Chen JiaLing Chinese Artist

Sincere brushstrokes reveal one’s true colors, and paintings narrate the story of China.” The leading artist of the Shanghai School, Chen Jialing, will hold a grand exhibition in Paris at the Cordeliers Convent in the Latin Quarter.

Chen Jialing, the first appointed researcher at the China National Academy of Painting, professor at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, and member of the Shanghai University Council, was born in 1937 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. In 1963, he graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts under the tutelage of Pan Tianshou.

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Chinese art

From 1963 to 1983, he taught at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. In the 1970s, he studied landscape painting and calligraphy under Lu Yanshao. In 1983, he became a professor in the Chinese Painting Department at the Shanghai University of Fine Arts.

In 1987, his lotus painting “Glow” was featured on the cover of Joan Lebold Cohen’s book “New Chinese Painting (1949–1986),” published by ABRAMS in the United States. In 1989, his work “Unstained” won the Silver Prize at the Seventh National Art Exhibition. 

Between 1986 and 2017, he held solo and group exhibitions in museums, art galleries, and art centers in over 20 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom. From 2007 to 2017, he held major solo exhibitions in China at venues such as the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, the National Art Museum of China, the Shanghai Art Museum, the Guangdong Art Museum, the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, the Zhejiang Art Museum, the Anhui Provincial Museum, and the National Museum of China. 

From October 2014 to November 2015, the widescreen documentary “Chen Jialing” was screened at the 9th Rome International Film Festival, the 11th Sino-American Film Festival, the 2nd Sino-Australian Film Festival, and the 35th Hawaii International Film Festival, where it won three Best Documentary Awards, and Chen Jialing was honored as a Cultural Ambassador by the Hawaii International Film Festival. On September 4, 2016, his work “West Lake Scenery” was used as the background for the group photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan with leaders of 35 countries at the 2016 G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China. On January 13, 2018, the Chen Jialing Buddhist Art Museum officially opened at the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai.

Chen Jialing initially studied figure painting but began incorporating techniques from ancient Chinese murals and foreign watercolors in the 1980s. Through extensive research and practice, he developed a modern Chinese painting style that integrates Chinese philosophy with elements of Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and Expressionism.

Among the artists who rose to fame in the 1970s, Chen Jialing is considered unique. Although he made his mark in the art world later in life compared to those who held solo exhibitions in their early twenties, he displayed the sensitivity and forward-thinking typically seen in younger artists during his subsequent decades of artistic creation. This led to a significant leap in both technique and conceptual approach, establishing a strong personal style. By the early 1990s, he had joined the ranks of the “Modern Ink Painting” school in Shanghai, earning a reputation as an avant-garde artist of his time.

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Chen jialing’s art chronology

• 1937: Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
• 1963: Graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, studied under Pan Tianshou and Lu Yanshao.
• 1983: Became a professor in the Chinese Painting Department at Shanghai University of Fine Arts.
• 1980s-2006: Held exhibitions and joint exhibitions in museums, art galleries, and art centers in countries including West Berlin, the United States, Germany, Japan, Singapore, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, and India.
• 1987: Featured in Joan Lebold Cohen’s book “New Chinese Painting (1949-1986)” with his lotus painting “Glow” on the cover.
• 1989: Won the Silver Prize for “Unstained” at the Seventh National Art Exhibition.
• 2000: Founded the Huoyi Salon “Shanghai Shen Kiln.”
• 2002: Established “Shanghai Peninsula Art Center,” “Peninsula Ceramic Art Museum,” and “Ling Kiln” (recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of Shanghai’s Haipai ceramic art in 2013).
• 2009-2015: Delivered academic lectures at prestigious institutions such as the Central Academy of Fine Arts, China Academy of Art, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Hunan Yuelu Academy, Taiwan Normal University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, and Shanghai University of Fine Arts, as well as venues like Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Hawaii, the Oriental Lecture Hall, and the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai.
• 2007-2013: Held major solo exhibitions in China at venues such as the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, the National Art Museum of China, the Shanghai Art Museum, the Guangdong Art Museum, the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, the Zhejiang Art Museum, the Anhui Provincial Museum, and the National Museum of China.
• January 6, 2015: The widescreen documentary “Chen Jialing” premiered in Shanghai.
• October 25, 2015: The documentary “Chen Jialing” won Best Documentary at the 2nd Brisbane Film Festival in Australia.
• November 3, 2015: The documentary “Chen Jialing” won Best Documentary at the 11th Sino-American Film Festival.
• November 16, 2015: The documentary “Chen Jialing” won Best Documentary at the 35th Hawaii International Film Festival and was awarded the title of “Cultural Ambassador.”
• February 11, 2015: The Chen Jialing Buddhist Art Museum was inaugurated at the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai.
• September 4, 2016: Chen Jialing’s work “West Lake Scenery” was used as the background for the group photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan with leaders of 35 countries at the 2016 G20 Summit in Hangzhou. His works “Clear Lotus” were featured as the backdrop for state banquets at the West Lake State Guesthouse, and “Autumn Moon on Calm Lake” and “Orioles Singing in the Willows” were displayed in the waiting hall for the leaders’ group photo.
• September 16-October 12, 2017: Held another major exhibition at the National Museum of China.
• January 13, 2019: The Chen Jialing Buddhist Art Museum officially opened at the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai, featuring three floors and five halls.
• January 2019: Published the large art album “Chen Jialing Art” at the National Museum of China.
• December 2019: Published the large art series “Shanghai Footprints – Chen Jialing.”
• December 2021: Published “The Red Star Guides Me – Chen Jialing’s Works on Revolutionary Sites,” compiled by the Editorial Committee of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Museum and published by the Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House.

This exhibition in Paris, themed “Waterside Ink,” will feature 41 works by Chen Jialing, aiming to tell the story of China through ceramics and ink, showcasing and promoting the rich cultural and artistic heritage of the East to the world, and introducing Eastern civilization to the art capital of Paris. The exhibition will include Chinese paintings created in Shanghai and Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, such as “Ode to Snow,” “Autumn Moon on Calm Lake,” “Evening Bell at Nanping Hill,” and “Red Cliff,” as well as ceramic works themed around pomegranates, irises, and lotus flowers, using art as a bridge to bring contemporary Shanghai School art culture to the world.