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The Chinese Approach

Schoeni Art Gallery in Collaboration with Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago

Works by Chen Li, Chen Yu, Yu Chen

Vernissage: 5 September 2008,   5:00pm - 8:00pm
Exhibition Continues: 6 September 2008 - 15 October 2008

Ann Nathan Gallery, 212 West Superior, Chicago, USA

In collaboration with Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong, Ann Nathan Gallery presents The Chinese Approach, featuring paintings by the Chen family from China, and Chinese-born artists Ming Jing Wang and Mary Qian, now living and working in the U.S.

The Chen family siblings (eldest sister Yu Chen, and brothers Chen Yu and Chen Li) have received international attention for their reflections on contemporary Chinese society. A burgeoning modern culture at the forefront of today's headlines is represented in all its forms throughout the siblings' works. Yu Chen's paintings of pink-cheeked children, at times in military uniform, are social commentaries expressed through the sometimes laughing, sometimes crying faces of China?s youngest citizens. Chen Yu interrupts groups of repetitive figures in his paintings with intimate, often playful, portraits of individuals amid the masses. Chen Li mixes suggestion and mystery to create imaginative narratives within his contemporary portraits.

Ming Jing Wang's social-realist paintings examine the human condition, both culturally and physically. Wang explores the intrusion of contemporary civilization on the ancient cultures of China. A practicing physician in the U.S., Wang also observes and reflects on moments of physical suffering and trauma in his paintings.

Mary Qian's portraiture reveals a flawless technique and intense study of the human form. Trained in both China and America and influenced by Russian portraiture, Qian's paintings act as personal observations of the people around her in a dramatic and timeless style.