Each Modern