October 7 - November 1, 2011. Opening reception October 6th, 6 – 8 pm.

Dillon Gallery is pleased to present its third exhibition of the paintings of the Chinese Nihonga master Chen Wenguang.

Chen occupies a unique position in the quintessentially Japanese art form of Nihonga (literally translated, “Japanese Painting”), as both outsider and insider. Initially trained in traditional Chinese painting at the renowned Gaungzhou Art Academy, Chen received his Masters and Doctorate at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music under the tutelage of Kayama Matazo, the most celebrated Nihonga painter of the 20th century. Chen was the first artist not of Japanese descent to complete this training.

In an intriguing twist of history, the technical development of Nihonga can be traced directly back to the blue and green landscape painting style of the Tang Dynasty in China. Chen Wenguang, who has been a professor at Guangzhou Art Academy for almost twenty years, has brought the technique that passed over a millennium ago from China to Japan full circle, teaching his students the application of mineral pigment and gold and silver leaf. His own art masterfully combines key elements of the traditions of both nations. 

Steve Owyoung, former curator of the famed Asian Art Department at the St. Louis Art Museum, says that Chen’s paintings are “a return to Chinese art and its inherently decorative foundations; each work is a contemporary revelation of tradition, an innovative take on its subjects, techniques, and materials.” He comments that it is the work’s “masterful technique, its invention, its striking beauty – that makes it so important and relevant.”

Wenguang Chen has garnered extensive critical attention in China and Japan. His work is represented in the collections of a number of museums, including the Sato Museum, the Daiichi Museum and the Guangdong Museum, China. Chen has also been honored with a solo exhibition at the Guangdong Museum.
 

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