Artwork has been a natural catharsis for Yi Chen while he struggled to rise above his economic constraints and establish himself as an artist in the early years of his career. Although Yi Chen is a strictly trained graduate of Chinese painting with extensive in-depth knowledge of the structure of traditional painting and painting with brushes, he could not find an appropriate language to embody his emerging expression within the learned limitations of his schooling, and his burgeoning artwork and style would not be accepted by professors and experts at that time.
The difficulties of his struggles and the darkness he observed and experienced in the marginalized segments of his society appeared in his artwork as wild brushstrokes that were emotionally charged with dark and colourless ink and wash, which would reflect the expressions of death, struggle and loneliness that were an inherent part of his early life. Despite living through this darkness though, it had effectively allowed him to break free from the constraints surrounding the traditional norms of painting, so that he could expertly channel the oppression he felt within him and around him in society onto his canvas.
Reflecting on Yi Chen’s ability to transfer his personal life status and experience to within his paintings, Pi Li, an famous art critic in China, said that society’s exhaustion and anxiety provoked by the eternal pursuit down the material whirlpool are clearly visible in Yi Chen’s artwork as his unique personal meditations, which undoubtedly become original characteristics of his works. Yi Chen’s professor, Fan Di’an, who is also the president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, commented on Yi Chen’s powerful ability to capture the simple images of common figures and make them exceptionally original subjects for his artwork by applying his expressive and rough brushstrokes, which ensure his emotions and character are better embodied in his paintings.
After giving up his position as a university lecturer in Beijing School of Arts & Design, Yi Chen’s creative direction would expand to include indoor and outdoor spatial design and installation art. He and his wife, Muchen Zhang, went on an art exchange program to Tokyo, Japan in 2003, and upon their return, they established the YI+MU Design, a design company that strives for cultural extension and artistic communication while respecting spiritual creativity and a balanced relationship between man and space. YI + MU Design has garnered international recognition and acclaim, netting awards from abroad that includes ‘The Best of the Best’ German Red Dot Award, Germany’s IF Design Award and many others.
When Yi Chen suffered a detached retina in 2011, a period of exploration in his life would set him on a spiritual quest marking another transition in his artworks, which had evolved from his early expressions of personal emotions and philosophical reflections on humanity to now embody the essence of the world with the intuitive existence of nature, and to express the grand cosmology with microscopic details. He attempts to capture the energy that flows through space and incorporates it into his art. His ideals culminated in his series “Living Organisms,” an ongoing initiative of the artist, who was inspired by nature’s overwhelming brilliance at order within chaos and its multi-faceted designs in a spiritual perception that promises random creation with the challenge of shaping the unknown to generate a wondrous sense of excitement for the artist.
His intricate wall art sculptures incorporate bold structured forms against a backwash of minute details that send out the message for us to take a moment to study the hidden beauty within ordinary things. The amazing core structure and fantastic colours contained within it reveal a stunning patterned image that is logical yet extremely abstract, with a life force and energy that emanates from it that is awe-inspiring. Yi Chen describes it as if a strange kaleidoscope has opened up in front of your eyes, revealing a glimpse into the hidden world order of nature’s creations. He feels expressing faith and cherishing the soul through space with undying spirituality is part of its ultimate spiritual journey.
Yi Chen currently lives with his family in Vancouver, Canada, where he says the cultural heritage is rich with vast sources of inspiration. The artist wishes to create designs to further respect and coexist with nature with the aim to rid humanity of arrogance and self-importance and to return to its humble origins.