Wu Chen (b.1983, Henan) currently lives and works in Beijing and Chengdu. His paintings evoke a miscellaneous array of ‘artist portraits’ and layered references culled from sources as varied as picture handbooks to exquisite illustrations from art history. Layer by layer they undergo a child-like process of distortion and reassembly, causing one to wonder at the morbidity of such a whimsical sense of imagination.
Major solo exhibitions include: March 32nd, Qiao Space, Shanghai (2023); Therefore, the Lonely God Can Only be the Orphan of God, Magician Space, Beijing (2020); Positions Sector, Art Basel Miami, Miami, USA (2019); Bad Man Can Also End Up in Heaven, Magician Space, Beijing (2017); Matisse’s Skirt, Magician Space, Beijing (2014).
Major group exhibitions include: Zoo | Amusement Park, Cloud Art Museum, Shenzhen (2023); Nián Nián: The Power and Agency of Animal Forms, Deji Art Museum, Nanjing, CN (2023) ; BOOMERANG–OCAT Biennale 2021, OCAT Shenzhen, Shenzhen (2021); 2020 – SONG ART INVITATION EXHIBITION, Song Art Museum, Beijing (2020); TRAVERSE·COURSE - 2016 HUAYU YOUTH AWARD, Art Sanya, Sanya (2016); The First Dao Jiao New Art Festival, XI Contemporary Art Center, Guangdong (2016); The 6th Chengdu Biennale, Chengdu International Conference and Exhibition Centre, Chengdu (2013); Carousel, Times Art Museum, Beijing (2011); The 3rd Terna Contemporary Art Award, Rome (2010); Creative M50 Exhibition, M50 Creative District, Shanghai (2009); ‘Jiong’ – Expressions and Attitudes, the 3rd Shanghai Duolun Youth Art Exhibition, Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai (2008); “Youth China” Contemporary Art Exhibition, Art Museum of University Heidelberg, Heidelberg (2008). Museum and Public Collections: White Rabbit Contemporary Chinese Art Collection, AUS; Museum of Contemporary Art Chengdu, CN; K11 Art Foundation, CN; SSSSTART, CN; Beijing 798 Art Foundation, CN.
Courtesy Magician Space
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