Jiuteng Chen (陈九藤), a contemporary Chinese painter and founder of "Senxiang-ism," is renowned for his unique heavy-color landscape style that merges the poetic quality of Eastern ink wash with the expressive power of Western abstract color. His works hold both academic and collectible value.
Biography
Born in rural China, Jiuteng Chen endured a difficult childhood and embarked on his artistic journey almost entirely through self-study. Painting became his most important spiritual solace and life support. After the age of fifty, he broke through the stereotypical framework of traditional landscape painting to explore a new expressive path of "heavy color + ink wash," gradually forming a unique artistic style.
In his creative process, he emphasizes the irreplicable nature of "sensibility" and advocates that art should be "just right." Each work stems from the expression of a momentary state of mind and cannot be reproduced. His works inherit the artistic conception and philosophical depth of Chinese landscape painting while incorporating the expressiveness of contemporary abstraction, regarded as a unique artistic language that bridges Chinese and Western traditions.
Senxiang-ism
Senxiang-ism is an artistic concept proposed and practiced by Jiuteng Chen.
• "Sen" represents collective imagery and an atmosphere of symbiotic life, transcending singular depiction.
• "Xiang" refers to both images of nature and imagery of the mind.
Senxiang-ism emphasizes the construction of a resonant field between landscape and the soul through collective brushstrokes and the layering of heavy color and ink. It inherits the poetic aesthetics of Eastern ink wash while responding to the tension of Western abstract art, considered a significant innovative exploration in contemporary Chinese landscape painting.
Life and Career
• Birth: Born in rural China, he loved painting from a young age.
• Training: Primarily self-taught amidst hardship, free from the constraints of formal academic training.
• Creation: Persistently explored landscape painting for three to four decades, focusing particularly on experiments with "heavy-color landscape" in the past ten years.
• Transformation: Around 2019, began breaking through traditional ink wash expression, gradually proposing and establishing the concept of "Senxiang-ism."
• Exhibitions: Has held numerous solo and group exhibitions across China; his works have attracted attention from domestic and international collectors.
• International Promotion: Since 2025, his works have entered the North American market through Unique Home Art, with a dedicated exhibition space established.
Artistic Philosophy
Jiuteng Chen advocates:
"The difficulty of art lies in achieving the perfect balance; an artwork is not a commodity but the embodiment of the artist's genuine emotions and irreplicable sensibility.
He believes that good works are "wonderful accidental gains from a skilled hand," emphasizes "the irreplicable sensibility of the present moment," and regards painting as the sole spiritual support of his life.
Digital Gallery
Jiuteng Chen's Personal Digital Gallery: www.chenjiuteng.com