55

Dates: 2016.12.10 - 31

Beijing-based artist Chen Duxi’s first solo exhibition at Gallery 55 in Shanghai "Two Sides of A Coin" was opened on the 10th of Dec. 2016. The exhibition comprised ten newly created pieces from the "CHI YI" (focus on serenity) series.

Water is an important symbol of culture in Chinese tradition. Under Chen Duxi’s brush, it is an exploration and continuity of agreement between water and body. "chi yi" is a series of creation Chen has long practiced about water. His experience of observing water comes partly from hearing, the observation of the rhythm and the change of speed of the water. In this exhibition, Chen deepens his description from auditory experience to the match of pen (rhythm of body movement) and the natural (flowing water).

The main body of "chi yi" is a fisherman, which has a very special symbolic meaning in Chinese traditional cultural context. As a profession, fisherman remains long time in the water and has an unique observation of it. In his practice of painting, Chen tries to turn himself into a fisherman who was shaking oars, confronting the flow of water with his brush, exploring the tension between the picture and the body in advancement and rheology. The superimposed of relationship between layers of the dynamic and the static is the core of creation Chen has comes to realization. Apart from the order of movement of penmanship, the rotation of water steam also needs to be traced through the brush and ink. Viewers could appreciate the rhythm of brush works from observing the painting. The changes of internal root cause of various forms of water flow make the brush/ink and water flow reach a wonderful state.

If Chen Duxi’s painting is not only about the aesthetic of the form of water, what else could it be? In the first chapter of the popular Chinese novel Journey to the West, the monkeys shouted: "Where does this water come from?" Then they went to find the source. The monkey king jumped over the waterfall and found no water but opened a new space. The process of Chen’s appreciation of painting water may be harder than the monkey king’s jump of finding water. The momentum is the same: trying to break through various forms of water and open up a new world. (Zhao Nan)

Chen Duxi was born in China in 1983. He holds a B.A. in Painting from Chengdu Academy of Fine Arts in China. He attended a Master Class at Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 2008. Currently he lives and works in Beijing, China.