Yu Chen (artist)

Yu Chen (Chinese: 余陈) is a contemporary Chinese artist and professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.^[1][2]

Early life

Chen was born in the Guizhou province of China in 1963.^[3] She has a brother named Chen Yu.^[4] She graduated from the Guizhou Art Institute in 1981 and the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing in 1988.^[5]

Art

Chen is best known for her Red Babies (红孩儿) series, which features portraits of Chinese children in Mao suits and other Communist garb.^[6] Some of the portraits in the series bear a likeness to Mao Zedong^[5] and other well-known Communist officials. The title Red Babies (红孩儿) carries a double meaning, simultaneously referring to children born in Communist China and to the Red Boy from the Chinese epic Journey to the West.^{[citation needed]}

Her works have been sold at various notable auction houses, including Sotheby's,^[7][8] Christie's,^[9] and China Guardian Auctions.^[10]

Exhibitions

Yu Chen's major exhibitions include:

Solo exhibitions

• Red Babies, Schoeni Art Gallery, Beijing (2003)
• Red Babies, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong (2003)
• Red Babies II, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong (2005)

Group exhibtions

• 1st Annual World of Women Artists, Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (1990)
• Chinese Contemporary Engraving Exhibition, Portland Museum, Portland, USA (1996)
• Exhibition for the Teachers from the Engraving Department of the Central Academy of the Arts, Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (1998)
• Out of the Box, Art Scene China, Hong Kong (1999)
• Group Exhibition, Hanmo Art Gallery, Beijing (2001)
• Invitational Exhibition of Fine Sketches from Chinese Academies of Art, Yan Huang Art Museum, Beijing (2001)
• International Women Artists' Exhibition, the National Museum of Fine Arts, Beijing (2001)
• Open Your Eyes, Chen Yu and Yu Chen, Lotus Arts de Vivre and Schoeni Art Gallery, Bangkok (2003)
• Through the Artists' Eyes - A Tribute to Manfred Schoeni, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong (2004)
• Made in China, Opera Gallery, London (2006)
• Beyond the Canvas, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong (2006)
• The Chen Family, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong (2006)
• Made in China, Opera Gallery, New York, USA (2007)
• RE-collection, A Retrospective Look at 15 Years of Art & Vision”, Schoeni Art Gallery’s 15th Anniversary Exhibition, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong (2007)
• The Chen Family, Today Art Museum, Beijing (2008)
• The Chinese Approach, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago (2008)
• WO.MEN - We Are Our Own Women, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong (2010)
• Latitude/Attitude: 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong (2012)
• "The Chen Family", YCL Gallery, Beijing (2014)
• "Day Dreamer", YCL Gallery, Beijing (2014)
• Art Stage Singapore 2016 (2016)

See also

• Central Academy of Fine Arts