Shen Chen transposes the ancient Chinese practice of calligraphy onto the Western canvas. When he works, he moves from mind to canvas, bypassing hand and brush. He falls into a state of pure concentration and complete focus, drawing each line with careful precision from left to right or, more poetically, East to West. In this sense, the artworks are much like literature, leading the viewer's eye, asking it to follow. The paintings consume the viewer, giving us peace of mind in visual narrative. Shen Chen paints us his inner diaries, and asks us to read them.

Artist Statement

"We have always been astonished by the drawings of children. This natural wonder is gradually buried by our knowledge and preoccupations as we steadily advance in age. We can only manage to create an artificial naturalness and deliberate simplicity. Even though this requires courage, we must also discard things that we once thought to be sufficient. Simplicity implies desolation and tedium, which requires the support of the rational spirit.

Each time when I repeat the same brushstroke, I gradually enter into a state of being especially true to myself; it is like religion, evoking reverence and devotion. My work is a kind of simple repeated labor; it is a concept, yet, it also comprises a part of my daily life. Although my work is simple, it is a cultivating experience of the strength of the heart and the body; it is a test of my energy and endurance.

Temptations and difficulties are equally challenging. I have to get away from all the uproar and tumult and retreat into my studio, where I can keep my inspiration simmering and follow rational impulses. I work within the confines of the canvas all year round to achieve the boundless action between each brushstroke.

My work is both ordered and random. The brushstrokes follow the passage of time as they layer and fill the canvas. This fullness especially emphasizes its singularity: an external fullness that realizes the realm and power of the internal spirit."