Chinese Oil Paintings Biography
(Source google.com)
Chinese oil
painting and is one of China 's
most renowned contemporary artists. Chen Yifei is a central figure in the
development of Although he was denounced for "capitalist behavior"
Chen's obvious talent and mastery of oil painting techniques won him recognition
by the authorities. Chen soon became one of the leading painters of the
Cultural Revolution. He was famous for his big Mao Zedongportraits and
depiction of grand heroic events of the modern Chinese nation. After the
Cultural Revolution, Chen became the forerunner of a new age in Chinese
aesthetics, promoting a new sense of modernity and lifestyle in his paintings
as well as in fashion, cinema and design. In his oil paintings Chen abandoned
his uncritical glorification of the party to blend realistic technique and
romanticism with Chinese subject matter, especially melancholic and lonely
women in traditional dresses. His characteristic "Romantic Realism"
paintings use dark and dense colors and convey a sense of richness and
integrity. In 1980 he became one of the first artists from the People's
Republic of China permitted
to study art in the United
States . Chen Yifei enrolled at Hunter College
and later found work as an art restorer. In 1983, before he attained his
master's degree at Hunter, his solo exhibition at the Hammer Galleries was a
great success. Later, he established as a contract artist for the Hammer
Galleries. Chen returned to China
and settled in Shanghai
in 1990. He painted Impressionist landscapes of Tibet
and his native Zhejiang
Province . At the same
time, he had also transformed himself into a style entrepreneur, creating
fashion brands, decorating hotels and selling high-end clothing and chic home
furnishings. He also supervised one of the country's biggest modeling agencies.
Some critics said he turned increasingly commercial. In 2005, while working on
a feature film, "Barber," Chen fell ill and died. His early death
left intellectual circles in shock and highlighted his major role in the
Chinese contemporary art scene. Chen was born in Ningbo
of the coastal province
of Zhejiang . Later, the
Chen family moved to Shanghai
and Chen began his studies of Russian artists and Socialist Realism to promote
his talent in a lucrative field.
Chen graduated from the High School for Art in Shanghai in 1964, then graduated from the
Shanghai Training School of Art (also called the Shanghai College of Art) in
1965 and soon after began focusing almost exclusively on oil painting. Within a
year, as the Cultural Revolution gained steam, Chen caught the attention of
Communist officials for his propaganda works that frequently glorified soldiers
of the Communist party and portrayed grand images of Mao Zedong. Chen was soon
viewed as "one of the leading artists at the state-financed Shanghai
Institute of Painting." Chen was fortunate to gain notoriety early in his
career. As the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, Chen continued doing oil
paintings, now shifting his focus to a more romantic and European style. Many
admire that Chen was "one of the first artists to bridge the gap between
the art of the Cultural Revolution and Western contemporary art". In the
1970s, with his fame rising due to his oil works, Chen began to attract the
attention of Western buyers. One such buyer, Armand Hammer, Chairman of the
Occidental Petroleum Corporation in the United States , purchased Chen's
Hometown Recall as a gift for Deng Xiaoping.
In 1980 Chen left his position as head of the Oil Painting
Department of the Shanghai Painting Academy
in China to explore the art
scene of New York , being one of the first
artists of the People's Republic of China
allowed out of the state to study art in the USA . Chen often told interviewers
that he arrived in New York
"with only $38 in his pocket" but still managed to catch the
attention of gallery owners early after arrival. Although he was successful as
an artist in China , he
ventured to the United
States , not to necessarily make his print on
the art establishment, but to explore his own predilections of artistic
style. The New York
art scene offered him freedom to experiment and settle in a style that he could
be comfortable with. Chen expressed "elat[ion] by the freedom to look at
art" and explore his own boundaries He gained entrance at Hunter College
in the US
after he arrived and worked as an art restorer. By 1983, before graduating from
Hunter College , Chen's solo exhibitions at the
Hammer Galleries had promoted his fame to where he later signed a contract to
paint for Hammer Galleries. Chen then graduated from Hunter College
in 1984 with a Master's in Art.
No comments:
Post a Comment