Chen Zhiqiang - born 1980

Chen Zhiqiang
born 1980

The Artist at Work
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

In May of 2008 we received our first consignment of woodblock prints by Chen Zhiqiang, a young, emerging Chinese artist. The consignment consisted of an impressive series titled "Where are we?". The prints are very tall and slim in size - just as the artist is. They are an important document of the current era in China that makes artists and intellectuals reflect about the current situation and the future. The series "Where are we?" won the golden prize in the 2006 "Zhanjiang Art Exhibition", China.

Artist's Career

Mr.Chen Zhiqiang was born in 1980 in Dongchuan city of Guangdong province in China. In 2004, he graduated from Guangzhou Fine Art Academy, Printmaking Department. Currently he works as an art teacher at Zhanjiang Normal School, Fine Art Department.

Affiliations

Member of China Artists Association of Guangdong province, China.
Member of Zhanjiang Printmakers Association, China.

Exhibitions

2005 - Six woodblocks attended the second Young Printmakers Nomination Exhibition in Guangdong province, China.
2005 - Participation in the Guangdong Print Exhibition.
2005 - The woodblock "Play in Dream" was honored and collected by Art Gallery of Shantou city, China.
2006 - The series "Where are we?" won the golden prize in the 2006 "Zhanjiang Art Exhibition", China.
2006 - Prints by the artist were selected for the 1st Chinese Black-white Woodblock Exhibition, and were later collected by the Chinese National Art Gallery and by South-West University, China.

Where are We?

Where are We - No. 9

by Chen Zhiqiang, born 1980
Woodblock Print
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

Seeing the woodblock print series Where are We? for the first time makes you think of a famous painting by post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? created by Paul Gauguin in 1897 and now to be seen in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

The young artist Chen Zhiqiang is asking himself the same question: Where are we in this strange world?

Mr. Chen Zhiqiang was born in the early 1980s and belongs by age to a generation that is currently seen in China as a kind of lost generation. They have not experienced the times of chairman Mao Zedong. Nor do they have the strive to make as much money as possible ... a character that is seen in China with the generation that was born in the 1970s.

The people born in the 1980s are young and arduent. They are asking for the sense of life, who they are and what they should look and strive for. They want to find some value in their existence that goes beyond economic wealth.

With this print series Mr. Chen Zhiqiang tries to express the intellectual feelings of his generation.

Technique

The series is made in conventional woodblock technique and printed with oil-based inks. The edition is very small with just 10 copies.

Most modern Chinese art prints are rather large. But this series has the dimensions of a large vertical panel with 39 by 110 cm = 15 by 43 inches.

The Complete Series

The series as we know it by now, consists of 9 prints. Here is the rest of these impressive works of art:

Where are We - No. 8

by Chen Zhiqiang, born 1980
Woodblock Print
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

Where are We - No. 7

by Chen Zhiqiang, born 1980
Woodblock Print
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

Where are We - No. 6

by Chen Zhiqiang, born 1980
Woodblock Print
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

Where are We - No. 5

by Chen Zhiqiang, born 1980
Woodblock Print
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

Where are We - No. 4

by Chen Zhiqiang, born 1980
Woodblock Print
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

Where are We - No. 3

by Chen Zhiqiang, born 1980
Woodblock Print
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

Where are We - No. 2

by Chen Zhiqiang, born 1980
Woodblock Print
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

Where are We - No. 1

by Chen Zhiqiang, born 1980
Woodblock Print
copyright Chen Zhiqiang

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