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Chen Yifei the Painter
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| Lingering Melodies From the Xunyang
River | Chen Yifei, a native of Zhenhai, Zhejiang
Province, studied painting at the Shanghai
Art Academy, where he was trained in the Western techniques of classical realism
introduced to China at the turn of the century.
Ironically, because of China's isolation from the West under the Communist
regime, Chinese art was not exposed to the blatant modernism in the West and
kept the tradition of realism alive. China cultivated young, gifted artists in
the same way it cultivated athletes, and Chen was provided with the best
conditions to develop his talent.
After graduation, he became a full-time painter in the Oil Painting and
Sculpture Studio, and later head of the Oil Painting Department. He rose to
prominence in China's art world in the 1960s and 70s for a series of oil
paintings depicting historical events, such as Ode to the Yellow
River , The Seizing of the Presidential House, and Looking at History from
My Space.
In 1980, Chen went to New York City of the United States, leaving behind his
position as head of Dhanghai Art Academy's Oil Painting Department. In New York,
the center of contemporary art, the school of realism was practically ignored,
but Chen Yifei had the ability and self-confidence to defy the odds. He painted
elegant American and Chinese musicians as well as the lush countryside scenery
of the Yangtze
River , and was soon accepted by the local circles.
In 1983, his first one-man exhibition, at New York's Hammer Galleries,
created a sensation. Since then, his works have been exhibited in numerous
galleries and museums in the United States, Britain, France, and Japan.
In 1985, one of his paintings -- Bridge -- was used by the United Nations,
while another painting, "Shuangqiao," was bought by Armand Hammer, chairman of
the Occidental Petroleum Corporation of the United States and later given to
Deng Xiaoping as a gift.
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