CHEN XIANGXUN ｜陈向迅

CHEN XIANGXUN (b. 1956)

Professor of Chinese Painting at the China Academy of Art and recipient of a State Council Special Allowance, Chen Xiangxun occupies a rare position in contemporary Chinese art, balancing rigorous modernist experimentation with profound scholarly restraint. His doctoral-level education and longstanding academic career provide deep theoretical grounding, while his studio practice demonstrates how this knowledge can inform genuinely innovative artistic expression.

Chen’s distinctive approach operates at the intersection of Song-dynasty brush discipline and contemporary gestural abstraction. His atmospheric washes compress vast mountainous spaces into intimate, almost psychological terrains, while carefully modulated mineral pigments lend his floral subjects a subdued inner glow. The resulting works hover between representation and pure expression, creating a visual language that honors classical tradition while pushing boldly into uncharted aesthetic territory.

This balance between scholarship and practice has shaped Chen’s broader influence within Chinese art. Invited as one of the “Ten Zhejiang Masters” for a significant Beijing exhibition in 2002, he continues to publish research on painting theory as frequently as he exhibits new work. Market confidence in Chen’s unique position has remained consistently strong, with recent pieces like Song of Dusk (2024) fetching RMB 425,500 (~US $58k) at China Guardian, reflecting sustained collector appreciation for paintings that honor tradition while advancing it.