Chen Jialing

(i) signed and marked with three seals of the artist
(ii) signed, dated 1988 and marked with four seals of the artist

Acquired directly from the artist

Overall in good condition, with foxing scattered throughout the painting and mounting on both works, which can be improved with restoration. Framed with acrylic: 70.3 by 78.5 cm each; 27 5/8 by 30 7/8 in.
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“My ink works are like my children, and they are full of life; I have poured my energy into their creation.”  – Chen Jialing

Born in 1937 in Hangzhou, Chen Jialing graduated from the Zhejiang Academy of Art, where he studied with the esteemed masters Pan Tianshou and Lu Yanshao. Later, in the 1980s, while teaching at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Chen started to form his unique artistic style under the influence of ancient Chinese mural paintings and Western watercolours, simultaneously co-founding the Cao Cao Group in pursuit of innovative artistic spirits, techniques and styles. Characterized by layered pale ink washes and simple compositions, Chen’s paintings often display a sense of natural spontaneity and harmonious interplay between brush, ink and paper, which lures the viewer into an intimate space of serenity. 

The lotus flower is one of Chen’s favourite subjects, whose gradual natural transformation constantly provides inspiration for his artistic creation. Morning Lotus and Transformation (Lot 852) presents a late autumn scene with seedpods and dry leaves barely supported by withered stems. The overall cool tone with greyish-blue washes and rhythmic dots conveys a quiet and meditative atmosphere. Red Lotus Bud (Lot 801), on the contrary, is full of newborn energy and vitality seen in early summer, manifested in  the use of bright colours and the symmetrical composition centralizing the red bud. The monochrome Ink Lotus (Lot 843) combines two stages in between, visualizing the free interaction between ink and water on paper seen in large areas of washes representing the leaves. 

Though distinct in their pictorial atmosphere, all three works exemplify Chen’s innovative painting techniques, seen in his deceptively random dots merged with patches of soft ink washes, whose contours clearly reveal the way colours naturally flow, permeate, and defuse into the paper. The painting process, as Chen explains, is like a mutual dialogue: “on one hand, I am painting with a brush; on the other hand, the rice paper is also ‘painting’ spontaneously. It seems like we two are playing a game with each other.”¹ In this way, Chen has taken the traditional bird-and-flower subject into a new stage with his creative exploration of the medium. Moreover, with his solid background in traditional Chinese painting, Chen not only preserves the legacy of Pan Tianshou and Lu Yanshao, but also adds modern interpretations and innovative perspectives to it in building his unique artistic landscape that, as the curator Fan Di’an contends, will achieve its own inspirational legacy for younger generation artists.²

¹ ArtNetworking, “Featured Artists: Chen Jialing”, retrieved from http://www.artnetworking.com/mainartists_detail.asp?ClassID=7, July 2017.

² Fan Di’an, “Land of Purity: The Art of Chen Jialing”,  Zhongguo Nanfang Yishu, Sept. 28, 2012.