Zhong Chen was born in 1969 in Zhongshan, China and arrived in Australia at the age of 19 in 1989. Today he lives and works in Melbourne. Zhong’s early paintings ‘Stupid Laughing Series’ 1996, conveyed the exploration of his cultural heritage. Since these works, Zhong has continued to explore issues of cultural identity, transcultural identity, belonging and place. Since completing a Masters of Fine Arts from the Chelsea School of Art, London in 1998, Zhong has further explored these cultural issues.
From the back streets of Shanghai to the exuberance of contemporary Australian culture, Zhong examines, explores, questions and celebrates the transcultural identity of being an Australian artist with a proud Chinese heritage. Beginning with small sketches and paintings, Zhong draws inspiration from everyday life, contemporary subjects and traditional Chinese ladies to blend the ancient themes of Chinese culture with a dynamic and ever-changing new world. Portraits, landscapes and animals are integral to traditional Chinese ink brush painting. Zhong’s interpretations combine a deep respect for the culture of his birthplace with the symbolism of our contemporary, rapidly evolving world.
Zhong has exhibited extensively since 1995. He has exhibited in solo shows at Eva Breuer Gallery, Sydney, Hill-Smith Art Gallery, Adelaide, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne. Key group exhibitions include, The Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales 2011, 2008 and 2007, The Arthur Guy Memorial Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery 2005 and Xin Nian-Contemporary Australian Chinese Art, Sydney, Melbourne and Washington. Zhong’s work has been widely collected in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and China. Key institutional collections include, The Art Gallery of South Australia, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Western Mining, Australia, Artbank, Sydney, F.H.Faulding and Co. Adelaide, Macquarie University, BHP and SBS.
Zhong’s unique signature pixel art has been widely acknowledged, with Solo Exhibitions throughout Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and New York along with many National and International Group Exhibitions. His extensive artistic achievements include 2007 Finalist for the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes, 2005 Australian Council Grant for a three month residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program, New York and the 2003 SBS Australian Contemporary Art Award, Federation Square.
Zhong’s artwork is represented in the Art Gallery of South Australia, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Western Mining, Australia Artbank, F.H. Faulding & Co., Macquarie University and Private Collections throughout Japan, China, Hong Kong and Australia.
陈中
陈中，出生于中国广东中山，1986年就读于河北轻工业学校美术专业，1989年移居澳大利亚，1994年入阿德雷德视觉艺术专科学校学习，1996年进入南澳大学艺术本科继续深造。1997年荣获Samstag 国际视觉艺术奖学金，因此, 1998年被保送英国伦敦Chelsea艺术学院攻读硕士学位。1999年学业完成回澳至今。现定居澳洲墨尔本。
出生：1969年 （中山）
国籍：澳洲
导师：Gavin Turk (英国艺术家）
代表作品：
澳洲墨尔本陈中艺术酒店
傻笑，像素，功夫，中国先生
主要奖项：
1997年 Samstag 国际视觉艺术奖
1999年 南澳州长大奖
2002年 维多利亚国家美术馆 SBS Federation Square 艺术奖
2011 年澳中十大杰出青年，
2918 迈克尔哈丁澳洲形象大使
Arts Pie 