Chinese calligrapher Chen Guangwu’s delicate ink on rice paper paintings are a complex and, upon first glance, complicated entanglement of traditional forms, calligraphic mastery, and absolutely contemporary sensibility. Chen’s painted works are a labour of repetition, a fundamental rule in becoming a master in Chinese tradition. Beginning with a single sheet of xuan paper, Chen’s experiential process consists of layering selected Chinese characters with fine brush strokes, which becomes increasingly dense, visually opaque and representationally sophisticated.

Chen Guangwu was born in Liuzhou, Guangxi Province, China in 1967. His work has been exhibited in galleries, institutions and museums around the world including Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China;  Berlin State Museum, Germany; Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, Netherlands; Royal Museum of Fine Arts.