Zhong Chen was born in 1969 in Zhongshan, China, and arrived in Australia at the age of 19 in 1989. Today he lives and works in Melbourne. Zhong started painting at the age of 13 years old. Zhong’s early paintings ‘Stupid Laughing Series’ 1996, conveyed the exploration of his cultural heritage. Since these works, Zhong has continued to explore issues of cultural identity, transcultural identity, belonging and place. Since completing a Master of Fine Arts from the Chelsea School of Art, London in 1998, Zhong has further explored these cultural issues.
From the back streets of Shanghai to the exuberance of contemporary Australian culture, Zhong examines, explores, questions, and celebrates the transcultural identity of being an Australian artist with a proud Chinese heritage. Beginning with small sketches and paintings, Zhong draws inspiration from everyday life, contemporary subjects, and traditional Chinese ladies to blend the ancient themes of Chinese culture with a dynamic and ever-changing new world. Portraits, landscapes, and animals are integral to traditional Chinese ink brush painting. Zhong’s interpretations combine a deep respect for the culture of his birthplace with the symbolism of our contemporary, rapidly evolving world.
Zhong has exhibited extensively since 1995. He has exhibited in solo shows at Eva Breuer Gallery, Sydney, Hill-Smith Art Gallery, Adelaide, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne. Key group exhibitions include The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales 2011, 2008 and 2007, The Arthur Guy Memorial Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery 2005, and Xin Nian-Contemporary Australian Chinese Art, Sydney, Melbourne, and Washington. Zhong’s work has been widely collected in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and China. Key institutional collections include The Art Gallery of South Australia, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Western Mining, Australia, Artbank, Sydney, F.H. Faulding and Co. Adelaide, Macquarie University, BHP and SBS.
Zhong Chen’s unique signature pixel art has been widely acknowledged, with Solo Exhibitions throughout Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, and New York along with many National and International Group Exhibitions. His extensive artistic achievements include 2007 Finalist for the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman Prizes, 2005 Australian Council Grant for a three-month residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program, New York, and the 2003 SBS Australian Contemporary Art Award, Federation Square.
Zhong Chen’s artwork is represented in the Art Gallery of South Australia, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Western Mining, Australia Artbank, F.H. Faulding & Co., Macquarie University, and Private Collections throughout Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Australia Metro 5 Gallery in Melbourne.
ZHONG was honoured to be one of the Art Series Hotel artists and The Chen Hotel named after him and opened in 2017.
To view more of Zhong’s artworks, please follow our Instagram link at @artgallery_matterhorn or artserieshotels. https://www.artserieshotels.com.au/chen/zhong-chen/
