Chen Shangchang

Chen Shangchang’s paintings, in terms of approach, follow the tradition of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute’s emphasis on realistic methods and strict instruction in technicality, a term commonly used in art circles for good work at hand. The figurative and realistic parts of his images are easily managed with ease and discretion, which is aided by his talent. In terms of images, Achang’s images are not unrelated to the inexhaustible image interceptions and visual memories of the big data era. In the operation of the picture, he intentionally gives a recognizable subject form to the interpretation of the picture, yet it always introduces the visual perception of the viewer to the nonsensical situation when the mix-and-match effect of the overall structure appears. Thus, the concepts of the everyday and the abnormal, chaos and faith; and logic and madness, etc. form an inversion or collision in the non-linear space. In a sense, this state of affairs hits the narrative nerve of the artist or the viewer, and adds a short resting point in between. This kind of confusion and different degrees of doubts about reality is also the artist’s attempt to create an alternative perceptual space outside the picture and transmute the conceptual dimension.

I think that “living up to the times” is the visual answer that past generations of Sichuan students and artists have continuously delivered with their unique contemporary art concepts, methods and diligence in their works. We have also seen the emergence of new paintings from the scar literature to the Sichuan Mei, which has been a journey of day and night, and in this queue there is the post-80s newcomer Chen Shangchang.

Artworks