FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHEN WENGUANG

November 15 – December 15, 2007
Opening reception November 15, 6 – 8 pm

Dillon Gallery is pleased to present the second solo exhibition of Chen Wenguang, a Chinese painter who attempts to capture the essence of the natural world through abstraction. Utilizing a combination of oxidized mineral pigments and silver and gold leaf, with traditional Chinese painting, the artist elevates his subject of choice, the lotus.

Although “Nihonga” (mineral pigment painting) became an unpracticed art form in China, it survived to become the definition of Japanese painting. By re-introducing this lost technique to contemporary Chinese students, Chen Wenguang provides a significant link uniting the history of Chinese and Japanese art. Steven D. Owyoung co-organizer of the ground-breaking exhibition Nihonga: Transcending the Past in 1995 at the Saint Louis Art Museum comments that “the art of Chen Wenguang is the rediscovery of a long forgotten Chinese sensibility, a richly decorative, yet immensely profound tradition that once flourished in ancient times.”

Picking up an artistic thread that dates from the Tang Dynasty [618 – 907], when mineral pigment dominated the artistic milieu in China, Chen revives its application by re-introducing this technique to a contemporary audience with his original presentation. With a baroque approach to his materials and subject Chen surpasses the individual techniques of Chinese and Japanese painting traditions by inventing his own unique aesthetic.

Chen has garnered critical attention in China and Japan, in which both countries have acknowledged his substantial contributions and radical technical innovations to the “Nihonga” medium. His work is represented in the collections of several museums, including the Sato Museum and the Daiichi Museum. In 2004 Chen was selected for a solo exhibition at the Guangdong Museum in China.

WENGUANG CHEN

Following early training at the Guangzhou University in China as an ink painter, Chen relocated to Japan in 1985 and spent the next fourteen years mastering Nihonga, which was considered at the time to be a uniquely Japanese technique and aesthetic. Under the guidance of Matazo Kayama at the Tokyo University of Fine Art, Chen was able to gain a deeper understanding of advanced techniques, allowing him to develop his own style within this ancient tradition of painting. Chen provides a significant link between Chinese and Japanese art, by tracing Nihonga back to its Chinese origins. He now teaches NIhonga to Chinese students in China.

Chen is considered by the Japanese to be a major practitioner of Nihonga, a remarkable achievement given his Chinese lineage. Though the strict principles of the form are respected by Chen, they do not control the content of his compositions. Chen’s paintings not only reflect a thousand years of Asian art, but they also consider the postmodern environment. Chen’s contribution to Nihonga has been noted by eminent scholars including Steven Owyoung, the former Curator of Asian Art at the St. Louis Art Museum. Additionally Chen has received praise from his former teacher, Matazo Kayama, one of the most important 20th Century Japanese artists.
 

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • 2008 International Asian Art Fair (Haughton Int. Fairs), New York City
  • 2007 Dillon Gallery, Chen Wenguang, New York City
  • 2006 Dillon Gallery, Chen Wenguang, New York City
  • 2004 Guangdong Art Museum, Chen Wenguang, China
  • 2002 Tokyo Sen Gallery, The Beauty of Nature, Japan
  • 2001 Tokyo Mitsukoshi Museum, Japanese Paintings, Japan

COLLECTIONS

  • Sato Museum of Art, Japan
  • Daiiti Bijutu Museum of Art, Japan
  • Seisyun Siirakaba Museum of Art, Japan
  • Japan Wahei (Peace) Nakajima Consortium
  • Sin Nikou Ltd., Co., Japan
  • Talent Exchange Center of the State Council, China
  • Guangdong Museum of Art, China