Passage to the Hutong

Chen Xi

A graduate of the elite Shanghai University Art Department and a student of more than 10 years at the Akademie der Bildende Kunst in Vienna, Chen’s work displays a rare balance between Chinese technique and sensibilities combined with European theory and insights. The minimal, almost abstract, drawings echo a state of equilibrium of an artist positioned in between two worlds. Chen's drawings stem from an ongoing series which he has established over the past decade. Based on the ideal of mastering techniques, which he was taught in his early Shanghai years, each of his works is hand drawn without a prior sketch. The abstraction he brings is a legacy of his long European art education.