Chen Haiyan
Chinese printmaker (born 1955)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chen Haiyan (Chinese: 陈海燕; born 1955 in Fushun, Liaoning[1]) is a Chinese avant-garde[2] printmaker working in etching and woodblock printing. She studied printmaking at the China Academy of Art (then named Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts), graduating in 1984, and later became a faculty member at the school. Her work is influenced by themes of dreams and the unconscious mind, inspired by a dream diary she has kept since 1980. She has used historical Chinese woodblock techniques, including those used in Buddhist sutras.[3][4]
Her artistic approach incorporates elements from Buddhism, Daoism, Western philosophy,[3] and German expressionism.[4] Since 1999, she has expanded her practice to include ink wash painting.[4] She has created large-scale works.[4] Her works are held in museum and gallery collections internationally,[4][5] including in the British Museum; that institution's website states that she is "one of the best known and leading contemporary printmakers in China".[6] In 1993, she was among the artists whose works made up China's New Art, Post-1989, the first major exhibition of Chinese experimental art outside mainland China.[7]
She was featured in the documentary The Enduring Passion for Ink.[8]