Chen Han: Interlude

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Matthew Liu Fine Arts is honored to present “Interlude”, a solo exhibition by Chinese contemporary artist Chen Han. Like a duet embodying dialectical relationships, the exhibition unfolds through two seemingly opposing yet mirroring psychological landscapes: on one side, the naturally harmonious spiritual symphony of the music world; on the other, the psychological tension beneath the calm surface of human relationships. Through this dynamic dual structure, Chen Han attempts to portray a contemporary psychological landscape, exploring subtle emotions that linger at the edges of language and lurk in the crevices of daily life.

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Born in Shenyang in 1973 and graduating from Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in 2005, Chen Han now works and lives between Shenyang and Beijing. Like a dedicated archeologist of the soul, he consistently excavates subtle yet profound emotional fossils through his artistic creation. His aesthetic inheritance from Lu Xun Academy enables him to build upon solid technical foundations, refining a deep spiritual realm through the dialectics of color and volume. This creative characteristic serves as a key to unlock the chambers of the mind, allowing us glimpses of inner truths often obscured by modernity.

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In this exhibition, Chen Han turns his artistic gaze toward the spiritual territory of music. The music-themed works weave complex notes into a harmonious spiritual tapestry, like a polyphonic fugue. The artist captures fleeting spiritual resonance between musicians - the dancing of fingertips, the meeting of gazes - all conveying a pure dialogue beyond words. Music here becomes a metaphor for idealized emotions, showing the most crystalline state of spiritual communion between people. In stark counterpoint are works about interpersonal relationships. In these seemingly peaceful everyday scenes, Chen Han analyzes the hidden tensions and alienation between figures with surgical precision. The characters, often in groups of two or three, appear quiet or even intimate on the surface, yet inadvertently reveal irreconcilable anxieties. Their subtle gestures and ambiguous spatial relationships point to fundamental predicaments in contemporary human connections.

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The juxtaposition of these two series creates a philosophical dialectic: the harmony in the music world versus the tension in human relationships, like two poles of existence. In the pure realm of music, emotions can transcend reality's boundaries to achieve ideal resonance; while in daily life, even the closest relationships may conceal unbridgeable gaps. This contrast not only demonstrates the artist's profound insight into human nature but also reveals the fundamental difficulties of emotional expression in modern contexts.

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“Interlude” suggests the artist's philosophical reflection on the essence of emotional expression. Under Chen Han's brush, music and life, ideal and reality, harmony and tension continuously interweave, creating a profound sketch of the contemporary spiritual world. Through these works, we can pause in our complex reality to listen to silent resonances and touch emotional truths that defy expression. This exploration of humanity's depths and persistent pursuit of artistic language has earned Chen Han wide recognition in the international art world. His works have been exhibited at important institutions including Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts Museum, Long Museum, and Dongyu Museum of Fine Arts, and are permanently collected by institutions such as the Museum of Old and New Art Tasmania, DSL Collection, Modern Media Group, and JNBY Group.