Red Gate Gallery is pleased to present its first solo show of Chen Ke’s oil paint ings. Chen was nominated by Wang Yuping as part of the Two Generations exhibition celebrating Red Gate’s 20th Anniversary in 2011, which is now touring Australia.

Chen’s rich red paintings describe the utopia of the late 50’s and early 60s when the republic was emerging from the revolution and building a New China. Everyone was pulling together, everyone was equal and everyone thought the future was bright, and Red. This nostalgia for the simpler times is in stark contrast to the China of today, which is anything but united or equal. The future may still be bright, but who knows which colours will be used to paint the future canvases of Chen Ke.